Gracie Pugh, the daughter of Jay Briscoe, has shared details of her recovery, over a year after the tragic car accident that took her father’s life. Briscoe was killed in the accident in January 2023, mere minutes from his home in Laurel, Delaware. His daughters Gracie and Jayleigh were seriously injured in the crash.
Speaking with the Central Worship Center, Gracie, the elder daughter, spoke about her recovery, and being told that a year after the accident, her nerves would stop healing. Undeterred, Gracie, with her family’s encouragement, pushed to recover beyond the one-year milestone and has been able to return to her passion for cheerleading.
“I could start to jog again and then I tried to tumble more and like even two weeks ago, I could go back up on my toes.”
Gracie’s faith has played a large part of remaining positive in her recovery, as has her knowledge in what her father would want for her if he was still alive.
“I just had to remember that my dad would never want me to be in a wheelchair… He would want us to keep pushing through.”
Instead of life in a wheelchair, Gracie Pugh can not only walk, but is jogging, tumbling, and rebuilding her life after the most difficult of circumstances. Our thoughts remain with Gracie an the Pugh family at this time.
Chris Jericho held the ROH World Championship for a handful of months in 2022, in Jericho’s first-ever title reign as part of the promotion. Now, Jericho plans on holding the gold again, and used some shocking tactics to get into the head of champion Mark Briscoe.
On Dynamite’s fifth anniversary, Jericho hosted a Learning Tree segment in the ring with Big Bill and Bryan Keith. Now dubbing himself ‘The Nueve’ Jericho challenged Briscoe to a ROH World Championship match at AEW WrestleDream.
Briscoe came out to accept the match, adding that Jericho’s recent victory over him came thanks to interference by Big Bill. It was here that Jericho sunk to a new low as he said that Mark Briscoe couldn’t beat him before stating that his brother, Jay Briscoe, could have. Jericho went on to say that everyone knows that Mark will never be as good as Jay was. Mark responded by dropping Jericho with a shot to the jaw and promised a Briscoe brother-style ass-whooping at WrestleDream.
Chris Jericho made his challenge to #ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe for #AEWWrestleDream way too personal.
Jay Briscoe sadly passed in January 2023 in a car crash, mere minutes from his home in Laurel, Delaware. Tributes to Jay have poured in from the wrestling world and a locker room was named in his memory at the school where his daughters, who were injured in the crash, attend.
The loss of his brother left Mark contemplating retirement, but the remaining Briscoe has not only continued in the ring but is thriving as ROH World Champion. Stay tuned to SEScoops for all the latest from AEW WrestleDream including breaking news and live results.
Step aside Roux, King Maxel, and Liberty, cause a new king of cuteness is in town.
ROH presented the 21st annual Death Before Dishonor PPV last night from the Esports Stadium in Arlington, Texas featuring 7 different title matches.
The main event of the show saw Mark Briscoe defending the ROH World Heavyweight Championship against Roderick Strong. The Kingdom tried to interfere in the bout but Kyle O’Reilly and Tomohiro Ishii helped make the numbers even, and Briscoe came out victorious at the end.
The retaining champion commented on his win in a new backstage video, which was made even special by the on-screen debut of baby Jay Briscoe:
The legacy of Jay Briscoe
Jay Briscoe was one of the longest-tenured talents of ROH. He was part of the company for 19 of its 22 year history.
Along with his brother Mark, Jay helped put the company on the map in many ways and the brothers won the ROH tag team championship a record 13 times during his career.
The wrestling veteran unfortunately passed away in a car crash in January 2023, at the age of 38. The whole wrestling world came together to pay tribute to the deceased star.
Mark Briscoe has continued to honor his brother’s legacy in many ways. He introduced the world to his youngest son Matthew Jamin Pugh in April this year, named after the late Jay Briscoe.
AEW: Ring of Honor?
The struggling ROH brand has found new life under Tony Khan’s leadership since he bought the company in 2022. Death Before Dishonor was another good example of it.
They have been steadily regrowing the interest in the brand by adding names such as Athena, The Von Erichs and Mark Briscoe to the list of talents regularly competing under the Ring of Honor banner.
One thing that has evaded the company still despite best efforts from Khan, however, is a TV deal. Despite featuring ROH talents and championships prominently on AEW TV, Tony has so far failed to convince a TV station to pick up the show.
Though the ROH President floated a very interesting idea for the brand during the post-Death Before Dishonor media scrum last night. He suggested that the show could be brought under the AEW banner to increase its value and finally find a TV partner. You can check out TK’s comments here.
Ring of Honor World Champion Mark Briscoe is celebrating the birth of his son who has been named in tribute to Mark’s late brother Jay.
Taking to Twitter, Mark shared some photos of Matthew Jamin Pugh and declared that ‘God is Good.’ The Jamin name comes from Jay Briscoe, whose real name was Jamin Pugh.
Jay Briscoe passed away in January 2023 after being involved in a car accident mere minutes from his home in Laurel, Delaware. Jay’s two daughters were seriously injured in the collision but have been making strides in their recovery. The driver of the other vehicle was also killed in the crash.
It is a tragedy that young Matthew Jamin Pugh will never meet the uncle who he is named after. Despite this, Jay Briscoe’s legacy continues to live on, both in the wrestling world and in the Pugh household.
