Mark Briscoe transitioned to singles competition following the tragic death of his brother Jay Briscoe in 2023, and he discussed the challenges of making the switch during a recent K&S WrestleFest signing.
Jay died in a car crash in Laurel, Delaware, on January 17, 2023, at the age of 38.
You can check out some highlights from Briscoe below:
On transitioning to a singles career: “As a rookie singles wrestler, I’m not trying to make excuses because I don’t condone losing. I’m not happy that I lost, ‘Oh, it’s my rookie season so it’s okay that I lost.’ No, it’s not okay that I am losing… I’ve just got to figure out the nuances of singles wrestling as compared to tag team wrestling. Don’t worry, I think 2024, ya’ll going to see big things from Sussex County’s favorite son.
On what he needs to work on as a singles wrestler: “Me and Jay could both be guns blazing 100 miles per hour, because I know once I’ve whopped a sufficient amount of ass, I know I can tag out and get a breather. In a singles match you don’t have that luxury, you don’t have that tag out options so it’s almost like I’ve gotta pace myself. I’ve still gotta whoop that ass, but we’ve gotta keep some gas in the tank.”
During a recent appearance on “Nerdtropolis” to promote the Death Tour Documentary, Chris Jericho advised young talents to compete in as many death matches as possible.
He said, “Do all of those types of matches you can do. Do a Death Tour. Track Tony Condello down and he probably still wants you to send a picture and a videotape, that’s how he used to do it. Send them your link. One of these tours, it will push you, but it will teach you so many lessons, not just about wrestling, but about life. You’ll be able to prove to yourself if you really want to do this. If you don’t want to do this, you’re not going to want to travel 16 hours in a cramped up freezing van across a frozen lake to get to a high school gymnasium in the middle of nowhere, set up the ring, wrestle a match, take the ring down, put your sleeping bag on the gym floor and eat a ham sandwich for 30 bucks. When you’re getting paid probably $50 for the night. That’s just how it is. Either you do it, and you take the benefits of it, or you just look at the reasons why you don’t want to do it and pack up your stuff and never get involved in wrestling again.”
