The stakes are high on an all-new IMPACT! this Thursday at 8/7c on AXS TV and 8:30pm ET on YouTube for IMPACT Insiders.
The day after Jay Briscoe’s tragic passing, AEW was denied the opportunity to present a tribute show on “AEW Dynamite,” reportedly due to restrictions put in place by Warner Bros Discovery. The network would not allow such an event to broadcast because of past homophobic Tweets by Briscoe, even though the late wrestler apologized and made every effort to repair the damage with the LGBTQ+ community. Despite this obstacle, AEW still filmed a memorial show for Briscoe under the ROH banner, the promotion in which he became a record-setting 13-time ROH World Tag Team Champion with his brother Mark. The emotional celebration of Briscoe’s life is now available to watch for free.
The “Jay Briscoe Tribute and Celebration of Life” video was uploaded to ROH’s YouTube channel earlier today. The event was also uploaded to ROH’s Honor Club streaming service. The show, which is just over three hours long, features several matches and some touching tributes from the AEW roster. Memorable bouts from the Briscoes’ career in ROH are also highlighted, including their battle with The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli) at Final Battle 2006.
Earlier this week, Tony Khan revealed that WBD’s Briscoe-related restrictions had been lifted. As a result, Mark Briscoe would debut for AEW against Jay Lethal as a celebration of Jay’s birthday. That bout headlined “Dynamite” last night, and saw Mark pick up the victory after using Jay’s finishing move, the Jay Driller. The AEW roster came out on stage following the match as a “Jay Briscoe 1984-2023” graphic appeared on the screen.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Mark Briscoe made his AEW debut during Wednesday night’s “Dynamite” under the most heartbreaking of circumstances. Just over a week after Mark’s older brother Jay was killed in a multi-vehicle crash that claimed the life of another driver and left Jay’s daughters seriously injured, the younger Briscoe stepped inside an AEW ring for the first time on what would have been Jay’s 39th birthday.
Mark’s opponent in the main event of Wednesday’s “Dynamite” was another longtime Ring of Honor star, Jay Lethal. The closing moments of the match saw Mark drive Lethal through the timekeeper’s table with his signature Froggy Bow elbow drop from the top turnbuckle. Back in the ring, Mark used the J-Driller, his brother Jay’s finishing maneuver, to pin Lethal for the win.
After the match, Mark spoke into a ringside camera, telling Jay Briscoe’s children – Gracie, Jayleigh, and Gannon – he loves them and to “keep your heads up.” Mark then sent a message to his late brother, calling him by his real name, Jamin, and telling him he loves him.
As Mark saluted fans following his victory, many members of the AEW locker room and backstage crew, including Tony Khan, came out on the entrance stage to applaud both Mark and Jay Lethal.
The presentation of the main event was rich in ROH aesthetics, with the company’s broadcast team, Ian Riccaboni and Caprice Coleman, joining Excalibur on commentary and longtime ROH ring announcer Bobby Cruise was on hand for the introductions. Earlier in the show, a video tribute to Jay Briscoe was shown, which you can see the extended cut below.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
AEW Dynamite will air live tonight on TBS and emanate from the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.
Last night, Tony Khan revealed that Warner Brothers Discovery had finally permitted Mark Briscoe to make his AEW debut. The 13-time Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champion will face Jay Lethal tonight on “AEW Dynamite” to “celebrate the life and legacy of the late great Jay Briscoe on his 39th birthday.” WBD had previously restricted the Briscoes from appearing for Khan’s promotion because of homophobic tweets made by Jay in 2013; he later apologized and made significant efforts to improve his relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. Because of the ban, AEW was unable to honor Jay — who tragically passed away on January 17 – last week on “Dynamite.” Instead, the company filmed a tribute show that will air on YouTube and WatchROH.com at a later date.
AEW announced that Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. is injured and will not be able to compete. There are no details on the injury.
As of this writing, AEW is advertising the following for tonight’s show:
Ring of Honor Hall of Famer Jay Briscoe (Jamin Pugh) passed away last week after being in a car accident.
Briscoe and the other driver, 27-year-old Lillyanne Ternahan, were pronounced dead at the scene after a head-on collision. Jay wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, but his kids were.
