Mark Briscoe was allowed to appear on this week’s Dynamite but only after the monumental efforts of AEW President Tony Khan.
The Briscoes were not allowed to appear on AEW programming due to an edict by Warner Bros. Discovery, over problematic comments made by Jay a decade ago.
After Jay’s death earlier this month, Mark was allowed to compete on this week’s Dynamite, where he faced Jay Lethal.
Khan’s Efforts
Briscoe’s debut on this week’s Dynamite came hours after a report stating that WBD wanted no part of him on their show, due to Jay’s comments.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer stated that it was Tony Khan who went to bat for the Briscoes.
“You have to credit that one to Tony Khan. I mean, he pushed and pushed and I mean, he pushed really hard on this one and got them to change their minds. They [Warner Bros. Discovery] were pretty dead-set against it. I mean, the social media stuff, that possibly could have helped.”
Dave Meltzer.
Team Effort
While Khan was able to convince WBD to ditch their ban on either Briscoe, he wasn’t the only one who worked on this.
On his show, Meltzer said that it was a team effort of people who showed the better side of Jay Briscoe to AEW’s broadcast partners.
“It was certainly a lot of people. We said it last Wednesday, but a lot of people had been saying it all week like ‘how do you ban Jay Briscoe, the tribute show? How do you ban the tribute show when you’re showing Dana White on Slap-Fight?’ Dana White’s mistake was December 31st, 2022 [and WBD moved on.] Jay’s mistake, a big mistake, both of them were big mistakes. His mistake was in 2013 and he had certainly apologized and atoned for it. Just read the article that I did. The stuff from [ROH commentator Ian] Riccaboni and other people. Cary Silkin and others.
“Nobody hid from that part of Jay Briscoe’s life, and neither did he. So [allowing Mark on Dynamite] was the right thing to do and I’m glad he got to do it. But it took a lot a lot a lot of work to get it done.”
Meltzer added on his show that Mark is free to compete on AEW going forward, implying that his appearance this week was not a one-off.
For use of these quotes please give a h/t to SEScoops.
