RIP Jay Briscoe

[Elsalvajeloco]

7 minutes ago, hammerva said:

very classy move by NXT acknowledging the death of Jay given they have never had a connection with the WWE .  

More people need to do that. It's not costing you one red dime. I believe the past Saturday the UFC acknowledged of the passing of Victoria Lee, who fought for ONE FC and had zero connection to the UFC. 

But man, goddamn, is this upsetting.

[Web Conn]

This one hurts. I'm not excusing his comments in 2013, he shouldn't have said what he said but I was a fan of his as a wrestler I'm not gonna lie. Big fan of the Briscoes and of Jay as a solo. A buddy of mine once pointed out and i didn't realize until he said it Jay was a big guy who moved around the ring like a man half his size. The second ROH Title run was awesome. Dude could wrestle. And he could cut a hell of a promo too. Below is my favorite Briscoe Brothers promo

 

[John E. Dynamite]

Horrible on any and every level. I will shout at the heavens demanding that the second person dead isn't his kid.  If Mark Briscoe (if and when he wants to) isn't front and center on Dynamite I'm going full-blown By The Time I Get To Jacksonville. But I expect and industry-wide outpouring of respect and condolence (we can discuss the hypocrisy later).

Already on bilibili watching Jay until I pass out. First is the Liverpool match I've been putting off forever. Then the Joe bloodbath. Then the first-ever singles/real ROH match vs. Red. God damnit all I can think about is those Rasslin' Buddies toy ads they showed at ROH intermissions. Fuck. Fucking FUCK.

[Dolphman 3000]

 

[Nice Guy Eddie]

I have no words. I'm just in shock. RIP Jay Briscoe

[The Natural]

Shocking news to wake up to. One of my favourite tag teams dating back to 2002. The #FTR vs. Briscoes trilogy last year was one of the best wrestling trilogies ever. RIP Jay Briscoe. Condolences to Jay's family and friends at this saddest of times.

Edited January 18, 2023 by The Natural

[Phantom Lord]

17 minutes ago, Web Conn said:

This one hurts. I'm not excusing his comments in 2013, he shouldn't have said what he said but I was a fan of his as a wrestler I'm not gonna lie. Big fan of the Briscoes and of Jay as a solo. A buddy of mine once pointed out and i didn't realize until he said it Jay was a big guy who moved around the ring like a man half his size. The second ROH Title run was awesome. Dude could wrestle. And he could cut a hell of a promo too. Below is my favorite Briscoe Brothers promo

 

It's a testament to his character ability that he could keep a straight face after Mark's one liners. A GOT DANG JUNE BUG. I would have been laughing my ass off after that.

[Ziggy]

Shocking, soon I go to this board I see this thread and I thought I was seeing things wrong. I can't even process it right now. The Briscoes are probably more synonymous with ROH than Joe, Dragon and Homicide considering the are Day ones. I was just thinking earlier today about how they could've easily been apart of the Wyatts if they'd got signed when WWE wanted them. I remember seeing a clip of the Usos in FCW thinking they were Briscoe ripoffs. This is Sad and sudden man. They were pioneers on the indies 

[John E. Dynamite]

THIRD EDIT: Seems like the story is emerging in a way that's keeping people informed enough so there's no need to keep the speculation active. If you do the thoughts n prayers thing do it real hard now.

Edited January 18, 2023 by John E. Dynamite

[Ace]

His last tweet, just a couple hours before his accident.

[hammerva]

Man I knew they were loved locally but closing schools?  I mean that is Von Erich adoration for a hometown wrestling superstar 

[Curt McGirt]

This hurts so bad. To anybody who's had any contact with them, I'm sorry for your loss and hope it doesn't feel like this. Fuck. 

[The Natural]

Triple H on Twitter:

Quote

An incredible performer who created a deep connection with wrestling fans across the globe. My condolences to the family and friends of Jay Briscoe.

 

[The Natural]

Sami Zayn:

Quote

I don’t have the words right now to properly convey my sorrow. I love Jay & Mark Briscoe. Always have. I wouldn’t be here without them. I’m very lucky to have shared the ring & shared so many laughs with Jay Briscoe and I’m so sad to know neither will happen again. RIP my friend.

 

[Zakk_Sabbath]

39 minutes ago, hammerva said:

Man I knew they were loved locally but closing schools?  I mean that is Von Erich adoration for a hometown wrestling superstar 

I hate to speculate on unsubstantiated rumors about such serious things but based on what some supposed locals are claiming on reddit, I'm thinking that's likely not the reason why, unfortunately. 

Really, really awful news. It's just beyond my comprehension how unfair the world can be sometimes. 

[The Man Known as Dan]

Well. Fuck.

Been a big Briscoes fan for a long time. Thought his Cage match with Joe is the best "Escape the Cage" Cage Match of all time. Thought this series with FTR is one of the best tag feuds of all time, and I thought he was the best guy in every single one, and I love all 4 guys in said match. I sometimes wonder if he quietly grew into one of the top 5 wrestlers of this century and we just never talked about it because he never hit mainstream like all of his best contemporaries. But I can't really remember a bad performance from him, and I can think of tons of great ones. Even great ones in matches I wasn't crazy about because I didn't love his dance partner, I never thought Jay was the problem. 

 

Just.... Fuck.

[The Natural]

2 minutes ago, Zakk_Sabbath said:

I hate to speculate on unsubstantiated rumors about such serious things but based on what some supposed locals are claiming on reddit, I'm thinking that's likely not the reason why, unfortunately. 

