Jamin Pugh, better known as Jay Briscoe, the most decorated wrestler in the history of Ring of Honor, coming off arguably the greatest tag team match and series of matches of his career, was killed in an auto accident on 1/17 in Laurel, DE.
He was 38, eight days before his 39th birthday. His death came the day before the 38th birthday of his brother Mark, with whom he formed one of the best tag teams in history.
Pugh was driving with his daughters on Laurel Road in his 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 2500. At about 5:09 p.m., a Chevrolet Silverado 1500 driven by Lillyanne Ternahan, 27, of Frankford, DE, crossed the center of a two-line road and into the path of the car Pugh was driving. This resulted in a head-on collision with the two pickup trucks.
Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident when police arrived. Both of Pugh’s daughters, 12-year-old Gracie and nine-year-old Jayleigh were in critical condition with very serious injuries. They were rushed to Nanticoke Hospital in Seaford, DE.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including Mike’s memories of Jay Briscoe, Vince McMahon’s latest payout and why they are claiming he did it, the AEW Dynamite report from Wednesday and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the tragic death of Jay Briscoe, Nick Khan’s interview with Bill Simmons, Adam Hopkins leaves WWE, ratings, Slapfighting notes, AEW and NXT reviews, Rampage and ROH Jay Briscoe Tribute Show spoilers and more. A packed show, so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Jay Briscoe passes away
21:05: Nick Khan interview with Bill Simmons, Slapfight thoughts
34:38: WWE PR people let go
39:22: Ratings
45:07: AEW Dynamite recap
1:04:25: NXT notes
1:14:55: Rampage/Jay Briscoe tribute show spoilers
“Thank you all watching Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite on TBS tonight!,” Khan’s tweet said. We’re just getting started, we have a great live show for you all, + after the live show we’ll film a special ROH tribute to the late great Jay Briscoe which will be available soon free to everyone on Honor Club.”
Khan later reiterated that the show will not be behind a paywall and will also be shown on ROH’s YouTube page.
Briscoe, 38, died Tuesday evening in a car accident when his car, traveling westward, collided with a car traveling eastward that had suddenly crossed into their lane. Ashley Pugh, Jay’s wife, posted on Facebook that their two daughters are currently hospitalized, with one undergoing back surgery.
Prior to the start of Dynamite, a graphic aired honoring Briscoe. Wrestlers came to the ring during the show wearing armbands with the words “Briscoe” and “Jay”
A Delaware State Police report revealed more information about the Tuesday afternoon accident that took the life of Jay Briscoe and another woman, and sent two of Briscoe’s children to the hospital.
The report stated that at approximately 5:09 PM, Briscoe (Jamin Pugh) and his two daughters (ages 9 and 12) were traveling on Laurel Road westbound in their 2019 Chevy Silverado 1500. 27-year-old Lilyanne Ternahan was traveling eastbound in her 2016 Chevy Silverado 2500 and crossed into their lane for unknown reasons. The two trucks then had a head-on collision.
Both Ternahan, a Frankford, Delaware, resident and Briscoe, a Laurel, Delaware, resident, were pronounced dead at the scene. Ternahan was wearing her seatbelt while Briscoe was not.
Both of Briscoe’s daughters were “properly restrained” in the truck and were taken by ambulance to a local hospital and admitted in critical condition.
As noted in the report, it’s unknown if alcohol played a factor in the two-car crash. The State Police are still investigating and are requesting any witnesses contact them with more information.
Wednesday morning, Ashley Pugh, wife of Jay and mother of the family’s children, posted on Facebook that one of the daughters mentioned above was undergoing back surgery while the other is in stable condition.
A segment on Tuesday’s episode of NXT was changed after it was learned that Jay Briscoe passed away in a car accident.
As first reported by John Pollock, New Day’s Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston were set to host a funeral segment for Pretty Deadly on the show. However, the decision was made by management to scrap the segment after news of Briscoe’s passing became known.
New Day, Pretty Deadly, and Gallus were all involved in a promo segment on the show instead. The three teams ended up in a pull-apart and have since been booked in a triple-threat title match for Vengeance Day. Prior to the segment, Vic Joseph and Booker T announced the news of Briscoe’s passing and offered condolences to his family.
On Wednesday, Jay Briscoe’s wife, Ashley Pugh, asked fans to pray for their daughter Gracie, who was headed into surgery due to injuries suffered in the accident. She also said that the couple’s other daughter Jayleigh has “some pretty serious injuries, but is stable and resting.”
Jay Briscoe’s wife posted an update to Facebook Wednesday asking for prayers for their children following a fatal Tuesday evening car crash that took her husband’s life.
