Jay Briscoe dies in car accident in Delaware
Ring of Honor wrestler Jay Briscoe and one other person died Tuesday evening after a fatal car crash in Laurel, Delaware.
While details are still limited at this time, Delaware State Police did report that the crash occurred in the area of Laurel Road and Little Hill Road around 5:30 PM Eastern.
It’s unknown how many vehicles were involved, but the driver of another car involved also died.
According to an initial report on the Shore News Beacon, “four patients were trapped.” There were two fatalities and “two critical patients” with one referenced as pediatric.
Briscoe (born Jamin Pugh) was set to turn 39 later this month.
Due to the tragic accident, the Laurel School District is closing their schools Wednesday.
AEW & ROH head Tony Khan tweeted the news several hours afterward:
Sadly, Jamin Pugh has passed away. Known to fans as Jay Briscoe, he was a star in ROH for over 20 years, from the first show until today.
Jay and his brother Mark dominated ROH, reigning as champions to this day. We'll do whatever we can to support his family.
Rest In Peace Jamin— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) January 18, 2023
A fixture in ROH for 20 years, Briscoe and his brother, Mark, started making a name for themselves in the early 2000s in the Northeast U.S. indie scene working for CZW, NWA Wildside, NWA and other promotions.
But it was in ROH that the Sandy Fork, Delaware, natives became tag team stars synonymous with the promotion. The two first won their ROH Tag Team titles in 2003 and had just begun their 13th reign at December’s Final Battle by defeating FTR in a double dog collar match.
In addition to holding the company’s Six-Man titles with Bully Ray in 2017, Jay Briscoe also was a two-time ROH World Champion. first holding the gold in 2013 and then for a longer run in 2014 through 2015.
He and Mark wrestled around the world and held the IWGP Tag Team titles, the GCW Tag Team titles three times, the Impact Tag Team titles, and the NEVER Openweight Tag Team titles to name just a few.