Jay and Mark Briscoe who have been with Ring of Honor since it began sat down with AlexROH (on the forum) for an interview with Solowrestling.com (a Spanish language based site). Here are some excerpts from the interview. I encourage you all to check out the full interview completely translated HERE.
– You have been at ROH since its inception in 2002. From a wrestlers, style and production point of view, what changes have you seen over the years?
Jay: “Wow, it’s tough guy. It is difficult to sit down and analyze point by point everything that has changed here. When you are living, you just want to get better and move forward, focusing on what you have to do. Every night, every fight, you know.
Now we have thousands of fans and big screens. Fans can watch promos, videos, lights and the like. It’s crazy to sit back and think about everything we’ve grown and what we’ve become. ”
Mark: “The best thing is that we are still having the same hunger as in 2002. Back then, ROH wanted to bring together the best emerging fighters from the independent scene. People like Doug Williams were gaining worldwide fame. It was a super-show with independent stars. Now we are the second company in the United States. There are differences if you compare where we started and where we are now, but the hunger remains the same. ”
– The Briscoes have always been characterized by being very marked characters. You have a rude personality, with your promos and style on the ring, have you had problems with the limitations that the national television presents?
Jay: “Yes, there are limitations.”
Mark: “I think the biggest difference, beyond the production team and stuff, is that now people in the world take offense much faster.”
Jay: “We try to do the same things, even if our audience is older. It is difficult to limit, especially for someone like the Briscoes. We believe and defend everything we do. But yes, there are changes. ”
– Do you have the same creative freedom as before?
Jay: “Yes, but you have to think everything you say.”
Mark: “You have to be careful. We are a pair of country boys, Christian brothers. Things have changed a lot since 2002. People today are angry. People are looking for things to get angry, instead of things to be happy. That does not spring. But now it is so. ”
– Beyond achieving once again the world championship in pairs, do you have any pending goal in ROH?
Jay: “Adam Cole won the world championship three times. Even though my brother can always get the best out of me, I would like to go for the world championship again. Even if it’s long term, it would be good to win it four times and set a record. ”
Mark: “As we’ve always said, my mission is to go for the television championship. I will be happy if I can fight for the world championship; But if you look at the lineage of both belts, you will see that the television championship is just as prestigious as the world championship. It has less years of history and it is clear that it will be the secondary belt of the company; But he wants to be a champion and raise him to a new level. ”
– Now that you mention the history of the ROH World Championship. A section of the fans have complained that Cody as champion belittles the belt, what do you think of Cody’s work?
Mark: “Oh my god, it can still get much better.”
Jay: “That’s it [in reference to your brother’s comments]. His reign has just begun. You have to give time to things to evolve and see where they are going. The easy thing is to say first ‘Agg, I hate this guy’. Man, wait a couple of months to see what happens. ”
Mark: “A lot of people jump out and start with ‘Agg, this guy is awful.’ People do not realize that is the answer we want. Cody is a phenomenal worker.
His father is one of the best and, since winning the belt, has been growing. He had an incredible fight with Okada at an NJPW event in California. Cody is good for the belt, good for the company and good for wrestling. ”
– ROH has beaten a lot of records this year (attendance and event sales), do you think the main responsible for this has been the impact of Cody Rhodes?
Mark: “It does not have to. The company was pointing in that direction before its arrival. Cody has done nothing wrong for the company or anything that has made us back down; But we were already building the road before its debut. ”
– ROH has always been a company that has stood out for its young talent. Now that there are more independent companies and NXT, do you think ROH has trouble finding and creating new talent?
Jay: “ROH will always create young talents. ROH has always been the regional platform for the boys to make themselves known. There are many types of WWE that have come through here. Things are not going to change, ROH is the developing talent factory, not just for WWE, but for NJPW. If you can show what you’re worth and get a name here, you can go wherever you want. ”
– Looking at the current roster and the new talent, who do you see as the new Briscoes or as future stars of the company?
Mark: “There are a couple of guys who fought in the last episode of television. Punishment Martinez and Flip Gordon. They are two examples, if I wanted I could go on and list a dozen of them.
Martinez came as a big guy with a lot of presence. Such big and intense people find it hard to find out from WWE. They are frightening people just by looking at her. In addition, it is able to move and do impossible things. It’s great”.