More on Mark Briscoe:
Here are some articles about Mark Briscoe and what he has accomplished as of late in the world of professional wrestling:
Mark Briscoe was sure his days in the ring were over when his brother Jay died, though has been motivated to carry on for Jay’s sake.
Jay Briscoe passed away in January 2023 after being involved in a car accident mere minutes from his home in Laurel, Delaware. Jay’s two daughters were seriously injured in the collision but have been making strides in their recovery. The driver of the other vehicle was also killed in the crash.
Mark Briscoe was Ready to Retire
Jay’s death was of course a massive blow to Mark, who lost both his brother and his tag team partner. Speaking to Under the Ring recently, Mark shared that for a brief moment, he was ready to retire.
“That was my first thought. My very first thought was, I’m not ever wrestling again… My initial reaction was, I’m never wrestling again, I don’t ever wanna wrestle again.”
Mark clarified that it didn’t take long for him to change his stance, as continuing in the ring is what his brother would’ve wanted.
“It really didn’t take long at all for me to reconsider and change my mind there once I got thinking about what he’d want me to do… I gotta carry on for him.”
Mark Briscoe has the chance to win the Ring of Honor World Championship, eleven years to the very day that his brother Jay won the very same title in 2013.
Mark will challenge ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston at Supercard of Honor 2024, Ring of Honor confirmed this week. In a video, Mark spoke about having to re-establish himself following his brother’s passing last year.
In a direct message to Kingston, Briscoe said that he knows that the pair of them have faced setbacks and referenced Kingston’s recent AEW Continental title loss to Kazuchika Okada. Borrowing the words his brother told him, Mark said that for Eddie Kingston, it’s “time to man up.”
11 years to the day! Mark Briscoe (@SussexCoChicken) is coming for the #ROH World Title at Supercard of Honor!
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) March 28, 2024
Jay Briscoe’s Championship Win
Jay Briscoe won the ROH World Championship at ROH Supercard of Honor 2013 with a main event victory over Kevin Steen (today WWE’s Kevin Owens.) Jay would hold the title for 89 days before the gold was vacated due to a storyline injury to Briscoe. He would win the gold back at the All-Star Extravaganza VI event in September 2014.
ROH Supercard of Honor 17
Here is the card for ROH Supercard of Honor 17 as it currently stands:
Eddie Kingston (c) vs. Mark Briscoe (Ring of Honor World Championship)
Athena (c) vs. Hikaru Shida (Ring of Honor Women’s World Championship)
Mina Shirakawa, Maika, and Mei Seira vs. Saya Kamitani, Tam Nakano, and AZM (STARDOM Showcase Tag-Team Match)
Kyle Fletcher (c) vs. Lee Johnson (Ring of Honor World Television Championship)
Billie Starkz vs. Queen Aminata (Tournament finals to crown the inaugural Ring of Honor Women’s World Television Champion)
AEW has yet to establish its own Hall of Fame, but Tony Khan has a clear image of who he’d like to see be the first two inductees.
While WWE’s Hall of Fame opened its (hypothetical) doors in 1993 with the induction of Andre the Giant, AEW hasn’t created its own way of acknowledging talent of the past. It’s not hard to see why as, at five years old, the promotion is still relatively young.
AEW’s Hall of Fame
Tony Khan addressed the possibility of a recent interview with Comic Book, Tony Khan discussed a possible AEW Hall of Fame. While Khan didn’t confirm that any plans were in place, he did know who he’d like to see inducted.
“Certainly the first two people that come to mind that we would have to honor would be Sting and Mr. Brodie Lee. Two of the greatest champions and two of the greatest people we’ve ever had in AEW, and in very different circumstances.”
Khan added that he’d like to see somebody inducted who never got the chance to compete in an AEW ring, that being Jay Briscoe.
“He was my friend and was friends with a lot of people in the locker room. He was one of the greatest wrestlers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”
We don’t know when (if ever) AEW will set up a Hall of Fame, but WWE will induct it’s 2024 class in just over two weeks. Paul Heyman, the US Express, Bull Nakano, Thunderbolt Patterson, and Muhammad Ali have been announced for this year’s class.
One year ago, the wrestling world was stunned by the death of Jay Briscoe (Jamin Pugh). He and his brother, Mark, were 13-time ROH Tag Team Champions. They last competed together just a few weeks earlier at ROH’s Final Battle.
At the time of the accident, Jay had his daughters in the car with him. Youngest daughter, Jayleigh, sustained serious injuries. She had to wear a neck brace and an external fixator for several weeks.
Gracie had back surgery the morning after the accident. Following surgery, she needed outpatient rehab five days a week. Last February, a family friend stated that Gracie was walking with assistance, although she didn’t have full movement below her knee.
On Dynamite, the Pugh family was in the audience. Mark came out to talk about the anniversary of his brother’s death.
“My nieces were in the truck with them. Tragically, they told my oldest niece they were injured severely. They told my oldest niece, ‘you’ll never walk again.’ However…dammit. God is on the throne! We Dem Boyz, dammit! We won’t stop because we can’t stop! We ain’t going nowhere! We thank every one of y’all from the bottom of our heart and we love y’all, man. God bless y’all.”