Really, really awful news. It's just beyond my comprehension how unfair the world can be sometimes. 

I was thinking the same. I don't use Reddit though.

[AxB]

Effy and Dark Sheikh have both spoken out to say Jay was neither homophobic or transphobic, and both publically and privately apologised for his previous bigoted statements. But Davey Richards' video statement is really hitting hard, he looks devastated.

[The Natural]

1 hour ago, hammerva said:

very classy move by NXT acknowledging the death of Jay given they have never had a connection with the WWE .  

All companies should acknowledge a passing. Losing someone is much bigger than promotional rivalries. WWE's doing better at this with Mr Brodie Lee/Luke Harper, Don West and Jay Briscoe.

[elizium]

 

From the school district's facebook.

So fucking sad. Spent most of the evening watching Briscoes promos. Not many people could hype up a fight like Jay.

[Nice Guy Eddie]

4 minutes ago, AxB said:

https://twitter.com/RichardsWesley/status/1615531425922486272

Effy and Dark Sheikh have both spoken out to say Jay was neither homophobic or transphobic, and both publically and privately apologised for his previous bigoted statements. But Davey Richards' video statement is really hitting hard, he looks devastated.

Watching Davey's statement was rough. I know he's not beloved here, but this goes beyond wrestling. You gotta feel for Davey and everybody that's been sharing their thoughts. 

[EVA]

An absolutely devastating loss for Jay’s family, his community, and pro wrestling. One of the best to do it in the 2000’s, no question.

[Ryan Faulconer]

Like many here I first saw him against his brother Mark in CZW.  They would then go on to become the most legit sounding promos.  The Ladder War against Steen & Generico had one of the most amazing promos Briscoes or anyone will ever cut. It was actually scary how intense they were after the AOTF did very nasty things to them.  I followed ROH until about 2012. The Briscoes were a major reason for my fandom.  
 

They left ROH in 2004 as boys.  They returned in 2006 as men and never looked back.  

I actually haven’t seen any of the FTR/Briscoes matches yet.  Even though I was once a big fan of ROH for most of their first decade and I really enjoy AEW since getting back into it during the pandemic in 2020.

Jay & Mark started so young that it was almost like they grew up in front of us.  Especially since I have seven years on him.  

Most of us watched them starting out as teenagers.  They carved out a path and reinvented themselves at least twice that I saw.  I could keep writing for pages about how great the Briscoes became.   They both purposely held themselves back in their career and stayed real people.  They actually could have gone EVERYWHERE and accomplishd EVERYTHING.

Edited January 18, 2023 by Ryan Faulconer

[EVA]

5 minutes ago, elizium said:

So fucking sad. Spent most of the evening watching Briscoes promos. Not many people could hype up a fight like Jay.

Me, too!

Jay and Mark clearly had the in-ring aspect of wrestling figured out from just about Day 1. Preternaturally gifted. But one of the unexpected delights over the past decade has been their evolution as the most unique, totally authentic promo guys in the business. Their dispatches from the chicken farm were can’t-miss, each and every time.

[NikoBaltimore]

I'm absolutely devastated.  I had the pleasure of talking with him a few times and he was the nicest dude around.  They all were really great and I thought incredibly highly of Dem Boys and Papa Briscoe.  Still do and always will for that matter.

I posted this in 2020 when we were looking to discuss good times with people in wrestling but I'll do a quick summation of it here.  We were at an ROH show in Baltimore at the Du Burns Arena.  They had an after party at Della Rose's across the street and it was the one time my friends joined me for both.  They loved The Briscoes from the ROH show but we felt even if we didn't meet anybody we could still have some drinks and a good time.  Well to our delight out comes The Briscoes and Papa with them to boot.  They were gladly hanging with whoever wanted to and we were all happy as could be to have fun with them.  Looking for a round to share we all get a shot of Wild Turkey.  My wife drank that like a champ which caused Papa to hug her and say "I love ya, darlin'."  She was beyond delighted about that and would still talk about it sometimes.  Then as time went on Mark got to talking about his beloved Dodge and asked what I drive.  The fool I am I said the truth in saying a Honda Civic.  His eyes bugged out so big like I tried to steal a chicken from their farm but man did that make for one helluva photo.

But they were awesome and after that I spoke with Jay two other times.  One was at a McDonald's where I'm on my way out and see him with his family.  We do some pleasant small talk and I was on my merry way to the show.  Another was at the show when I'm in the back by the soccer boards.  I happen to peek behind me and see Jay from the behind the plexiglass taking in the show.  We again have some pleasant small talk then it was back to watching the show.  So add to that those experiences plus the times I heard them in interviews and I just thought Jay was such a nice fucking dude.

These experiences were fun but I know that it wasn't unique to say "Hey, I met/hung with for a bit/etc. Jay Briscoe and he was awesome!"  He has a lot of a friends and fans that can vouch for how awesome he was.  But man these times meant the world to us and it breaks my heart hearing that he passed.  We just sat there first in a state of shock then in various states of crying (especially when finding about those in critical condition)  Then I kind of sat there and admitted that I'm not going to be able to say much and was best off coming up to type.  But sometime on the weekend we'll get a tiny bottle of Wild Turkey and have a shot in his honor.  And I haven't even thought much tonight about his wrestling but y'all know he was fucking amazing with that too.  Luckily with working from home I'll definitely have some stuff playing throughout the day tomorrow.

 

Edited January 18, 2023 by NikoBaltimore