Ashley Pugh said her daughter, Gracie, is having surgery on her back and asked for people to “pray for her precious legs to move again!” She said her other daughter, Jayleigh, has “some pretty serious injuries, but is stable and resting” while the couple’s other child Gannon is waiting for them at home.
Details are still light on what exactly happened in the aforementioned crash in Laurel, Delaware, Tuesday around 5:30 PM Eastern that took the life of the 38-year-old Briscoe (Jamin Pugh) and another person that has yet to be identified other than they were also driving a vehicle involved in the crash.
Out of respect for the family, the Laurel School District closed their schools Wednesday.
There was an outpouring of love for Briscoe and his family on social media Tuesday following the news, coming from all corners of the wrestling world including dozens and dozens of wrestlers and executives from WWE, AEW, the former ROH regime, Japan, and more.
Tributes from all around the pro wrestling community have poured in following the untimely death of Jamin Pugh, better known as Jay Briscoe, on Tuesday.
Following news of Briscoe’s death in a car accident at the age of 38, Vic Joseph took a moment to send condolences to the family of Briscoe on Tuesday’s NXT. Triple H and Shawn Michaels on Twitter also paid tribute to Briscoe.
AEW and ROH shared the same message on social media.
“It is with a heavy heart that we mourn the tragic passing of Jamin Pugh, known to wrestling fans around the world as Jay Briscoe,” they wrote. “Our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and his fans.”
Both Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler of FTR shared messages on social media following word of Briscoe’s death. FTR and The Briscoes competed for the ROH World Tag Team titles across three ROH events in 2022, culminating in a dog collar match last month at Final Battle, which saw The Briscoes win the titles for the thirteenth time.
Other promotions paid tribute to Briscoe, including Impact, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling NOAH, and Stardom. Mark and Jay Briscoe previously held the GHC Jr. Tag Team titles and both the Impact and IWGP Tag Team titles.
IMPACT is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jay Briscoe. Jay will always be remembered as a trailblazer who, with his brother Mark, left it in the ring every night. We send our sincere condolences to his family, who he loved beyond words, as well as his friends and fans. pic.twitter.com/Xtpcv9wgHy
Stars from across AEW, ROH, WWE, and elsewhere also paid tribute.
Jay was one of those people who was always legitimately happy to see ya. He had a twinkle in his eye and hug waiting for me no matter how long we went without seeing each other. I’m crushed knowing that warmth is gone. My thoughts are with his family and friends. He was special.
After I signed with WWE, Jay would come to the Salisbury house shows to drink beer and to hoot and holler. He loved the business and he was a great human and friend. Bigger than that he was an absolutely adoring father and husband.
Being in the ring with Jay Briscoe got me my first ROH contract. He and Mark being so selfless helped Jimmy and I find our footing as AOTF. Without him, I don’t know if Tyler Black could ever have been Seth Rollins.
Jay Briscoe (Jamin Pugh) was a real one. Every time we saw each other we’d both light up and hug one another. My condolences and prayers go out to his loved ones. Rest In Peace my brother.
— ROCKY ROMERO🇵🇷 🇲🇽 🇺🇸 🇯🇵“Chico El Luchador” (@azucarRoc) January 18, 2023
Devastating news. My heart breaks for Jay Briscoe’s family.
Jay Briscoe showed me respect and love when everyone told me he wouldn't. If you knew Jay, you knew he would uplift everyone in that locker room regardless of whatever world they came to wrestling from. The best. Rest easy, brother.
Jay Briscoe was one of the toughest men I ever had the privilege of sharing a ring with, as well as being a tremendous brother, father, and man. I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to know him and wrestle him as often as I did. Rest in Peace, Jay, I love you.#RIPJayBriscoepic.twitter.com/6ZxNfgPcmw
Ring of Honor wrestler Jay Briscoe and one other person died Tuesday evening after a fatal car crash in Laurel, Delaware.
While details are still limited at this time, Delaware State Police did report that the crash occurred in the area of Laurel Road and Little Hill Road around 5:30 PM Eastern.
It’s unknown how many vehicles were involved, but the driver of another car involved also died.
According to an initial report on the Shore News Beacon, “four patients were trapped.” There were two fatalities and “two critical patients” with one referenced as pediatric.
Briscoe (born Jamin Pugh) was set to turn 39 later this month.
Due to the tragic accident, the Laurel School District is closing their schools Wednesday.
