Jay Briscoe died at the age of 38.
Photo credit: RO
Legendary Ring of Honor star and ROH Tag Team Champion Jay Briscoe (real name Jamin Pugh) sadly passed away in a car crash on Tuesday night.
The Shore News Beacon reported that “four patients were trapped in the fatal accident.” The report noted that there were two deaths and “two critical patients,” with one patient described as “pediatric.”
ROH owner Tony Khan confirmed the news. WWE NXT also announced the death of Briscoe during the broadcast, with Vic offering his condolences to Joseph.
“Unfortunately, Jamin Pugh has passed away. Known to fans as Jay Briscoe, he’s been a star on ROH for over 20 years, from the first show to today,” Khan said via Twitter a few hours after Briscoe’s death.
“Jay and his brother Mark dominated ROH and are still champions to this day. We will do everything we can to support his family.”
“Rest in peace Jamin.”
Despite a legendary career that spanned two decades, Jay and Mark Briscoe have arguably had their best run in recent years. The Briscoes and FTR rewrote tag team history with a Match of the Year contender at Final Battle 2021. The teams competed in a very gory – very entertaining – trilogy of matches, culminating in a Double Dog Collar match at Final Battle 2022.
The Briscoes have long been considered one of the best tag teams in the world by hardcore wrestling fans. Their profile grew as they gained prominence through the purchase of ROH by AEW and Tony Khan.
It will be interesting to see how AEW handles the death of Briscoe in less than 24 hours from AEW Dynamite. In the short term, AEW aired what many considered to be the greatest wrestling tribute show ever to honor the life and legacy of Brodie Lee (Jon Huber) in 2020. Given Tony Khan’s more sympathetic approach to the wrestling business, it’s a safe bet that Wednesday night’s promotion will properly honor Briscoe’s incredible legacy.