Over the last year, Mark has been wrestling primarily as a singles wrestler. He has called this his rookie year as a singles competitor. Mark splits his time between AEW and his beloved ROH.
You can check out the top 25 selling wrestlers on PW Tees below.
Happy New Year! Check out the 2023 PWT Top 25 Selling Wrestlers. This includes all merchandise sold on PWTees & ShopAEW. We wish Jay were here to see his photo at the top of this list ??. pic.twitter.com/js1ZoAsMkQ
The future of the Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championships has been made clear after the tragic passing of Jay Briscoe earlier this year.
In January, Jay died in a car accident minutes from his home in Laurel, Delaware at the age of 38.
The accident resulted in the death of the driver of the other vehicle, and Jay’s daughters Jayleigh and Grace have both had to undergo surgery.
ROH World Tag Team Championships
Since Jay’s passing, Mark Briscoe has continued to be promoted as an ROH World Tag Team Champion during his appearances on AEW and ROH programming.
During this week’s taping of AEW Rampage (which is set to air on March 10,) Mark announced that a ‘Reach for the Sky’ Ladder match will decide the next champions.
The match is set to occur at Ring of Honor’s upcoming pay-per-view, Supercard of Honor on Friday, March 31, 2023.
It was also confirmed that former AEW World Tag Team Champions the Lucha Bros. will be part of this match.
The Briscoes
Considered to be the greatest tag team in the history of Ring of Honor, the Briscoes wowed fans for years with their no-nonsense style.
Together, Mark and Jay became 13-time ROH World Tag Team Champions, with their most recent win coming at Final Battle last December.
The pair also held the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championships at one time with Bully Ray, and are seven-time ROH Year-End award winners.
In addition to Jay’s two reigns as ROH World Champion, the brothers were inducted into the ROH Hall of Fame in 2022.
Jay Briscoe’s (Jamin Pugh) daughter, Gracie, was released from the hospital last week.
According to a Facebook post by family friends, Gracie will be undergoing outpatient rehab five days a week. She is able to walk with assistance, but hasn’t fully regained movement below the knee.
“Her muscles in her legs are really starting to fire up, so they want to keep it a very intense therapy,” the update said. “This girl has went from nothing to doing some assisted walking. We’re still going to pray hard for movement below the knee, because it’s not where it needs to be. The doctors can feel her trying to move her ankles and toes and stuff, but we’re just not getting that movement yet. But things are progressing I would say ahead of schedule.” (h/t Wrestling Observer)
His youngest daughter, Jayleigh, went home from the hospital earlier this month. She doesn’t have to wear a neck brace anymore. However, she has to continue wearing a back brace and external fixator for four weeks.
Last Saturday, Dijak challenged Wes Lee for the NXT North American Championship at NXT Vengeance Day.
While he came up short in his quest to get the title and suffered a gruesome looking injury, he is doing something really cool. Dijak wore a custom entrance jacket that read “Reach for the Sky” in red font.
He tweeted “At Vengeance Day I was very proud to honor the legacy of my friend Jay Briscoe.” Dijak announced that he will be auctioning off the jacket with 100% of the funds going to the Pugh (Briscoe) family.
At Vengeance Day I was very proud to honor the legacy of my friend Jay Briscoe. I am auctioning my ring worn jacket to raise money for his family. Visit https://t.co/krSvzZ7ard for more details or submit a bid to maniaclubauctions@gmail.com. Silent auction ends 2/14 @ 10pm EST. pic.twitter.com/v1vYBXxR7s
In addition to the entrance-worn ring jacket, the auction winner will also be followed by Dijak on a “social media platform.” The silent auction is open until 10 PM ET on February 14.
To place a bid, go to this Facebook page for details. You can also submit your bid at maniaclubauctions@gmail.com.
Dijak tweeted on February 15 that $3000 was donated directly to the Pugh family. He also thanked Triple H, Shawn Michaels, WWE, and NXT for allowing him to honor his friend.
And a special thanks to @ShawnMichaels, @TripleH, and everyone else involved in @WWE and @WWENXT for allowing me this platform to pay tribute to my friend. Also @MANIACLUBWWE for helping me to organize the fundraiser. Eternally grateful.
Nearly two weeks after his death, Jay Briscoe’s funeral service took place on Sunday. His family allowed the service to air via livestream on YouTube.
His funeral comes several days after Jay’s brother, Mark, was finally allowed to wrestle on AEW television. Mark and Jay Lethal asked to honor Jay on what would’ve been his 39th birthday. The match closed out last Wednesday’s Dynamite. AEW was also finally able to air a video package for Jay.
Jay Briscoe’s “Celebration of Life”
On Wrestling Observer Radio, it was revealed that Tony Khan got a jet to take talent that worked yesterday’s Dark tapings to Jay’s funeral if they wished to attend.
There was representation for multiple companies at the funeral. Roderick Strong assisted Jay Lethal in a 10-bell salute.
Roderick Strong assisted Jay Lethal in doing the 10-bell salute before the Jay Briscoe funeral service started. ?? pic.twitter.com/F1KJltmu0h
One story shared was that Jay began using the catchphrase, “Reach for the sky, boy” because Woody in Toy Story said that when his string was pulled. He would always cry when watching the movie with his kids.