AEW & ROH head Tony Khan tweeted the news several hours afterward:
Sadly, Jamin Pugh has passed away. Known to fans as Jay Briscoe, he was a star in ROH for over 20 years, from the first show until today. Jay and his brother Mark dominated ROH, reigning as champions to this day. We'll do whatever we can to support his family. Rest In Peace Jamin
A fixture in ROH for 20 years, Briscoe and his brother, Mark, started making a name for themselves in the early 2000s in the Northeast U.S. indie scene working for CZW, NWA Wildside, NWA and other promotions.
But it was in ROH that the Sandy Fork, Delaware, natives became tag team stars synonymous with the promotion. The two first won their ROH Tag Team titles in 2003 and had just begun their 13th reign at December’s Final Battle by defeating FTR in a double dog collar match.
In addition to holding the company’s Six-Man titles with Bully Ray in 2017, Jay Briscoe also was a two-time ROH World Champion. first holding the gold in 2013 and then for a longer run in 2014 through 2015.
He and Mark wrestled around the world and held the IWGP Tag Team titles, the GCW Tag Team titles three times, the Impact Tag Team titles, and the NEVER Openweight Tag Team titles to name just a few.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including AEW tonight, Jay Briscoe apologizes, RAW and NXT TV reviews from the past couple of days, Regal on Jericho’s podcast, astronomy and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Jay Briscoe again apologized for past homophobic tweets that has reportedly prevented he and brother, Mark, from being hired in either WWE and AEW.
Fightful first had the transcription of the interview from the Battlegrounds podcast, but the episode was temporarily taken down and returned on Thursday afternoon.
Fightful reported last week that a “person of influence” within WarnerMedia didn’t want the reigning Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions signed to AEW because of Jay’s 2013 tweets.
When asked about the report, Jay didn’t specifically address whether AEW had shown interest but did again apologize for his actions in 2013, saying that he thought he “was taking a stand for the Lord back in the day.”
“I put out a stupid tweet nine years ago — the most dumbest, immature, obnoxious shit I have ever done. I don’t want anybody, from any walk of life, to feel like they can’t care for the Briscoes because I promise we love everybody. We love everybody and we just want to go out there and be pro wrestlers and give the best match that we can,” he said.
“I said some dumb shit a long time ago, I apologized for it and I’ll apologize for it again. It was stupid. I feel like now there are people who look at us like, ‘We can’t cheer for them because they hate a certain group of people.’ We don’t hate nobody. We love everybody. We’re just some country boys.” he continued.
Mark then said the comments were from immaturity and that they were counterproductive to what God wants which is to be a human being and relate to others with love.
Jay then said “we’re not like that” when it comes to fans labeling them a certain way.
The two have remained busy since ROH closed operations at the end of December, working for GCW, House of Glory, Warrior Wrestling and other indies, Now that AEW head Tony Khan purchased ROH, the two await their fate in whatever Khan has planned for his new asset.
The most decorated tag team in Ring of Honor history are the first inductees into the promotion’s Hall of Fame.
ROH has announced that The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) are the first inductees of the promotion’s inaugural Hall of Fame class. They’re the first of four acts who will be part of the class.
The Briscoes started with ROH when the promotion was launched in 2002. The establishment of the ROH Hall of Fame is in celebration of the promotion’s 20th anniversary.
The Briscoes are 12-time ROH Tag Team Champions, including currently holding the titles. Their 12th reign began when they won the titles from The OGK (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) at December’s Final Battle pay-per-view.
Jay Briscoe is also a two-time ROH World Champion.
The ROH TV episode that airs this coming weekend will focus on The Briscoes’ careers, and a special on The Briscoes will premiere on ROH’s YouTube channel on Monday, February 7.
A special Hall of Fame episode of ROH TV will premiere the weekend of Saturday, March 5.
The next three Hall of Fame inductees will be revealed on Monday, February 7, Monday, February 14, and Monday, February 21.
ROH has been on hiatus for the first quarter of 2022 as it works to “reimagine” the company. It will return with Supercard of Honor being held in Garland, Texas this April.
Location: Baltimore, Maryland and Sandy Fork, Delaware
The Big Takeaway —
Jonathan Gresham continued his domination of the Pure division by retaining his title against Fred Yehi. In the main event, the Briscoe brothers fought out their differences on their family farm.
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Quinn McKay welcomed us to the broadcast and ran down the card. Tonight’s episode features Jonathan Gresham defending his ROH Pure Championship against Fred Yehi. Also, The Briscoe brothers will face off in the “Fight on the Farm.”
McKay recapped last week’s episode and officially announced that Bandido will challenge for Rush’s ROH World Championship at Sunday’s Best in the World pay-per-view.
McKay also announced that Mike Bennett will challenge for the Pure Championship at the PPV. But Jonathan Gresham and Fred Yehi will first have to battle it out for the title on tonight’s episode.
