The Jay Briscoe Celebration of Life edition of AEW Dynamite on Wednesday reportedly went well, but many things were changed to accommodate the ROH Hall of Famer, who died last Tuesday at the age of 38.
According to a new report from Fightful Select, it didn’t appear that thee tribute or the debut of ROH World Tag Team Champion Mark Briscoe would happen prior to Tuesday, but AEW officials moved many things around to make it a reality. We have taken note of how WarnerMedia representatives unexpectedly changed their minds earlier on Tuesday, about using Mark on AEW TV and using the program to pay tribute to Jay.
The main event was supposed to be Buddy Matthews vs. AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin, but AEW chose Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal instead. Matthews vs. Allin was actually shortened in order to make room for Briscoe vs. Lethal.
The Gunns and AEW World Tag Team Champions The Acclaimed was also supposed to last longer than it did, but that time was also cut.
According to an AEW source, it was impressive how officials were able to give Briscoe and Lethal as much time as they needed while not jeopardizing anything else that had been advertised.
AEW World Trios Champion Kenny Omega reportedly wanted to be there on Wednesday night but was unable due to visa issues. FTR was present, but they were already scheduled to be backstage before the Briscoe tribute was announced. Dalton Castle attended the show and sat in the front row to support Briscoe in the main event.
Officials from AEW were reportedly thrilled with Wednesday’s Dynamite from Lexington, Kentucky’s famed Rupp Arena.
