10 Things AEW Fans Should Know About ROH Legends The Briscoe Brothers

With Tony Khan’s purchase of Ring of Honor in May 2022, there’s been a renewed interest in the independent wrestling institution, which had been struggling in recent years, thanks to its incorporation into All Elite Wrestling’s TV programming. Launched in 2003, ROH has featured a number of future stars that have moved on to the majors like Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, and Kevin Owens, to name a few. Then there are the Briscoe Brothers, Jay and Mark, who made Ring of Honor their home for years without moving on to other promotions.

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Considered one of the best tag teams in the world, The Briscoe Brothers may be a little under the radar for some AEW fans. Let’s take a look at their careers, and what fans should know about them.

10 CZW Launched Their Careers

With background in football and training from the East Coast Wrestling Association while in high school, Jay and Mark Briscoe debuted in May of 2000, and by January 2001 would debut for New Jersey’s hardcore wrestling indie Combat Zone Wrestling. While their first gig for CZW would be as enhancement talent, both Jay and Mark would enter the Best of the Best tournament, eventually taking on one another in the bracket in a standout match that would raise the young brothers’ profile in the indie scene.

9 Wrestled For CZW While Underage

In July of 2001, the Briscoe Brothers would capture the first titles of their careers, beating Nick Gage and Nate Hatred for the CZW Tag Team Championship and holding the belts for 14 days. However, by the end of the year, CZW would make noted wrestling town Philadelphia its home city, which had laws barring minors from competing in wrestling matches. To skirt this law, Jay and Mark Briscoe competed under masks as Kenny and Keno Murdoch, The Midnight Outlawz, for a handful of shows, though the older Jay would turn 18 and wrestle as himself soon after.

8 ROH Mainstays For Two Decades

In February of 2002, Ring of Honor put on its inaugural show, The Era of Honor Begins, with the Briscoes appearing in the second match on the card. However, this event was also in Philadelphia, and Jay Briscoe was 18 while Mark Briscoe was still underage. As a result, Mark functioned as Jay’s corner man in a losing effort against Amazing Red.

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This bout would mark the beginning of a long and fairly consistent relationship with ROH. With the exception of a year off from wrestling (see below), Jay and Mark Briscoe would be a staple of Ring of Honor until 2022, becoming one of the acts most associated with the promotion for 20 years.

7 Feuded Before Tagging In ROH

Before becoming featured players in the tag team division however, The Briscoe Brothers actually started off as singles competitors, going as far as feuding with one another. After wrestling their first match against one another in August 2002, in November the Briscoes clashed in a tag team match, with Jay teaming with Amazing Red and Mark choosing Christopher Daniels, signifying his membership of Daniels’ heel faction The Prophecy. Their feud ended with Jay defeating Mark at One Year Anniversary Show in February 2003, reconciling in the post-match and subsequently teaming in the tag division.

6 Took A Year Off Together In Solidarity

In August of 2004, The Briscoe Brothers wrestled what would be their final match in Ring of Honor for over a year, and not by choice. Shortly after the bout, Mark Briscoe was involved in a motorcycle accident, suffering an injury that was bad enough to take him out of the game until September of 2005. Jay Briscoe wasn’t injured in this accident, but decided he didn’t want to compete without his brother, so he took a hiatus from wrestling until Mark was able to return. After wrestling some matches for indies like Jersey All-Pro Wrestling in late 2005, the brothers returned to ROH in early 2006.

5 Thirteen-Time ROH World Tag Team Champions

The Briscoe Brothers’ success in the Ring of Honor tag team division was cemented in November 2003 when they defeated Special K to capture their first ROH World Tag Team Championship, holding it for 175 days. In the years that followed, the brothers would hold the belts a total of 13 times, going all the way to 2022 when they defended the belts against FTR at Supercard of Honor. They even conquered ROH’s six-man tag team division, holding the belts with Bully Ray. They also had notable tag title wins in promotions like ROH sister promotion Full Impact Pro and Japan’s Pro Wrestling NOAH.

4 Jay Briscoe Had Major Singles Success

More than just a tag team guy with occasional singles matches, in 2013 Jay Briscoe actually defeated Kevin Steen (now Kevin Owens) at Supercard of Honor 7 to win the ROH World Title. His reign would last 89 days until he was stripped of the title due to backstage contract issues disguised as a kayfabe injury.

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But the brothers stayed in ROH, with Jay introducing his own “Real World Championship,” claiming that he never lost the ROH World Title. Adam Cole would unify the two belts by winning a ladder match, but Briscoe would capture the World Title again in 2014 for a 286-day reign.

3 Had a WWE Tryout

In late 2009, Jay and Mark Briscoe wrestled what was reportedly an impressive tryout for WWE and were subsequently invited to WWE’s developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling for further evaluation. However, once they returned home, they received a phone call from WWE’s head of talent relations, John Laurinaitis, who told them that WWE was passing on The Briscoes due to their work, saying they weren’t “cosmetically pleasing” enough. The brothers ended up incorporating their frustrations with the rejection in 2011 when they were feuding with WWE alumni Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin.

2 Champions in NJPW

In the early 2010s, Ring of Honor forged a working relationship with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, resulting in ROH talent appearing on NJPW shows and vice versa. The Briscoe Brothers found success in New Japan, teaming with Toru Yano at 2016’s Wrestle Kingdom 10 to win the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship, which they would hold twice. As a regular two-man tag team, Jay and Mark would take on Guerrillas of Destiny later that year to capture the IWGP Tag Team Championship.

1 Have Branched Out From ROH

Before Tony Khan bought the company, Ring of Honor’s instability had progressed to the point that it simply released everyone under contract in late 2021. With that, Jay and Mark Briscoe began branching out to other companies more frequently than they had in the past. Notable exploits include becoming two-time Tag Team Champions for the increasingly popular Game Changer Wrestling, and winning the National Wrestling Alliance’s 2022 Crockett Cup and subsequently challenging for the tag team belts. They also began performing for Impact Wrestling, debuting against The Good Brothers at Multiverse of Matches.