Mark Briscoe Opens Up About the Emotional "Whirlwind" Between His Brother's Passing and Tribute Match on AEW Dynamite

During a recent episode of the AEW Unrestricted podcast, Mark Briscoe opened up about the emotional rollercoaster he experienced between the passing of his brother and the tribute match held in Jay's honor on AEW Dynamite.

Recalling the heart-wrenching moment, Mark shared, "It was the day before my birthday, January 17th, and my birthday is the 18th. That was the day that my brother passed, and I saw him earlier that day, and he was just being a goofball. He’s like, 'You ready for your big day tomorrow?' And then, a few hours later, I’m getting a phone call. I’m like, 'What’s happening?' You know what I mean?"

Describing the subsequent days as a "whirlwind," Mark talked about how Tony Khan approached him about the tribute match. "I talked to Tony [Khan]," he said. "Tony texted me, he said, 'Hey man, can I give you a call?' And then between, I can’t remember exactly how it was brought up 'cause like I said, everything was such a whirlwind at the time. But of course, I’m talking to Lethal 'cause he’s one of my best friends; I talk to him all the time anyway. But then the idea of that match had come up, and Tony was all for it. He was 100% like, 'If you want to do it, then let’s do it.' And I was like, 'Shit, yeah. Damn right.'"

Initially, Mark had doubts about returning to the ring following his brother's passing. He shared, "You know, when it first happened, I was almost like, 'Well, I don’t know if I ever want to wrestle again.' And then as the hours go, it’s almost like, 'Shit, Jamin will be pissed if I...' You know what I mean? If I hung up the boots now, he’d be mad as hell."

For Mark, the timing of the tribute match on January 25th seemed providential, as it coincided with Jay's birthday. He found solace in how things came together, saying, "The way that the next week’s Dynamite was on Jamin’s birthday, to me, it’s like, OK, that’s a little more than a coincidence. It’s just like God’s time. And then for me and Jay Lethal to be able to get that main event match, it was just — it was strangely comforting. It brought me a lot of comfort, as in everything’s gonna be all right."

Reflecting on how he coped with his brother's loss several months later, Mark expressed, "Keep on keeping on and carry him. Jay’s with you, like, your brother’s with you. Y’all been on this journey all these years. And that’s not changing. You ain’t by yourself now. It’s just now I’m representing him in the physical and he’s still with us in the spiritual. You know what I mean? I just got that overwhelming peace and the comfort and, 'Hey, carry on, keep on keeping on. Don’t let this be something that brings you down. Use this almost as a springboard to even take the journey higher, take the journey further. Keep grinding. Do what Jay wants you to do and keep on keeping on.'"