Jay Briscoe dead updates — Cause of death revealed as WWE stars pay tribute to wrestling icon

Final post was just hours before death

Jay Briscoe, real name Jamin Pugh, posted a now heartbreaking picture to commemorate he and his brother's historic 13th reign as Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions.

“New hat,” read the caption of the post, featuring Jay donning a hat with “13 X” in a bold font.

Mark Briscoe, real name Mark Pugh, is seen eating cookies beside him.

Hours later, Ring of Honor owner Tony Khan shared that Jay had passed away at the age of 38.

New Japan Pro Wrestling mourns Jay

NJPW mourning the death of Jay Briscoe.

Alongside a picture of the wrestler, the organization wrote:

"New Japan Pro-Wrestling is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jay Briscoe."

"Our thoughts and deepest sympathies go to Jay's family, friends and fans."

NJPW also to a lengthier tribute to the star on its website.

'As a girl dad I am broken'

A Twitter user took to the platform to express his thoughts on Jay Briscoe's daughters.

"My heart aches for them," he wrote.

"As a girl dad I am broken with the news."

Mark recently welcomed his youngest son

Mark's youngest son arrived in 2022, with Mark posting on Instagram: "Ladies and gentlemen, making his debut, weighing in at 5 pounds 5 ounces, Murphy “Big Murph” Pugh!!!!

"He arrived ahead of schedule at 33 weeks..currently enjoying a short stay at A.I. DuPont NICU, relaxing and doing great…getting ready to crush life on the planet Earth."

Murphy has three older sisters and three older brothers.

Mark is married to Brittany.

More of the duo's championships

The duo has also wrestled in Japan for New Japan Pro-Wrestling where they held the IWGP Tag Team Championship once.

They also won the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship twice (along with Toru Yano) and Pro Wrestling Noah, where they are former GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.

The two brothers began their last reign after defeating FTR — made of Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood — at ROH Final Battle 2022 in December 10.

Jay and Mark's victories

Mark is a record 13-time ROH World Tag Team Champion with his brother Jay.

He is also a third of the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship.

Mark and Jay were nominated into the ROH Hall of Fame in January 2022.

'We have a long long road ahead of us!'

Ashley continued to ask for prayers in her Facebook update:

"Pray for Jayleigh who has some pretty serious injuries, but is stable and resting!"

"Pray for Gannon waiting at home!"

"Pray for strength for all of us!"

She concluded: "We have a long long road ahead of us!"

Jay's wife gives update

Jay's wife, Ashley, took to facebook this morning to ask for prayers.

"We need prayers! Gracie is on her way into surgery on her back," she wrote.

"Jamin would want the whole world praying for his little girl. WE BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYER!!"

She then called for people to pray for the doctors, and to pray for her legs to move again.

Daughters listed in critical condition

Officials have announced that Jay Briscoe's two daughters, aged nine and 12, are in critical condition, .

Briscoe was pronounced dead at the scene.

His wife, Ashley shared earlier Wednesday that their daughter Gracie was on her way into surgery.

More on Mark Briscoe

Mark eventually signed with Ring of Honor in 2002.

Unlike his brother, he was unable to wrestle on ROH's first show, The Era of Honor Begins, due to his age but took part in Honor Invades Boston.

The dad-of-seven often shares pictures of his family with his Instagram fans.

Who is Mark Briscoe?

Briscoe, whose real name is Mark Pugh, is known for his career at the Ring of Honor.

He has won 13 Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championships alongside his brother Jay Briscoe.

Mark was born on January 18, 1985, in Laurel, Delaware.

He made his debut in 2000 and continued in competing in promotions such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Combat Zone Wrestling.

Seth Rollins credits Jay for career

In his tribute to Jay Briscoe, Seth Rollins said he got his first ROH contract when he was in the ring with Jay.

He then said the wrestling icon helped him find his footing, and claimed that without him, he doesn't know if he could have ever been Seth Rollins.

More tributes for Jay

Impact Wrestling star Josh Alexander added: “One of the nicest, funniest, genuine and talented men I’ve ever met. All we ever talked about was our families. RIP Jay Briscoe.”

WWE NXT commentators Vic Joseph and Booker T mentioned Jay’s death on-air.

“Booker, we were just informed of some tragic news inside the wrestling community that Jay Briscoe has passed away,” said Joseph.

“We wanna take this moment to send our condolences to his friends and his family.”

WWE Hall of Fame and Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels wrote on : “On behalf of the  community, I would like to express our condolences to the Briscoe family for their loss.”