During his funeral service right now, it was discussed that Jay Briscoe’s “Reach for the Sky” catchphrase was actually from Toy Story (he would always cry when watching it) and I don’t know if there is a better way to explain who Jamin Pugh was as a person than that.
Mark Briscoe was allowed to compete on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, but only after a lot of pushback from Warner Bros. Discovery.
In the main event of the show, Briscoe defeated Jay Lethal in a tribute match to Mark’s brother Jay, who died earlier this month.
It has been reported that the match was not approved until the day before Dynamite and that multiple segments were shortened to give the main event plenty of time
Warner Bros. Discovery Ban
Jay Briscoe unfortunately never got the chance to compete on AEW TV, due to a ban against the brothers implemented by Warner Bros. Discovery.
This ban was due to controversial tweets made by Jay a decade ago, comments that Briscoe would apologize for and explain as part of his heel character.
This week’s emotional tribute show to Jay Briscoe was a huge night for AEW, but wasn’t approved until very late in the game.
Briscoe died last Tuesday in a car accident, mere minutes from his home in Laurel, Delaware. He was 38.
Both Jay and Mark had previously been banned by WBD from appearing on AEW programming over controversial comments Jay made a decade ago.
Tribute Show
This week’s show went off well, but there were several changes made to the show before it went live.
Fightful Select reports that prior to Tuesday, it didn’t appear that Mark Briscoe’s match against Jay Lethal was happening.
AEW had to move “many things around” to make the match a reality, and Ian Riccaboni was flown in just hours before the show.
The AEW TNT Championship match between Darby Allin and Buddy Matthews was the originally scheduled main event of the show.
That match had some time trimmed to add to the Briscoe-Lethal match, and the same happened with the Acclaimed’s therapy segment.
One source said it was impressive how they were able to provide Mark Briscoe and Jay Lethal as much time as they needed without compromising anything else that was advertised.
Dalton Castle was at the show and came to sit front row to cheer on Mark Briscoe, who defeated Lethal in the main event.
Those working in AEW who spoke to Fightful said they were very happy with how the show went.
Mark Briscoe believes that Jay Briscoe is not truly gone and he has just moved on to the next higher level of existence. Now it’s time to wrestle for him.
The ROH veteran addressed the passing of his brother in a video published on Caprice Coleman’s Twitter account. He mentioned that he wouldn’t have been able to continue wrestling this long, if his brother was not with him:
“Ain’t no way I’ve been wanting to do this for this long if ain’t have my boy with me this whole time. But now, it’s time to carry on for him. Family is beyond. This life is temporary. Let’s focus on the eternal, not the temporal.”
Jay Briscoe passed away in an unfortunate car accident on January 17. The wrestling world has since come together to mourn the loss and pay tribute to the ROH legend.
Mark Brisoce: “He Ain’t Gone”
Mark Briscoe mentioned how Jay is not with him in person. Though the late star is still in his heart and knowing that has helped him keep going:
“He’s still with me right here [points to his heart]. He ain’t gone. If I thought he was gone, I wouldn’t be no good. I know he ain’t gone. I know he just moved on to the next higher level of existence. You know what I mean? That’s what keeps me going and keeps me pushing forward.”
– Mark Briscoe
AEW presented a tribute show for Jay Briscoe on this week’s Dynamite. You can check out the tribute video they put together below:
The wrestling world is in mourning following the death of Jay Briscoe, but that is no excuse to harass the family of the other driver killed in last Tuesday’s accident.
Briscoe, 38, was killed in a vehicular collision mere minutes from his home in Laurel, Delaware and his daughters (who were in the car) were also seriously injured.
Delaware State Police confirmed that another driver crossed the center line and collided with Jay’s vehicle head-on and that they too were killed in the accident.
Harassment
While the wrestling world has come out in support of Briscoe and the Pugh family, the response to the other victim’s family has been far more hostile.
Lillyanne Ternahan, a mother of two, was the driver of the other vehicle, and her family has been on the receiving end of hurtful comments.
Josh Wharton, a friend of the Pugh family, addressed these attacks on Facebook, and made it clear he and the Pughs are against such comments.
“It’s been a tough week for our community, but also has been heartwarming to see the outpouring of love towards the Pugh family during this tragedy. Once again-Jamin touched so many lives across the world and that has been evident by the daily tributes, comments and love we’ve all witnessed. The girls are still progressing, as God continues to hear all of our prayers.
“Unfortunately this has not been the case for the other family, as there have been numerous rumors and information out there which has led to attacking/degrading comments on social media that the family has seen. Her children will read these at some point.
“Jamin, Ashley, the Pugh family, myself and K.c. do not stand for this. In a time of tragedy, pointing fingers does not reverse what has been done.
“The driver of the other vehicle has 2 young children, and we all should be showing the same love and compassion for them as we have done for the Pugh’s. Be reminded that their world has also been turned upside down undeservingly, and there is a huge hole left in their family.
“I am sincerely asking that everyone stop with the negative comments and feelings towards them. Let me remind you all that none of us, and I know myself better than anyone-have things we are not proud of. We all struggle with something.
