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Mark Briscoe is someone that is impervious to being booked poorly given his charisma and connection with the crowd. Mark and his brother Jay were relegated to only appearing only in Ring of Honor under Tony Khan after he purchased the company in 2022 due to Jay posting anti-LGBTQ tweets on Twitter while he was a member of the original ROH roster. The tweets upset a Warner executive and Mark and his brother were banned from AEW TV and PPV.
Not long after Jay’s death, Mark was allowed to appear on AEW TV for the first time. He got a shot at the ROH World TV Championship held by Samoa Joe. The match took place at the ROH Supercard of Honor PPV on March 31. Mark had a ton of momentum heading into the match and the storyline for the match even revolved around the spirit of Jay Briscoe being in the ring with Mark as he challenged Samoa Joe for the title, but somehow the call was made for Mark to lose the match.
This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive look at how Mark Briscoe has been booked in AEW, but he hasn’t been allowed to succeed at his maximum potential by AEW COO and booker Tony Khan. Mark appears on AEW TV frequently and every time he cuts a promo backstage or makes an appearance in a singles match, he lights up the TV screen with his charisma and connection to the crowd.
Mark’s connection with the fans may dwindle a bit from time-to-time when Mark is put on the backburner by AEW, but since wrestling is a fan service first, why is someone so beloved by fans as Mark is not put in the position to succeed in AEW whether it be for a major title or secondary championship.
Anyone that watched Mark Briscoe’s appearances on social media following his brother’s death saw the grace with which he handled the terrible tragedy. Mark handled the situation with a grace that I would not expect from anyone that had lost their brother. Mark almost seemed to be comforting the fans in one video that was shown on social media following Jay’s death that I remember fondly talking about how Jay was in a better place now and he was going to move forward with his wrestling career knowing that Jay was always with him.
It is impossible not to feel a connection with Mark if you see him cut a promo on TV with his enthusiastic delivery tinged with his signature southern accent. Mark recently got a huge victory over MJF in a Tables & Thumbtacks match at the All Out: Toronto PPV in September. He beat MJF clean and sent him packing from the company from a storyline standpoint.
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A win over MJF should be huge for anyone that beats him in AEW. Mark seemed primed for big things, but before All Out: Toronto ended, Mark tipped his hand at what was to come next for him. It wasn’t a shot at Hangman Page and the AEW World Hvt. Championship. It wasn’t even a shot at Kyle Fletcher and the TNT Championship, it was hyping up the return of Orange Cassidy and his Conglomeration stablemates.
Mark teased the return of Orange Cassidy backstage on the same night he beat MJF and he’s been a hype man for The Conglomeration ever since then on TV. Orange Cassidy, who had been out for months with injury, even got a shot at Kyle Fletcher and the TNT Championship before Mark was rewarded from a storyline standpoint for his win over MJF.
Mark is so popular that Tony Khan can easily build him back up and give him his big moment as a singles wrestler if he wants to, but why keep teasing the fans. A win over MJF is about as big as can get in terms of a launching point for a wrestler, so why have him beat MJF and then fade to the undercard with The Conglomeration? Only Khan knows the answer.
Mark leaning heavily into comedy and being goofy on TV after beating MJF in a serious match to end a serious feud is a disappointment because it felt like it was time for Khan to pull the trigger on something bigger for Mark as a singles wrestler. He is a wrestler that would almost certainly draw interest from the AEW fanbase on TV and PPV. Unfortunately it feels like AEW is not going to deliver that big moment for Mark anytime soon.
You can contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him on X @SR_Torch and on Bluesky @SeanRadican.
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