Jay Briscoe
1984 - 2023
One of the most talented and charismatic professional wrestlers in the world today was one of two people who passed away in a car accident yesterday not far from his home in Delaware. Jamin Pugh, known better by wrestling fans around the world as Jay Briscoe, was just eight days away from his 39th birthday.
Jay has been a professional wrestler since he was 16 years old... a time when he had to wrestle under a mask to disguise the fact that he was underage at the time. Over the next 23 years, he and his brother Mark established themselves as one of the most dynamic tag teams in professional wrestling in the world. In the eyes of many fans, myself included, they are the greatest tag team in the history of professional wrestling to have never worked for WWE. He also had a hell of a career as a singles wrestler, which included two reigns as the ROH World Heavyweight Championship. Any wrestling fan who has ever watched a match that included Jay Briscoe will never forget it. He brought an energy to his character and to his matches that very few in the history of the business could equal.
Jay Briscoe worked for promotions all over the world, but he's best known as one of the pillars of Ring of Honor where he wrestled for over 20 years. He appeared on nearly every ROH show that I've ever attended and his match was always one of the highlights of the night. As the outpouring of support from those who knew him can attest, he was also a hell of a nice guy. I didn't know him personally, but I did get to meet him at an NYC show in June 2006 and he was incredibly kind to take some time to meet the fans and take pictures.
Jay Briscoe worked for promotions all over the world, but he's best known as one of the pillars of Ring of Honor where he wrestled for over 20 years. He appeared on nearly every ROH show that I've ever attended and his match was always one of the highlights of the night. As the outpouring of support from those who knew him can attest, he was also a hell of a nice guy. I didn't know him personally, but I did get to meet him at an NYC show in June 2006 and he was incredibly kind to take some time to meet the fans and take pictures.
He was only 38 years old, and to make matters even worse, his two young children were in the car when it was struck and it has been reported that both are in the hospital. I can't even imagine what his friends and family must be feeling right now. My thoughts are with them.