“To judge an entire life by the outcome of this tragedy is not who we are. Only love can conquer hate. Instead of expressing harsh feelings, pray for them.”
Our thoughts remain with the Pughs and the Ternahan family at this sad time.
A donation page for the Pugh family can be found here, and a donation page for the Ternahan’s can be found here.
Eight days after Jay Briscoe’s shocking death, AEW was finally able to pay tribute to him with a video.
On the Dynamite following Briscoe’s death, AEW was not allowed to show any type of tribute video for him due to a long-standing decision by Warner Media Discovery. Commentary spoke about him and several wrestlers paid tribute to Briscoe throughout the night.
Jay Briscoe Tribute Video
On Tuesday, Tony Khan announced that Jay’s brother, Mark would be facing Jay Lethal on this week’s Dynamite. With this announcement, Dave Meltzer confirmed that AEW was cleared to pay tribute to Jay this week.
After the opening match, Excalibur spoke about Jay before this video aired. It features clips of his daughters, who were injured in the car accident.
All Elite Wrestling superstar Britt Baker won’t compete on tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite due to injury.
The company broke the news this morning on its Twitter account. AEW wanted Baker to compete in a 3-way match against Ruby Soho and Toni Storm on the Jan. 25 episode of AEW Dynamite. Since Baker is injured, Soho and Storm will compete in a singles match.
Due to injury, Dr. @RealBrittBaker D.M.D. will not be able to compete in the scheduled 3-Way Match on #AEWDynamite.
It’s unclear what the severity is of the injury or how long Baker will be out of action. Her last aired match was against Billie Starkz on AEW Dark on Jan. 24. Baker took a kick to the face that caused her nose to bleed during the match. AEW hasn’t shared if it’s a nose injury or if there is another issue.
AEW Dynamite Preview
The Jan. 25 episode of AEW Dynamite will be an emotional one. Tonight’s episode will have Mark Briscoe making his AEW debut against Jay Lethal in tribute to his late brother Jay, who tragically passed away last week. The significance of the match happening tonight is also because today would’ve been Jay’s 39th birthday.
The rest of the show will have exciting matchups. The Jan. 25 episode of AEW Dynamite will have TNT Champion Darby Allin defending the title against Buddy Mathews. The show will also continue the build to the main event of the AEW Revolution pay-per-view, MJF’s hand-picked opponent Brian Cage taking on Bryan Danielson.
You can check out our preview article here to see the rest of the AEW Dynamite card.
Mark Briscoe will still not be allowed to appear for All Elite Wrestling, even after the death of his brother Jay.
Jay Briscoe died in a car accident last week when a vehicle driving the other way swerved onto his lane, mere minutes from Jay’s home in Laurel, Delaware.
Briscoe was 38 at the time of his death, and his daughters, who were in the vehicle at the time, have since undergone surgery.
Controversy
The Briscoes were one of the most popular tag teams of their era but were banned from appearing for AEW.
The decision was made by AEW’s partners at Warner Bros. Discovery, who did not want the Briscoes given controversial statements from Jay’s past.
In June 2011, Jay stirred controversy when he tweeted “a lot of f*gs out in New York today,” and would share a similar homophobic message following Hurricane Irene.
When the Delaware Senate passed a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry in May 2013, Briscoe said “try and teach my kids that there’s nothing wrong with that and I’ll f*cking shoot you.”
After considerable backlash, Briscoe explained these comments as his redneck heel character, and did not reflect his personal beliefs on homosexuality.
Briscoe also agreed to donate his full salary from the next two shows to the Partners Against Hate charity.
In 2021, Ian Riccaboni said “If folks only knew how Jay supports and puts over all talent, specifically LGBTQ+ talent, as a leader in the locker room.”
Following his death this month, Dave Meltzer said that Briscoe was considered to have completely reformed his views on the LGBTQ+ community, and that he enjoyed the support of LGBTQ+ wrestlers.
Banned from AEW
Though it was Jay who made the comments that saw the Briscoes banned by WBD, his brother Mark will suffer the consequences.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alverez read asked if Mark will be allowed on AEW TV and to join the roster following Jay’s passing.
“I already know the answer. The answer is no. Okay? I can’t tell you more. It could change, but that is the answer.”
Dave Meltzer.
Both Meltzer and Alverez were evidently frustrated, and Meltzer said he hopes this changes.
Gracie has regained feeling below her knees, after being left with no movement below her waist and no sensations below her knees after the crash.
Her strength is said to be improving after working with physical and occupational therapists, and she was able to assist with her transfer into a wheelchair on Monday afternoon.
Jaleigh’s feeding tube was removed on Saturday night, and the nine-year-old was allowed to eat as much as she wanted on Sunday.
On Monday, she was able to get out of bed and stand up, and was able to spend some time with her older sister.
After returning to her bed, Jayleigh’s wound VAC (vacuum-assisted closure) on her abdominal incision was removed.
Mark Briscoe
Mark Briscoe wasn’t in the vehicle at the time of the crash, but has kept silent to the public since the accident.
In his update, Wharton shared a text message from Mark, reading “GOD IS ON THE THRONE.”
