AEW’s Tony Khan announced on Tuesday that Mark Briscoe will make his AEW Dynamite debut this week for a match against Jay Lethal to honor his late brother, Jay Briscoe. Jay tragically died in a car accident last week in Delaware and this Wednesday would have been his 39th birthday. Khan made the announcement by tweeting out, “Mark Briscoe vs Jay Lethal, Requested by both men to celebrate the life + legacy of the late great Jay Briscoe on his 39th birthday, his longtime friend/rival Jay Lethal vs his brother Mark Briscoe.”
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Despite being the ROH World Tag Team Champions when Khan purchased Ring of Honor last year, the Briscoes were not allowed on AEW television reportedly due to a mandate from Warner Bros. Discovery regarding homophobic comments Jay had made in the early 2010s (which he would repeatedly apologize for in his later years). According to Dave Meltzer, this was also why the tribute show dedicated to Jay that was filmed last week was not allowed to air on TV and will instead be uploaded to HonorClub and YouTube. Meltzer also reported that WBD was against letting Mark on TV as well even after Jay’s death, but that has obviously now changed.
Josh Wharton, a friend of the family, uploaded a Facebook Live stream this week to give an update on Jay’s daughters Gracie and Jayleigh while also offering a statement from Mark.ย
“I called Mark just about a half hour ago and we talked,” he said (h/t Fightful). “I told him the community cares about him and we wanted to make sure he was alright and if there was anything we could. He answered the phone, just the most chipper I’ve ever heard him. That’s an upbeat family in this time of tragedy. The one thing that stuck out to me, he said, ‘I can’t imagine going through this not being a believer.’ He realizes that our time here on Earth is a small glimpse in existence. He realizes that we’re going to see him again and he’s hoping to use that as a tool to motivate people to get into heaven with us. Use Jamin’s untimely death as a witness almost to get people into heaven with him. He sent a text that says, ‘GOD IS ON THE THRONE. That’s all I got bro.’ The man has been through a lot and he still has his faith. He’s going to carry on the Pugh and Briscoe name proudly.”
