The Viking Raiders reminisce on Jay Briscoe’s life and their time together.
In January 2023, the wrestling world lost Jay Briscoe in a horrific vehicle accident. Following his death, many in the wrestling community praised the former Ring of Honor World Championship for both the performer he was inside the ropes and the guy he was outside of the ring.
Erik and Ivar, The Viking Raiders, formerly known as War Machine in Ring of Honor, spoke with Sean Ross Sapp before of WrestleMania 39 about their experience with Jay both in and out of the ring.
“We had so many matches, whether we were teaming with them, working with them, they were the hardest-hitting tag team. The business can be so cynical at times. Those guys were so giving to us in so many instances,“
Ivar Via Fightful
Erik commented on Briscoe outside of the ring, adding that while he was a brilliant competitor, the guy he left behind had a greater influence.
“The legacy of the Briscoes and Jay Briscoe, he was the most real person in wrestling. His promos, his matches, he was real. Everything he said, every move he made, everything was real and true and honest. As amazing and as game-changing and as groundbreaking a performer he is, we won’t talk about that. We’ll talk about what a family man he was. He beloved he was. The kind of father he is. A wonderful friend and husband. It’s hard for me to talk about Jay without crying. Every time we talk about him, I lose it,” said Erik. “Him being taken from us, we have to face the fact that we’re not given tomorrow, we’re not promised tomorrow. That’s terrifying to think about. You just assume, ‘Tomorrow is coming.’ We’re not given tomorrow. There were so many conversations I had with Jay where, just weeks before he passed, we were exchanging messages. I didn’t say the things to him that I thought, about him as a man, as a father, how much he meant to me, how much I love him. Those went unspoken. They were understood, I’m sure, but I could have said them and I didn’t. I’m trying to use that and move forward in life to where I’m being more expressive and tell my friends that I love them and tell people that I value them and drive that message home.”
Erik Via Fightful
h/t Fightful
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