Mark Briscoe On "Strategic Sh*thead" MJF, Jay Briscoe Equals Michael Jordan & No Internet For ECW
I have an exclusive 'talky talk' with the living thesaurus of Sussex County before AEW ALL IN.
It’s a big weekend for pro wrestling and it’s a big weekend for Mark Briscoe.
AEW ALL IN: Texas is aiming to steal the headlines with the company’s biggest wrestling show of the year and Briscoe finds himself sitting pretty as the #1 entrant into the Casino Battle Royal. Number two is MJF and the two find themselves in one heck of a grudge after a ‘Talky talk’ this past Wednesday on AEW Dynamite.
It was Thursday morning when the new Player’s Tribune documentary, ‘Two In One: The Briscoe Story’ was released. The thirty-minute piece is an immersively heartwarming look at the Briscoe family, and how Mark and his late brother Jamin “Jay” Briscoe are still connected with one another.
In an exclusive interview, I asked Mark about the documentary, his weekend ahead, what he has on tap for MJF, his ECW fandom, Jay having a “Michael Jordan” mentality and more. A “conglomeration” of quotes are below along with the video interview (please embed/link back to that as well as BrassRingMedia.com)
“Two In One: The Briscoe Story”
What Mark Briscoe thinks of the documentary:
“ I'm gonna be a hundred percent honest with you. So far everybody in the family has watched it. Me and my dad have not been able to bring ourselves to - I haven't watched it yet. I'm gonna watch it. Today, probably right when I get off with you, but I've had quite a few people call and text and say how much they enjoyed it. And I mean, Katie [Klann] and Lisa [Phillips], the two ladies that came and did the documentary, they're amazing, amazing people.
“We had such a good time doing everything. But yeah, I'm, I'm gonna watch it, but sometimes it's just, man it is tough.”
MJF: “A Strategic Sh*thead”
On how it felt to throw hands with MJF before AEW All In: Texas:
“Oh yeah, it was. It felt real good. My knuckles felt real good coming across MJF’s chin and face and whatnot. He just don't know when to stop, you know? That's the thing. I guess I underestimated him. I was prepared for him to say some ignorant stuff, but I guess I underestimated how ignorant he can really get.
“This is just the beginning with ‘Ol’ Pickle Friedman.’
”He's an intelligent young man. See, that's the thing. He's an intelligent young man, and he's a strategic shithead, if that makes any sense… it's gonna be an honor and a privilege to beat the dog crap out of Maxwell Jacob Friedman.”
“We Didn’t Know About ECW”
It was back in May when Mark Briscoe and Ricochet gave an extreme tribute to the late great Sabu, and Mark mentioned how he and Jay appreciated the Golden Era of Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior, but what truly got the brothers pursuing pro wrestling was stumbling onto ECW while hunkered in a hotel room in South Philly for a basketball tournament.
”We got on the TV on and what comes on TV - Extreme Championship Wrestling. I didn't know anything about ECW. I guess there probably was internet at the time, but we damn sure didn't have no Internet. Nobody that we knew had the internet. We didn't know about ECW.
”When we saw ECW sitting in that hotel room in South Philadelphia, we had a basketball tournament the next day, man, that's when it was like, ‘Holy crap, what is this?’”
“There's all the other kids that were on the team, but me and [Jay] - there was no words, it was more like telepathy.
“Wrestlers like these ECW crazy ass Sabu, RVD, Taz, Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, like, like it was just the whole field, the whole vibe of ECW and just how it was so rebellious in, ‘Oh, you don't think we can say that? Well, we gonna say that.’:
Jay Briscoe: A “Michael Jordan Baby”
Mark Briscoe on Jay and the notorious ‘Terry Funk Ain’t Wear No Damn Mouthpiece’ promo
“ He was consumed with just perfection as far as wrestling and promos. When it comes to wrestling, especially talking [and] I mean in the ring,I'd put him the help against anybody of all time. One of the most believable, badass wrestlers ever, but when he had something to say and he just knew how to word things and how to just present what he was going to say and just the right tone and just the right cadence and just, you know, just the right build.
“ It was just crazy how he was a perfectionist. He was a Michael Jordan baby. So I remember when the Bulls and the Pistons, It was almost like the Pistons were the team, the Detroit Pistons: “The Bad Boys” or whatever. Dennis Rodman and Isaiah Thomas and Joe Dumas but then Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, Jordan and [Scottie] Pippen and all, 'em, they ended up basically taking the throne and he was, he was like Michael Jordan baby.”
Mark shares a story when he and Jay were young and how their dad bought them a regulation sized basketball hoop. Jay was a kid far from his growth spurt, but he still went out there and tried to dunk on the hoop, despite being vertically challenged.
“ My dad came outside, he said, ‘Jamie, what are you doing, son?’ He said, ‘I'm trying to dunk. I, I want to dunk this basketball. I'm trying to dunk. I wanna dunk. I wanna be able to dunk.’ [Papa Briscoe] said, ‘Well, I don't think you're quite tall enough or maybe when you get a little bit older,’ [Jay] said, ‘Well, dad, I ain't never gonna be able to dunk if I don't practice.’
“And like he legitly sat there and ran at the basketball hoop and jumped up as high as he could and was five feet away and tried to dump for hours upon hours. That was his mentality. He was. He was a perfectionist and when it came to like promos and whatnot, he just always knew. He just always knew what would just hit just right.”
Feeling Jay’s Presence
Does Mark feel Jay’s presence when he’s out in the ring?
”Yeah. Like I say all the time, like wrestling is like my therapy, you know what I mean?
“ Like I definitely feel him. I mean every day, and sometimes people tell me like whether it be friends or like family, whatever … ‘You are him. Y'all do the same things. You talk the same, you act the same. And I mean that's real cool.’”
“ I've said dozens of times, like if I thought for even a split second that he no longer existed, then I wouldn't be all right. I wouldn't be able to function. You know what I mean? I know that he's doing better than me. He's at the next level. He's graduated onto the next level of life and existence. You know what I mean?
“ The world, it didn't just magically, just coincidentally just happened. Like there's a God in heaven and he created, like there's a creator. You know what I mean? It doesn't make sense any other way. Like you can do all you Googling and this, that and the other - it just doesn't make sense any other way.”
“It is very comforting. You know what I mean? Very comforting. And you know, it is difficult. There's bad days and good days, and there's times when I just don't even wanna function, do anything, you know what I mean?
“But it’s been a couple years now, whatever, we gonna keep on keepin’ on brother. We gonna keep on doing what we do, you know?
AEW All In: Texas takes place on July 12 at 3 PM ET in Arlington, TX.