Tributes pour in

The wrestling community has shared tributes celebrating Jay’s life.

All Elite Wrestling backstage interviewer Renee Paquette : “Devastating news. My heart breaks for Jay Briscoe’s family.”

“RIP to the homie Jay Briscoe,” wrote Jimmy and Jey Uso, a fellow tag team consisting of two brothers and the current Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions.

“Condolences to the [sic] your family. Rest in paradise uso.”

WWE superstar pays tribute

WWE star Sami Zayn has taken to Twitter to mourn his friend.

"I don’t have the words right now to properly convey my sorrow," he said.

The wrestler went on to say he felt lucky to have shared the ring with Briscoe.

Two killed in fatal crash

ABC affiliate  reported that a fatal crash in Laurel took two lives on Tuesday night.

“It is with a heavy heart that we mourn the tragic passing of Jamin Pugh, known to wrestling fans around the world as Jay Briscoe,”  from ROH.

“Our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and his fans.”

Family pic for Easter

In April 2022, Jay Briscoe tweeted a pic of himself with his partner captioned "Happy Easter".

The snap included his brother Mark and his wife, plus their nine kids in total.

Jay became an uncle for a seventh in June 2022, after Mark's son Murphy was born.

Get to know the Briscoe Brothers

The American brothers Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe competed as The Briscoe Brothers in professional wrestling.

They gained notoriety through their 20-year association with the American company Ring of Honor (ROH), where they set a record by winning the ROH World Tag Team Championship 13 times.

With the exception of an 18-month break from August 2004 to February 2006, the brothers had been the focus of the firm throughout its history, tussling with some of their biggest stars.

The brothers were featured in its first-ever event on February 23, 2002.

Kenny Omega: 'Absolutely tragic'

In response to the untimely demise of Jay Briscoe, Kenny Omega has issued a poignant tribute.

Tony Khan, owner of ROH and president of AEW, announced the news on January 18, 2023.

In an , Omega wrote: "Absolutely tragic. Tell the people you care about that you love them.

"Deepest condolences to Jay's family, please send them positivity."

Everything to know about Brodie Lee

American professional wrestler Jonathan Huber was born on December 16, 1979, and died on December 26, 2020.

He achieved his greatest fame during his time in WWE, where he competed from 2012 to 2019 under the ring name Luke Harper (after known simply as Harper).

Huber was also a participant in All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he competed in 2020 under the ring name Mr Brodie Lee.

Fans spot similarities between Jay Briscoe and beloved late wrestler's set matches

The unfortunate passing of Jay Briscoe was lamented by the whole wrestling community after the terrible news surfaced.

Another between Jay's demise and that of wrestling veteran Brodie Lee was noted by Twitter user @DrainBamager.

Cody Rhodes was Lee's opponent in a dog collar bout that just concluded.

In a similar vein, Jay's second-to-last match was a double dog collar match against AEW stars Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood with his brother Mark Briscoe.

On the same tweet, supporters responded with their thoughts; one even said that Dog Collar Matches shouldn't take place anymore because .

IMPACT pays tribute

IMPACT Wrestling has issued a touching statement following the death of icon Jay Brisoce, hailing him as a "trailblazer".

The tweet read: "IMPACT is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jay Briscoe.

"Jay will always be remembered as a trailblazer who, with his brother Mark, left it in the ring every night.

"We send our sincere condolences to his family, who he loved beyond words, as well as his friends and fans."

Jay Briscoe was 'one of a kind'

Ring of Honor commentary Ian Riccaboni took to Twitter this morning to remember the legendary Jay Briscoe.

He wrote: "Jay was one of a kind.

"I traveled often with Jay and Mark. We couldn't have been more different but that's what made our friendship something I'll cherish forever.

"He'd give you the shirt off his back, his last dime. He was so proud of his kids. Loved his family so much."

Jay Briscoe death confirmed

Ring of Honor and All Elite Wrestling promotions owner Tony Khan confirmed the passing of Briscoe, real name Jamin Pugh, on Tuesday evening.

“Sadly, Jamin Pugh has passed away,” Khan tweeted.

“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.”

More fan tributes pour in for Jay Briscoe

Fans continue to express their heartbreak following the death of Jay Briscoe.

One Twitter user said: "Quality man that we lost. So very heartbreaking. My deepest condolences to all his loved ones."

Another added: "In the short time that I’ve known of the Briscoes, I can say without a doubt, they are one of the greats, and an absolutely phenomenal team.

"Gutwrenching loss for the wrestling world. Rest easy Jay Briscoe."