Looking Back At The Career Of Tag Team Wrestling & ROH Legend, Jay Briscoe
Quick Links
Only two weeks into 2023, and the wrestling world has already seen major news across the industry. Unfortunately, things took a tragic turn on January 17, 2023, as Jamin Pugh, known to wrestling fans as Jay Briscoe, lost his life in an automobile accident. Passing away days before turning 39, Jay Briscoe leaves behind a family that he loved and a strong legacy in the wrestling world that will never be forgotten. Dazzling fans for over twenty years, Jay Briscoe will remain one of the best tag team wrestlers in history and one of the pinnacle figures in Ring of Honor's history.
RELATED: 9 Ring Of Honor Wrestlers With The Most Championship Wins, Ranked
Jay Briscoe Was Tied To ROH Since The Company's First Show
Launching in 2002, Ring of Honor quickly became a hotbed for some of the best professional wrestling on the planet. While WWE remained the mainstream option for wrestling fans, ROH gave birth to future stars such as CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Bryan Danielson. Another name would be with the company from the start, as Jay Briscoe wrestled on the first-ever ROH event, The Era Of Honor Begins, where he lost to Amazing Red. It was a start to what would become one of the company's most popular, longest tenured wrestlers, as Briscoe remained with the company until his death in 2023.
RELATED: 13 Best Tag Team Matches Of The Briscoes, Ranked (According To Cagematch.net)
During The 2010s, Jay Briscoe Became One Of The Biggest Stars In Ring Of Honor
Over the course of his over twenty-year long wrestling career, Jay Briscoe remain tied to the ROH brand loyally. Eventually, his brother Mark Briscoe would debut and the two would change the wrestling world forever. Arguably one of the greatest tag-teams of all time, The Briscoes managed to blend old-school with new-school, feeling like a blast from the past while managing to deliver the high-octane energy of teams like The Young Bucks and The Motor City Machine Guns. Together, Jay and Mark became 13-Time ROH World Tag Team Champions, and would even hold the ROH World Six-Man Championship.
RELATED: The 10 Longest Reigning ROH World Champions, Ranked By Length
In the 2010s, Jay Briscoe's ROH career grew even bigger as he was pushed as a main event singles star while he and his brother split up as a team for some time. Jay would defeat Kevin Steen in a legendary moment, becoming ROH World Champion for the first time, though his first reign ended with him being stripped. In 2014, Jay became ROH World Champion for the second time, eventually losing the belt in another momentous match for the promotion as he and Jay Lethal would have a 30 minute war with both the ROH World and Television Championships on the line. Outside of becoming a major star for the promotion, Jay and Mark captured a number of tag team titles outside of ROH, including the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship and the Impact World Tag Team Championship.
In 2022, The Briscoes Had A Career Resurgence Thanks To A Legendary Trilogy With FTR
After Tony Khan purchased Ring of Honor in Spring 2022, the company would return to PPV during WrestleMania 38 Weekend, delivering the SuperCard of Honor. On that show, one of the headlining bouts saw a dream match take place with FTR vs The Briscoes for the ROH World Tag Team Championships. It was a legendary meeting, and one that would be revisited throughout the year, with two other matches between the two teams, capped off in an all-time great Double Dog Collar Match at ROH Final Battle 2022. Thanks to this trilogy of matches, The Briscoes saw a massive resurgence in popularity in 2023, and with a proper relaunch of ROH set for 2023, things were looking up for the duo.
Alongside his brother, Jay and Mark Briscoe would be part of the first-ever ROH Hall of Fame Class in 2022, entering the Hall of Fame as a reminder of all the greatness that they had accomplished already in their careers, with the FTR Trilogy serving as a sign of what the legendary tag team were still capable. Now, the wrestling world mourns the loss of an all-time great in the form of Jay Briscoe, with fans and wrestlers alike sending an immeasurable amount of prayers, love, and thoughts to Jay's family. Gone but not forgotten, the legacy of the wrestler Jay Briscoe and the man, Jamin Pugh, will live on forever through his body of work and through his loved ones.