Wharton added that he spoke to Mark over the phone on Monday night and described him as “chipper” as can be given the circumstances.
Our thoughts remain with the Pugh family at this awful time.
The Young Bucks and The Briscoes have had a long history and spent many years together. After Jay Briscoe’s sudden passing last week, they weren’t even sure that they could wrestle the following night.
The latest episode of Being the Elitewas a tribute to their longtime friend and dancing partner. In the opening segment, the brothers talked about how they didn’t know how they could wrestle and that their hearts were broken and they were in shock. According to Nick, “today is completely voluntary for the wrestlers to come to the show.”
The Young Bucks Wanted The Briscoes in AEW
Nick said he told Matt that Jay’s death hurts more than his only own family members dying and he’s lost quite a few relatives over the last couple of years. Matt pointed out that “you go through this bond where you wrestle someone, it’s such an intimate experience. You go through war and there’s just so much pressure and you’re holding their life in your hand. When you get through that, it’s something nobody else understands unless you are a wrestler. And he was one of the good ones.”
Matt went on to say, “I remember when we first started AEW, we told them we started the tag division, we need the Lucha Brothers and we need the Briscoe brothers. We need those sets of brothers; the three best brother tag teams in the world. They were one of the first teams we tried to hire. We couldn’t get it done. But, I’m so glad they got to have their final little run in ROH. They got, as far as wrestling goes, go out in style.”
The Young Bucks did end up wrestling Top Flight that night where they paid tribute to Jay with black armbands and by doing a Doomsday Device in the match. After the match, they said they were so distracted that they forgot to bring out their Trios titles. Neither one remembered until they heard it mentioned on commentary that they won them the week prior. They also said that Mark texted them after their match because he watched their tribute.
After Dynamite, a tribute show was filmed for Jay. The show will air on Honor Club and on the ROH YouTube. The air date has not been announced.
The Last Rodeo may have come to an end, but Mickie James vows to make her latest run as Knockouts World Champion the most remarkable of her career.
On January 13th, the “Hardcore Country” legend put her career on the line against Jordynne Grace’s Knockouts Championship at IMPACT Wrestling’s Hard To Kill pay-per-view. The two battled feverishly in the main event, but ultimately, it was Mickie James who prevailed. With her win, James claimed her fifth title run in the company, becoming the brand-new Knockouts Champion.
Following her emotional victory, SEScoops correspondent Ella Jay spoke with Mickie James about her win at Hard To Kill, paying homage to her Native American roots, her thoughts on Mercedes Moné, memories of Jay Briscoe, her full-circle arch with Masha Slamovich, almost quitting in OVW, and more.
Watch Ella Jay’s full interview with Mickie James:
Here are some highlights on what Mickie James said about:
Winning The Knockouts Championship At IMPACT Hard To Kill:
“It’s not often that I’ll look back at a match and I go like, ‘okay, I was happy with that.’ It was a battle. I felt like I just started to feel normal a few days ago, and then we obviously just had [television] tapings again. But I walked in there, I was like ‘I just started feeling normal yesterday’ because we went to war.”
“I knew it had high expectations; a lot of people were excited for the match. I was excited for the match. I had never been in the ring with Jordynne before, and obviously I’ve watched her and she’s so impressive. She was a dominant champion, and I knew that this match — I wanted to give her the best of me that I had. I certainly didn’t want to disappoint her. I don’t think that she wanted to disappoint me, and it was just a lot. It was a very emotional, a very emotional night, I think, for myself and for her and for everyone.”
Paying Homage To Her Native American Roots In Her Hard To Kill Entrance:
“I’ve always wanted to be able to pay homage to my native roots and do it in a respectful way, and also just the awareness of indigenous culture. The fact that I was able to I asked the Chief if they would be willing to come down with the tribe and do the dance and that whole planning of like what song it was going to be and where he and Jody came up with pretty much the song that was a powerful kind of warrior song, but also the emotion and to pay the homage to my Mattaponi nation and my tribe especially now because they’re just doing so many monumental movements right now as far as like getting the federal recognition and this new tribal council, which my mom is a part of, and she was out there in the crowd and it was just beautiful.”
“I thought, if this is going to be my last match, then this is something I’d always wanted to do. The fact that IMPACT — and I went to Scott [D’Amore] with it — I knew it was asking a lot to be able to do something like this. IMPACT doesn’t do this a lot. They don’t do entrances like WrestleMania. You’ll get entrances like that at these big events, but IMPACT very rarely — they did the one with Samoa Joe I remember they did that with the dancers before — but it’s very rare that they’ll do something like this. So, it was a big deal. It was a big deal to get the tribe there. It was a big deal to kind of orchestrate it to where it looked, and it was presented in a very respectful way.”
“I feel like one reason why I never done a whole lot with my native culture in wrestling is because oftentimes, it’s just like in television, I just feel like it’s this false narrative of it’s a campy, comedic version of Native Americans or how we see them. We’re very much alive today in society. It’s just important to me to spread awareness and some love.”
