Jay Briscoe – American professional wrestler, dies in a car accident

The most decorated wrestler in Ring of Honor history, Jamin Pugh, better known as Jay Briscoe, was killed in a traffic accident on January 17 in Laurel, Delaware, only days after what was considered the greatest tag team bout and sequence of matches of his career.

He was 38 years old, eight days shy of his 39th birthday. His death occurred the day before his brother Mark’s 38th birthday, with whom he created one of the greatest tag teams in history.

 

The Accident 

Pugh was driving his 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 along Laurel Road with his girls. At 5:09 p.m., Pugh was driving his automobile when a Chevrolet Silverado 1500 driven by Lillyanne Ternahan, 27, of Frankford, DE, crossed into oncoming traffic. The two pickup trucks collided head-on as a consequence.

When police arrived, both drivers were declared dead at the site of the collision. Pugh’s two kids, Gracie, 12, and Jayleigh, 9, were seriously injured and in critical condition. They were taken by ambulance to Nanticoke Hospital in Seaford, Delaware.

Due to this unfortunate tragedy, the Laurel School District announced that schools will be closed on Wednesday, January 18, and will reopen on Thursday, January 19.

The whole wrestling community remembered Jay, also known as “The Grappler,” who competed alongside his brother Mark in a tag team bout.

The Announcement 

Briscoe’s death was revealed by Tony Khan, the CEO of All Elite Wrestling.

“Unfortunately, Jamin Pugh has died. He was a star in ROH [wrestling business Ring of Honor] for over 20 years, and was known to fans as Jay Briscoe,” he stated on Twitter. “

“From the inaugural event to the present day, Jay and his brother Mark have ruled ROH, ruling as champions to this day,” he said.

Jay’s wife, Ashley Pugh, updated the public on Wednesday on the status of their two girls, who were also in the vehicle at the time of the tragedy. Gracie Pugh underwent back surgery, and both she and Jayleigh were badly hurt.

Friends and relatives of the Pughs released an update yesterday, saying that both girls are stable but have a very long road to recovery.

A friend of the Pugh family has set up a fundraising page to help them.

 

A Brief History

Jay Briscoe was born on 25 January 1984, in Salisbury, Maryland, United States.

For nearly twenty years, Jay Briscoe was a major player in tag team wrestling. He and his brother Mark held the Ring of Honor tag team championships at the time of his death, and he was a previous Ring of Honor world champion in his own right.

The Briscoes, two of the ROH’s longest-tenured performers who were renowned for going to any lengths to amuse, had always been embedded in the promotion’s ethos. They were fantastic professional wrestlers who were also fantastic in the ring and delivered one-of-a-kind promos. They were a distinctive tag team that always appeared poised for greater success.

Fans and fellow wrestlers alike revered the former ROH World Champion, who was also a member of the OH Hall of Fame. A lot of big figures in wrestling lamented his death.

It was an emotional week for the entire wrestling industry, as numerous WWE stars paid their respects to the late Jay Briscoe on SmackDown.

As a result of the news, the wrestling community has been in a state of sorrow.

 

Tributes to the wrestling legend 

On Wednesday, AEW (All Elite Wrestling)  honoured Briscoe with a graphic memorial presentation before Dynamite (American professional wrestling television program) and other celebrities donning black armbands in his remembrance. However, Tony Khan (co-owner of AEW)  created a memorial program that was shot after Dynamite under the Ring of Honor banner and will run for free on Honor Club at some point shortly, despite reports that AEW was not permitted to perform a complete tribute show for Briscoe.

Many of the SmackDown, a live professional wrestling competition in which the top wrestlers in the world compete against one another for the coveted crown, roster showed their respect for Jay Briscoe on Friday night in Detroit. As expected, the SmackDown Tag Team Championship Number One Contenders Tournament kicked off on this night, making tag team wrestling the main event.

Black armbands reading “Dem Boys” were worn by the Viking Raiders and Valhalla during their bout against Drew McIntyre and Sheamus. When the Viking Raiders and The Briscoes were both in the Ring of Honor, they often faced each other in the ring.

Kevin Owens, too, honoured Jay by donning a black armband bearing his name. Owens and Jay Briscoe have a long history together, beginning in April 2013 when Briscoe won his first ROH World Championship by beating Owens, then known as Kevin Steen.

In a WWE digital exclusive interview, Top Dolla, an American professional wrestler,  paid tribute to Jay Briscoe by singing the first line of The Briscoes’ theme song: “Reach for the sky.” SmackDown announcer Michael Cole also expressed his sympathies to the Briscoe family

 

Cole addressed the World Wrestling Entertainment audience:

“We would like to offer Jay Briscoe’s family our sympathies. This week, Jay died unexpectedly. One of the greatest tag teams in wrestling was created by him and his brother Mark.”

The legendary WWE NXT boss Shawn Michaels also tweeted his respects. Michaels added, “On behalf of the WWE NXT community, I would like to convey our sympathies to the Briscoe family for their loss.

Briscoe was described as a “great performer who developed a profound connection with wrestling fans all across the world” by World Wrestling Entertainment chief content officer Paul Levesque, best known by his ring moniker Triple H.

 

“My sympathies to Jay Briscoe’s family and friends,” he stated.

The Briscoe Brothers and AEW tag team FTR competed for the ROH tag team titles last year in some of the biggest matches ever. A standard match, a two-of-three-falls contest, and finally a dog collar match were all included in the trilogy. The Briscoes won the third match to regain the championship belts.

 

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