Tony Khan Reflects On Paying Tribute To Jay Briscoe On AEW Dynamite

AEW

AEW President Tony Khan has reflected on paying tribute to Jay Briscoe on AEW Dynamite.

The wrestling world was shocked to learn of the passing of Jay Briscoe (Jamin Pugh) in a fatal car accident at the age of 38 on January 17.

On the January 25 edition of AEW Dynamite, the company paid tribute to the ROH Hall of Famer with a special tribute video and his brother Mark Briscoe competing against Jay Lethal in the main event of the show.

The Briscoes were reportedly not allowed to appear on AEW television at the request of Warner Bros. Discovery due to homophobic comments made by Jay in 2013, which he had apologized for multiple times.

Speaking on the Mark Hoke Show, Tony Khan was asked how difficult it was to get a Jay Briscoe tribute match on AEW Dynamite. He answered:

“The most important thing we could do was pay tribute to Jay Briscoe on his birthday.”

“The way it came together, it was challenging to make it happen, but I really pushed for this and I felt strongly that we needed to celebrate the life and legacy of Jay Briscoe, and the perfect way to celebrate Jay Briscoe was a match between his best friend Jay Lethal and his brother Mark Briscoe.”

“To have Mark Briscoe holding up both of those ROH Tag Team Championship belts on behalf of him and his brother, and that song played with Jay Briscoe saying, ‘Reach for the sky, boy,’ I thought that was one of the most iconic moments I’ve ever seen in wrestling.”

“More importantly, it was so great for the Briscoe family, so great for the Pughs to be able honor Jamin on his birthday. It was a challenge to get it to where it happened, but it was worth it, and it was certainly the best tribute we could give him.”

Khan continued on to discuss what Jay Briscoe’s legacy as a pro wrestler and a human being was, saying:

“He was such an iconic pro wrestler, and certainly, in my lifetime, he was one of the greatest I’ve ever seen, and in my professional life, one of the greatest I’ve ever worked with, if not the single greatest pro wrestler, bell-to-bell ever, I’ve had the pleasure of producing.”

“So many people said that at his funeral. I can’t tell you the number of people who said, some of the best wrestlers in the world, who said, ‘Honestly, he’s the best I’ve ever faced.'”

“Not only is he one of the best wrestlers, but he has an amazing family and I’m so glad they were able to pay tribute to him in such a memorable and meaningful way.”

Transcription via Fightful

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• AEW: Dynamite
• jay briscoe
• mark briscoe
• tony khan

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