Tony Khan “Fought Hard” For Mark Briscoe’s AEW Debut
Tony Khan has discussed Mark Briscoe appearing on AEW Dynamite and admitted he “fought hard” for his appearance to happen.
Jay Briscoe passed away on the 17th of January following a car accident that also killed the driver of the other car involved. Briscoe’s two daughters were also in the car and they remain in hospital for treatment to serious injuries at this time.
AEW Dynamite on the 18th of January aired a brief tribute to Jay Briscoe at the start of the show but Tony Khan chose to film a full tribute to Briscoe under the Ring of Honor banner that will air for free on Honor Club at a later date. Reports suggested Warner Bros. Discovery did not want a full tribute show airing on TBS.
Earlier reports suggested that such a ban still extended to Mark Briscoe but this, thankfully, has proven not to be the case with Tony Khan announcing on social media that Briscoe is set to make his AEW debut on the 25th of January edition of Dynamite as he goes one-on-one with another ROH legend, Jay Lethal.
Speaking on The Battleground Podcast, Tony Khan addressed Mark Briscoe taking on Jay Lethal and says he fought hard for the bout to happen on Dynamite:
“It’s going to be a great match to honor a great man. These two men requested this match, Wednesday would be the 39th birthday of the late, great Jay Briscoe. His longtime friend and rival, Jay Lethal, and his brother, Mark Briscoe, wanted to have this match to honor the legacy of Jay Briscoe and I fought hard to make it happen and I’m really excited about the match.”
“I believe it’s going to be a great one and it’s great that they’re going to be able to honor the legacy of somebody that everybody in pro wrestling has so much respect for, the great Jay Briscoe, on his 39th birthday. With everything happening, this is going to be something really great for everybody in the locker room who is rallying around the Briscoe family.”
The 18th of January edition of Dynamite was voluntary for talent following the news of Briscoe’s passing 24 hours before. Following the show, Tony Khan produced a Jay Briscoe Celebration of Life under the Ring of Honor banner that will air on Honor Club. Khan reflected on those events and says everyone was still in a state of shock at the tragedy:
“Last week, to be honest, a lot of us were still in shock. We were not 24 hours off finding out that Jamin had passed away. Jay Briscoe is somebody that is beloved in the wrestling business and everybody here really liked him and we’ve gotten to know him, many of us at AEW, a lot better in the last year since I acquired Ring of Honor with the Briscoes being the top tag team in the history of Ring of Honor and now the Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions.”
“The whole thing was a shock to everybody and I think everybody in the locker room immediately tried to rally around Jay’s family, around Mark, and everybody trying to bring good energy together to try and support Jay’s two daughters in their recovery from what was a tragic accident. Thankfully, there has been some positive news about the recovery that Jay’s two daughters are making from the accident. The whole thing has been a shock. Going into this show, we’ll see how everyone has been coping this past week, but I know it’s not going to be easy.”
“I’ll never forget where I was and it’s one of those things, you’ll never forget where you were when you hear some of these terrible things. Absolutely, I think we were all in shock.”
“It’s at least beautiful that everybody can come together on Wednesday Night Dynamite and honor the life and legacy of Jay Briscoe this week because it’s not only been a week since he was tragically taken away, but it’s also his 39th birthday. It’s a beautiful thing that his brother Mark and his long-time friend and rival Jay Lethal can go out there and go one-on-one to celebrate Jay Briscoe on AEW Dynamite.”
As well as Mark Briscoe taking on Jay Lethal on Dynamite in Lexington, KY, Bryan Danielson will take on Brian Cage, Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara will go up against Action Andretti and Ricky Starks, Ruby Soho and Toni Storm will face off, and Darby Allin will defend the TNT Title against Buddy Matthews.