Meeting Masha Slamovich Face-To-Face In IMPACT
Photo Credit: Do Photo Wrestling (DPW)
“This goes back to Empowerrr, when I invited her to Empowerrr …. and Masha just stood out to me so much because she was so different, and she was so impactful and crisp, and she was cool. She was cool and different. Then when I found out she’s legit. 100% Russian, speaks 100% Russian, I was like, ‘Whoa.’ Then to bring her to IMPACT Wrestling, which I didn’t expect her to get offered a contract that night [at Knockouts Knockdown], but to get brought to IMPACT Wrestling in that Pick Your Poison against Deonna, because obviously Deonna and I are — we’re ‘fight forever’ friends.”
“[I] brought her in for that to be my poison against Deonna, and she had such an impressive showing that Gail [Kim] came out and they offered her a contract right there. I was like, ‘Whoa, this is so cool.’ It was wonderful to see something — it helped validate, my eye for talent of going like, I thought she had something special. Then when it gets validated, on the spot, like right in front of you, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, this is such an amazing moment.’ It was just emotional to see that.”
“Then she’s dominated. She dominated since she walked in the door and she’s destroyed the competition, most women in that locker room. Except Jordynne Grace, because Jordynne Grace beat her. And who beat Jordynne Grace? I did. So, if Jordynne can beat Masha, I can beat Masha now.”
Almost Quitting In OVW
(via OVW)
“I always say in life, you’re going to be presented with — there’s going to be game changing moments in your life, and we don’t always recognize them, but they’re usually these real sit-down decision-making moments and what you choose then puts you down one path or the other, right? I feel like we should all be achieving our dreams and all doing the things that we love to do, and sometimes we get off path. But you feel happiest when you are doing those things, because it doesn’t feel like work.”
“A lot of times those hardships of like when you want to quit, when I wanted to quit in OVW and Tommy Dreamer is like, ‘you need to take a break. You need to go home and rethink this decision.’ He watched me from a year I had just been wrestling when I was getting those ECW tryouts and I was not good, but he had already watched me from there to then, this must have been 2004-ish.”
“It wasn’t that I wasn’t good. I was good, and I knew I was good. I think that’s why I was so upset and frustrated because I was like, ‘I know I’m good and I feel like I just want the opportunity, a chance’ I don’t understand why I’m down here training people. I know I’m better than all these people. So I just wanted an opportunity — I don’t mean like the girls on TV — I meant like the girls in developmental where we were. These are my friends and I love them, but most of them, they didn’t come from wrestling. So I was like, ‘Well, did I just come at this the wrong way? Should I have just went down a different path?’ Tried to be a model and then just kind of signed up for wrestling?
“[I thought], ‘because I love it so much or because I desire to be the best — is that the problem? Do I need to stop caring?’ It’s not in me to stop caring about it because I’ve just held myself to high standards. I think my grandma from horse training and showing did that at a young age. It was hard competing because you were competing against professionals all the time. I just wanted to be good, and I wanted to push yourself, and I think that that kind of created that foundation for everything else in life.”
“But nothing great comes without adversity. In fact, most times before you get — that’s where I say that’s what separates people, is that giving up or persevering through, which decision you make right there. Because most times that biggest test, that darkest moment happens right before the breakthrough, right? So, it’s like that last test of if overcoming this frickin’ hurdle that seems insurmountable before you get the blessing that you’ve been asking for. At least I feel like that’s been true for most parts of my life, and sometimes you don’t see it then, because you’re in it.”
How Her Mother Convinced Her Mother Not To Quit
“My mom wasn’t a wrestling fan. She liked Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat, but she wasn’t a wrestling fan. She didn’t love the fact that I was wrestling because she was terrified I was going to get hurt. I was living in Louisville. I was traveling all the time, like weekend warrior-ing it, not making any money, risking injury, no health insurance, all the things, until I got signed. But even then, I think at that point I’d been so committed, and she had asked me if I’d thought about other things, maybe I should consider other things or whatever prior to getting signed in developmental.”
“[She would ask] just more because she would see how disheartened I’d get every time I’d do a tryout and I’d get a no or they’d never call me back. She didn’t want me to feel bad or whatever. She was just being smart, think[ing] about other things. But when [Tommy] told me to go home, which was on the sly, like he didn’t tell my boss that he was letting me go home for a couple of weeks. We were going home for Christmas break anyway, so that was usually like two weeks. So, he let me go home about a week and a half, two weeks or so [early]. I ended up being home for almost a month and I was so homesick because I hadn’t been home for like, I don’t know, it was the longest had been away from my family.”
“I hadn’t been home for like two years, but it was her that as we’re sitting there and we’re talking and she was like about why I’m back early and why I’m staying so long and stuff. She’s the one who said, ‘I may not have loved your idea of it, but I see how much you love it.’ She goes, ‘I watch and I see. You shine out there and you are so good. Please don’t give up now. Don’t give up when you’re almost there because you’ll regret it the rest of your life.'”
“She goes, ‘I never went after the things that I love. A lot of us don’t even have the courage to do it, and you had the courage to go do that. Please don’t give up now. Just see it through. If they let you go, they let you go. You can do a million other things, but don’t quit. Don’t quit on it.’ And I was like, ‘okay.’ That’s really what it was, my mom.”
