The professional wrestling world lost one of its most valued stars this past Tuesday. Jay Briscoe, real name Jamin Pugh, passed away following a car crash in Delaware at the age of 38 years old. Shortly after the news was made public, dozens of wrestlers from across the industry poured out their support and love for the late Ring of Honor Tag Team Champion, with stars from AEW, WWE, and the independent scene sharing fond memories of Briscoe while also praising him as a friend and a father. The tributes continued on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite, as the broadcast opened with an in memoriam graphic of Briscoe and multiple wrestlers donned “Jay” armbands during their matches.
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That said, the tributes were limited. Speaking on the Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that Warner Bros. Discovery did not allow AEW to do a full tribute show to Briscoe. This is not the first time that WBD has blocked Briscoe involvement on AEW television, as the company did not allow AEW President Tony Khan to feature either Jay or brother Mark on its programming due to homophobic tweets that Jay posted over a decade ago. He has apologized for the tweets multiple times over the years. Both of the Briscoes were signed to ROH contracts as a result, but could not work on AEW-branded productions.
Khan still went ahead with a tribute show on Wednesday, taping a Ring of Honor-branded “Jay Briscoe: Celebration of Life” event after AEW Dynamite went off the air. This special will air on HonorClub and ROH’s YouTube channel for free at some point in the near future.
Briscoe’s daughters, Gracie and Jayleigh, were injured in the car crash and were taken to the hospital for emergency surgeries on Tuesday. Briscoe’s wife, Ashley, asked for prayers for their daughters as they recover.
“We need prayers! Gracie is on her way into surgery on her back. Jamin would want the whole world praying for his little girl,” Ashley wrote on Facebook. “WE BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYER!! Pray for the doctors and everyone working on her! Pray for her precious legs to move again! Pray for Jayleigh who has some pretty serious injuries, but is stable and resting! Pray for Gannon waiting at home! Pray for strength for all of us! We have a long long road ahead of us!”
ComicBook.com sends our thoughts and prayers to the Pugh family.