Delaware Online reports that a vigil and funeral services have been announced for Briscoe.
The vigil will be held tonight at 7 PM at Lee Elliott Worship Center, located on 17237 Phillips Hill Road in Laurel, DE. The funeral is slated for Sunday at Laurel High School gym, located at 1133 S. Central Ave in Laurel.
There will be visitation from 12 PM to 1 PM and the service begins immediately after. Rev. Tim Dukes will officiate. The service will be private.
Source: eWrestlingNews
AEW has announced that Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. vs. Ruby Soho vs. Toni Storm in a triple threat match will no longer be taking place on tonight’s Dynamite.
Baker is dealing with an injury and was pulled from the bout. Now, Storm vs. Soho will take place.
Tonight’s WWE NXT airs on USA Network, continues build for NXT Vengeance Day 2023.
* NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Kayden Carter & Katana Chance (c) vs. Alba Fyre
* Tiffany Stratton vs. Indi Hartwell
* Fallon Henley & Kiana James vs. TBA
* Women’s Title Summit with Roxanne Perez, Gigi Dolan, and Jacy Jayne
* Thea Hail Award Ceremony
Fans looking forward to the Steel Cage Match between bitter rivals Bayley and Becky Lynch on “WWE Raw is XXX” were left puzzled as the match ended abruptly, with the referee never calling for the bell.
According to Fightful Select, WWE called an audible on the Bayley vs. Lynch bout due to the earlier “Tribal Court” segment featuring The Bloodline going longer than planned, which meant that “several segments needed to be trimmed” through the rest of the show.
Fightful added that the original plan was for “the match and entrances to get two segments,” which would have typically meant a 10-14 minute match at the least. Once the opening Bloodline segment ran too long, WWE felt it made sense to “work an angle to set up to a full on match” at a later date, rather than having a short cage match lasting barely a few minutes. WWE obviously had a ton of segments already planned for the rest of its 30-year anniversary edition of “Raw.”
The angle in question was set up after Bayley and Lynch got their entrances, following which Damage CTRL’s IYO SKY and Dakota Kai jumped “The Man” and launched her into the wall of the cage with a double-team flapjack. Thereafter, Kai once again smashed Lynch’s back against the cage before locking the cage to deny WWE Official Adam Pearce and others entry into the cage. Following a moonsault from Kai, Damage CTRL hit a triple-team move planting Lynch face-first to the mat.
Eventually, Pearce used a boltcutter to enter the ring, but Lynch was deemed unable to compete. The segment ended with Damage CTRL posing atop the cage.
Both Bayley and Lynch are confirmed entrants in Saturday’s Women’s Royal Rumble Match. Lynch has the opportunity to win the annual battle royal for the second time in her career, following her victory in the second-ever Women’s Royal Rumble in 2019, meanwhile, Bayley has never won the Rumble.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
The Bella Twins were originally scheduled for an appearance on RAW Is XXX, but the Hall of Famers didn’t show up at the venue. In fact, Nikki and Brie Bella seem to have an issue with how WWE didn’t acknowledge the Women’s Revolution during the 3-hour special.
Pwinsider reports that Nikki and Brie Bella flew out to the northeastern US this weekend. However, instead of appearing on RAW Is XXX, the twin sisters attended a Broadway show instead.
The Bella Twins went live on Instagram to express their disdain for WWE not addressing the Women’s Revolution on the 30th anniversary of Monday Night RAW. They also noted how WWE refrained from mentioning Mercedes Mone or Saraya among those (including them) responsible for the Women’s Revolution. The Bellas were briefly mentioned in Charlotte Flair’s promo on RAW Is XXX.
Source: eWrestlingNews
Jay Briscoe, real name Jamin Pugh, died in a car accident in Laurel, Delaware on January 17th, eight days before his 39th birthday and one day before his brother’s 38th birthday. His daughters, who were in the car with him, suffered serious injuries.
Pro Wrestling Tees has just launched a new t-shirt honoring the late Jay Briscoe. All the proceeds from the t-shirt will go to the Pugh family.
The official announcement 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.”
Source: eWrestlingNews
