Nick Jackson Discusses Struggle To Bring The Briscoe Brothers To AEW

The Briscoes were never able to appear on AEW television, but it wasn't for a lack of trying behind the scenes. Following the news of Jay Briscoe's tragic death earlier this week, The Young Bucks' Nick Jackson discussed with the Wrestling Observer Newsletter the company's efforts to get the Briscoe brothers on-board. 

"We always say they're the best tag team in the world that wasn't showcased to a national audience. We wanted to change that," said Jackson. "We tried recruiting them from day one to AEW — literally would beg on a weekly basis. Tony [Khan] tried his hardest, and when he bought ROH, that was one of the first things he did was sign them to long-term contracts."

It was previously reported that an influential WarnerMedia official was against AEW signing Mark and Jay Briscoe. This was due to Jay Briscoe using homophobic slurs on Twitter in 2013, tweets he would go on to apologize for on numerous occasions. However, it appears that Jay also made extra efforts to make amends for his insensitive behavior and seek forgiveness. 

According to Jackson, Briscoe took sensitivity training and seemed genuine about making changes. The AEW star revealed that he talked to lots of people about Briscoe's progress, with many of them describing the work he had put in positively. "I just wish he was given a better opportunity for forgiveness while he was still here with us," he added. "He was such a good human being."

Following his death, LGBTQ+ performers such as Effy spoke highly of Briscoe, noting that their experiences together were always respectful and uplifting.