Jamin Pugh, better known to wrestling fans as Jay Briscoe, He passed away tragically at the age of 38 this past week. Pugh, along with his brother Mark, became one of the most distinguished and influential wrestling teams of the 21st century. Briscoe.
However, after Pio’s death, controversy rose. All elite wrestling Plan to run a tribute show to Briscoe on me dynamite, the flagship show of a professional wrestling company. But according to Dave Meltzer, WBD The idea of offering tribute was banned.
Meltzer, on his site Live Observer Wrestling show, said (across the inside of the ropes) “There was a graphic at the beginning of the show (Dynamite) and at the end of the show there was a mention by Excalibur. A lot of the guys had armbands, a lot of them, but it wasn’t any kind of big tribute because they weren’t allowed by WarnerMedia (Discover Warner Bros.) do one.”
A tribute show to Pugh was held after an AEW Dynamite taping on Wednesday. AEW President Tony Khan announced that the show would be available through the Ring of Honor Honor Club streaming service and ROH’s YouTube page.
Free-for-all means free-it’ll be free (and not behind a paywall) on the Honor Club, + we’ll be posting the entire tribute show on ROH YouTube as well, also free-for-all this team is getting together tonight to film a special event in ROH in honor of the late great Jay Briscoe
– TonyKhan January 19, 2023
A decade or so ago, Pugh made vile, homophobic comments that followed him for the rest of his life. Many close to Pugh noted that he was reformed.
It is, of course, important to note: not everyone’s apology is accepted. At least not realistically. Pugh’s comments were hurtful to the LGBTQ+ community and are, after all, the voices everyone needs to hear. WBD reportedly did not want the Briscoes on their programming because of those comments. WBD is certainly within its rights to block anyone it doesn’t want on its networks for reasons of its own.
Many problems remain, however. Speaking to a few in the wrestling business, those problems seemed obvious to them, too.
“I was disappointed to hear that a tribute show in honor of Guy Briscoe had been turned down,” said Gregory Hyde. Hyde, known to his fans as “Stat Guy Greg,” is on ESPN’s cheap heat product sequence. Hyde continued, “In wrestling, certain traditions are time-honored, and the tribute show is the norm. His earlier comments notwithstanding, his death was a tragedy and he deserves a fitting send-off as someone highly respected in the industry.”
“I honestly thought in the aftermath of this tragedy, this situation would relent,” said Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com. Sapp, Managing Editor at Fightful and Operator Choose a fight The subscription service, which reported last year that WBD “doesn’t want the Briscoes to appear on the air on its programming.” But before the idea was dismissed, Saab thought they had softened their stance, “particularly given the outpouring of support he and the family had received.”
Sapp also stated that he “officially asked WBD if the rumors of their ‘More’ refusal were true”, but said he had not heard back.
It is important to return to the pew remorse. Although it corrected the errors and attempted a change, the WBD still banned the Briscoes from making any appearances. But Dana Whitethe UFC President, He was caught on video placing his hands on his wife. Despite this, WBD persisted power slap, a slap-fighting league run by Wyatt. Apparently, they haven’t watered down its coverage despite bombing in the ratings. That hypocrisy did not go unnoticed.
“There is an incredible amount of hypocrisy!” Saab said. “I was pleasantly surprised that the Power Slap didn’t work so well because it’s such a dumb idea to begin with. Beyond that, its potent mascot was captured on film slapping his wife weeks earlier. Given Jay Briscoe’s sincere apology and explanation a few years ago, it compares to how he handled it. With things and by Dana White, I couldn’t believe it.”
Sapp added that he thought the show would be canceled, but WBD would be “egg in their faces and look doubly bad.”
Hyde agreed that there was hypocrisy in how the situations were handled. “Dana White’s slap shouldn’t be on the air,” Hyde said. Especially after his wife’s accident on New Year’s Eve. I think it’s hypocritical for WBD to cancel a Jay Briscoe tribute show while also promoting the show while Dana White continues to face zero consequences for his actions.”
It doesn’t end there with The Briscoes or Dana White. Professional wrestling author Bill Hanstock has chastised the WBD for their hypocritical practices, both inside and outside the world of wrestling.
“Jay has expressed ongoing remorse and remorse for many years about his past comments,” Hanstock said. “You only have to do a half lap around LGBT wrestling’s Twitter to see that anyone who has worked with him in the past several years will attest that he made an effort to become a better person and ally. It’s a shame that WBD chose to ignore this while still taking sponsorship money from companies like Chick.” -Fil-A, whose owner helps fund anti-LGBT legislation, and broadcast Dana White’s hard slap With Dana White front and center, following him and his wife as they hit each other on camera.”
These cases, Hanstock necessitated, involved several contracted wrestlers already in the company who had villainous labels of their own. Continue with these points.
And any other number of issues, including a fine with AEW that employs wrestlers who were credibly accused of sexual harassment. Just some semblance of consistency would make Briscoe’s position less offensive to fans, wrestlers, and Jamin Bug’s family, Hanstock said.
There are public allegations of such bad behavior from the wrestling community against wrestlers including Darby Allen, who features prominently more often than not and is a multi-time champion. And Jay Lethalwhich was brought over from Ring of Honor, was put on TV without such a brush.
AEW’s decision to not go with the flow is a bit of a concession. But it’s also an indication that they’ll have to keep doing what WBD says. The company is set to strike a new television rights deal soon amid ongoing changes at WBD. And right now, getting a smart, satisfying deal is a big priority.
“If WBD strongly rejects something, it’s the cost of doing business that AEW will have to accept,” Hanstock said.
Sapp suggested: “I think if AEW proves its worth and willingness to work with WBD, the latter should trust AEW’s judgment in certain circumstances.” However, as Sapp noted, the company had a number of infamous missteps “where AEW ran off more slack than anyone expected—namely where Nick Gage’s pizza cutter was.” gage Use a pizza cutter During a game on Dynamite during a picture-in-picture advertisement for Domino’s, which garnered opposition from advertisers.
Hyde was a little less sanguine. “In the short time they’ve been around, I don’t think they’ve done enough to increase their value,” said Hyde. “WBD has been so ruthless these past few months that it really feels as if bending over backwards to please the WBD bosses will do nothing to ensure the safety of AEW.”
In general, WBD remains within their rights to greenlight or block their entities however they choose. AEW’s decision not to bite the hand that feeds them might be the right one. But for WBD, it’s another reminder that hypocrisy and selective punishment are still everywhere.
to update: Khan announced on Tuesday that AEW Dynamite will be staging Jay Lethal’s Mark Briscoe match in honor of Jay Briscoe:
Tomorrow 1/25
Lexington Kentucky
Live on TBS
8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. ET
Wednesday night #AEWDynamiteMark Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal
Both men asked to celebrate the life + legacy of the late great
Jay Briscoe on his 39th birthday,
His longtime friend/rival Jay Lethal opposite his brother Mark Briscoe pic.twitter.com/uzeQ0L4t5h– TonyKhan January 24, 2023