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ROH Pure Champion Jonathan Gresham defeated Fred Yehi to retain his title (12:16)
Mike Bennett was on commentary for this match.
Yehi seemed to overwhelm Gresham in the beginning with his aggressiveness. Both men had an arm drag contest that spilled to the outside and continued on the arena floor, but it led to a stalemate. This led into a commercial break.
Back from the break and Yehi continued to frustrate Gresham with his aggressiveness. The match got really grimy at this point, with Yehi rubbing his wristband in Gresham’s face. The bout also picked up some speed, with multiple moves being countered and both guys duking it out at high speed.
Yehi’s frustration began to get the best of him, allowing Gresham to capitalize on his mistakes. Yehi missed a few key stomps, which allowed Gresham to pick his ankle and roll him into a schoolboy pin for a three count.
Gresham held the Pure title in Yehi’s face after the match, teasing a bit of a more heel-like side.
Gresham’s post-match interview featured him telling Yehi to go back to wrestling school, and telling Mike Bennett that he doesn’t have a lick of respect for him.
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Fight on the Farm: Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe
Both brothers started out in a ring that stands in a warehouse on their farm. Papa Briscoe seemed to be the referee for this fight.
Mark went for a dive onto Jay on the outside but was clocked with a frying pan instead. Jay then swung a shovel at Mark, but Mark moved out of the way. Papa informed them to get back in the ring, to which they did.
Mark went to the top rope and was looking for a frog splash, but Jay shoved him off the top and he went crashing into a table.
The fight took itself out of the warehouse at this point, with both guys kicking and punching each other while walking. Jay smacked Mark with a giant metal water bowl and then set up a plank of wood on the bed of his truck. Jay was looking to put Mark through this, but Mark low blowed Jay and put him through it instead.
The brothers then climbed to the top of a RV. They traded a few forearms before Jay threw Mark off the RV onto a tarped structure. Jay climbed down and tossed Mark in the bed of his truck and commanded that the cameraman ride with him.
Jay had some pop music playing in the truck, which only added to the humor. Jay drove to the other side of the farm where he said he was going to compost his brother.
Mark attacked Jay the second he got out of the truck, then clocked him with a real estate sign. Mark then set Jay on a table beneath a roofed structure before climbing the structure and hitting a splash onto his brother through the table.
Papa Briscoe helped both brothers up and walked them back to the ring. Both Briscoes eventually made it back to their feet and started slugging it out, all while Papa repeatedly screamed “You good yet?” multiple times. This was really stiff and hard hitting.
Eventually, Mark clotheslined Jay and it sent both brothers crashing to the mat. Papa Briscoe asked them one more time if they were “good yet,” to which both brothers replied yes.
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Final Thoughts —
This was a very fun episode of ROH TV leading into the Best in the World PPV, which is taking place this Sunday.
Jonathan Gresham and Fred Yehi had a fun match that I think the company will revisit in the future. While being a good match, I think they definitely left some stuff out for a potential bigger rematch down the line. I hope Yehi is a mainstay in the Pure division — he’s really entertaining.
The Fight on the Farm was just a load of fun. I know that cinematic matches are quite controversial in the wrestling world, but I personally enjoy the hell out of them. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Matt Taven/Vincent cinematic match back at the 19th Anniversary PPV, this was really fun and had some great spots involved. Adding Papa Briscoe to the equation only made for a more enjoyable time.
In recent weeks I’ve introduced a scale in order to let you know if the current week of TV is worth your while. The scale is as follows:
Must-Watch TV
Go Out Of Your Way
Recommended Viewing
Watch YouTube Clips
Avoid At All Costs
This week’s episode of ROH TV is: Go Out Of Your Way
Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe are set for another match against each other — but this time it will take place on their family farm.
ROH has announced that Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe in the “Fight on the Farm” will air on the ROH TV episode that premieres the weekend of Saturday, July 3. In storyline, The Briscoes’ father Papa Briscoe is again trying to get Jay and Mark to settle their differences by facing each other.
Mark defeated Jay by countout when they faced off in the main event of ROH TV’s 500th episode this April. Jay & Mark then teamed up against EC3 & Flip Gordon on ROH TV in May, but EC3 & Gordon won when Gordon hit Mark with Jay’s chain.
A video aired on the latest ROH TV episode with Jay and Mark in front of the ring at their farm. Jay blamed Mark for their loss against EC3 & Gordon. Papa Briscoe then walked up and said Jay and Mark still haven’t gotten things right between them. Papa Briscoe said they’ll get things right old-school style with a Fight on the Farm.
