On the January 25 episode of AEW Dynamite, Mark Briscoe took on Jay Lethal in a tribute match to Jay Briscoe, who tragically passed away on January 17 in a car accident.
The Briscoes were reportedly not allowed 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.
"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," he said.
Khan continued by 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."
The funeral for Jay was held on January 29 with many wrestlers from all promotions attending.
A donation page was set up for the Pugh family. Fans can donate by clicking here. AEW released a memorial shirt with 100% of the proceeds going to the Pugh family.
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