Mercedes Moné’s Journey To Free Agency
“I’m excited for her. I’ve said this, the world is her oyster. She can literally do whatever she wants. I think any company would benefit from having her on their roster. She is a star. The fact that she doesn’t need to be on a roster because she could go act or she could go do a lot of things, it shows that she has a genuine passion for wrestling and she’s great.”
“I’ve never had a singles match with Sasha [Banks] and I would really, really love to have a singles match with Mercedes. We could just book it at my house [in the barn]. I’ll send her the address. I’ll set up the ring.”
“I love her. I have so much love and respect for her, I do. I think she’s incredible. I’m excited to watch her journey, I really am. I’m excited too, because I feel she has an opportunity now to do it her way, and she wanted to do a lot of things, and now she gets to go do them, and she can go test herself against whoever she wants to and show up everywhere. That’s what I hope, she shows up everywhere. Come on over to IMPACT!”
Memories With Jay Briscoe
“I remember the Briscoes and it’s been so great to see them back, even like when they came to NWA or when they came to IMPACT and just seeing them back out in the scene. But I’ve known those guys since they were kids, since early Ring of Honor days. Obviously one of the greatest tag teams that’s ever been and them being brothers, I think really helped that because they just knew each other better than anybody else. To watch them, it was so seamless and beautiful and just perfect.”
“It was devastating [when Jay passed away]. I think it affected the whole wrestling community because you saw people from every company talking about it because this is a very full circle — wrestling is a very small circle sometimes, and we all have to go through the same places and through the climb up the same ladders together. You cross paths with a lot of people. Those friendships and those brotherhoods that you make along the way, you don’t forget those.”
“Even though we’re separated, doesn’t mean that they’re not important to us. I think that it’s sad. It’s really, really sad because he was so young and I feel like he had so much of a career left for him, but also he’s leaving his kids behind and his wife. It’s just devastating.”
“I just lost my brother, my oldest brother, not too long ago in a car accident. So, it was obviously it was a reminder about that. I called my family a lot and kind of spent the time some time home with D (her son) a little bit to reset. Who I’m feeling for is not just his wife and his kids, but his brother. They’ve been a tag team their whole lives. Not just in wrestling, their whole lives they’ve been a team. I’m sure there’s a bit of — I don’t know how he’s feeling right now and especially how he’s feeling about wrestling, but just I hope he is okay. It’s sad. It’s really sad. It’s sad, too, because I’m like, ‘God, that still felt like there’s so much more they could have done.'”
A new Jay Briscoe t-shirt is now available, with 100% of the proceeds going to the late star’s family. Briscoe (Jamil Pugh) passed away last week (January 17, 2023) in a tragic automobile accident. He was just 38.
The shirt is officially on sale by Ring of Honor at the Pro Wrestling Tees and ShopAEW stores. The description for the shirt reads:
“On January 17th, the wrestling world lost one of its most beloved family members when Jamin Pugh, known professionally as Jay Briscoe, tragically lost his life in an automobile accident. A member of the Ring of Honor family from the very beginning, Jay became a multi-time ROH World Champion, a 13-time ROH World Tag Team Champion, and a first-ballot ROH Hall of Famer with his brother Mark.
Together, The Briscoe Brothers were a part of ROH’s foundation, the heart and soul, and were essential in building that company into the most influential wrestling promotion of the last twenty years But more than that, the Pugh family lost a husband, a father, a brother, a son, and in an effort to both honor Jay’s memory as well as support those left behind, we are offering this “Reach For The Sky” t-shirt with 100% of the proceeds going to benefit the Pugh family as they cope with this tragic loss.“
If you’re interested in donating to the Pugh family, a fundraiser has been arranged to help ease any financial burdens that will arise from his passing. Visit Givesendgo.com to donate.
There has been some much-needed positive news for the Pugh family after the tragedy of earlier this week.
On Tuesday, Jay Briscoe died in a car accident, mere minutes from his home in Laurel, Delaware.
The accident occurred when another driver (who was also killed in the accident) careened onto the lane Briscoe was using.
Daughters
Briscoe’s two daughters, Jayleigh (9) and Gracie (12) were both in the vehicle at the time of the accident, and have both undergone surgery.
On Facebook, Josh Wharton, a family friend of the Pughs, said that both have been making improvements.
“Jayleigh, 9, has had pain on and off today. She was fitted for her back brace and sat up on the side of the bed with assistance from staff. She was moved into a wheelchair for about an hour. Unfortunately, she still has the NG tube in place and is unable to eat or drink at this time. They are hoping that tomorrow they can take the tube out so she can eat some real food. She’s still on IV medications and spends most of her days sleeping.”
“Gracie, 12, had a rough night with lots of tingling and itching in her lower legs. Today, she started the day with occupational therapy and she has regained feeling in her lower extremities. She is also able to make movements in her lower extremities. She was able to make small movements with her legs by using her thigh muscle. We are so grateful, she was up in a wheelchair multiple times, which she enjoys. All of Gracie’s IV medications have been discontinued at this time and she has been switched over to oral pain medicine. She is still groggy from all the medication and lots of sleeping.”
“At this time, rehab is recommended for both girls. Although both girls have improvements today, they both have a long road of recovery ahead of them.”
A fundraiser for the Pugh family smashed two of its goals and surpassed $200,000.
