Sunday, March 8, 2026

The Times I've Seen Briscoe Brothers Live


I've been listening to another awesome episode of the 10 Bell Pod and this one is on life of Jay Briscoe.  Listening to the Manscout Jake Manning talk about Jay really got me thinking about his career and legacy and of course got me thinking about the times I've seen him, and Mark, wrestle live.

I actually own all of these Jay Briscoe matches on home video, so I rewatched all of them for this post.

June 1, 2012
Pro Wrestling Syndicate (PWS) The Rahway Rec Center, Rahway, New Jersey
Pre-Show Dark Match
The Briscoe’s: Mark & Jay defeated Davey Richards & Adam Cole when Mark pinned Adam Cole with a small package.

This was at the PWS 5th Anniversary weekend.  The reason we went to the show was to see The Great Muta.  He's one of my all time favorites and he was doing a rare indie appearance that weekend and we just had to go see him wrestle and do his meet and greet.
 


This show was ridiculously stacked but the Briscoe's wrestled on the pre-show because they were signed to Ring of Honor and this show was airing on Internet PPV.  I believe this was originally advertised as the Briscoe's vs. American Wolves, but Adam Cole replaced Eddie Edwards.

This was an intense fast paced match that showed how good the Briscoes have always been. Action was in and outside the ring, Mark reversed a vertical suplex into the small package.  Jay was limping after the match.

September 30, 2016
Ring of Honor (ROH), Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts 
All Star Extravaganza VIII 
Opening Round Match: Six-Man Tag Team Championship Tournament: Kushida, ACH, & Jay White defeated IWGP World Tag Team Champions: The Briscoe Brothers: Mark & Jay and NOAH GHC Tag Team Champion: Toru Yano when ACH pinned Yano with a 450 Splash


I recall going into the match I thought for sure the Briscoe's and Yano would advance and was shocked when the ACH got the pin.  Great match, again fast paced lots of action and everyone going all out.  I know they have teamed together frequently but Yano just doesn't fit with them in my eyes.

This was my first ROH show, happened to be a PPV, and we had front row right on the aisle.  There was 6 of us and we all wore Limitless Wrestling shirts. You can read my original report about it here: All Star Extravaganza VIII

June 23, 2017
Ring of Honor (ROH), Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts
Best in the World 2017
Dalton Castle & The Boys defeated World Six-Man Tag Team Champions: Bully Ray & The Briscoe Brothers: Mark & Jay to win the tag team titles when Castle pinned Mark 

Back in Lowell for another PPV, and we had the same exact front row seats as last time.


The real feud of this match was Dalton Castle vs. Jay Briscoe the pre-match promos was just Dalton and Jay talking.  Castle was MEGA over at this time and the crowd just loved he and the boys.  Bully Ray was a good fit with The Briscoe's for their shared intensity, but he busted out some comedy with Dalton.
Jay was plain angry the entire match in fact he was distracted going after the boys outside the ring when Dalton pinned Mark to a huge pop!
You can read my original report about it here: Best in the World 2017

May 9, 2018
New Japan Pro Wrestling / ROH, Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts
War of the Worlds
ROH Tag Team Champions: The Briscoes: Mark & Jay defeated Jushin Thunder Liger & Flip Gordon when Mark pinned Flip after an avalanche splash mountain neckbreaker combo




This was my third time seeing ROH at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, this was also my first time seeing Liger live!  This was a house show, we had front row once again, but not in the same seats.  Every match with the Briscoe's is the same, high intensity and fast paced action.  Flip took most of the beating for his team, as it should be.  Crowd didn't care Liger lost, they just wanted to see him.
You can read my original report about it here: War of the Worlds Lowell

November 7, 2018
New Japan Pro Wrestling / ROH, The Colisee, Lewiston, Maine
Global Wars
The Briscoe Brothers: Mark & Jay defeated “American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes with Brandi & Hangman Page when Mark pinned Page with a froggybow after Jay hit him with a Jay Driller.

This was the first and only time ROH had ever been in Maine, and our second NJPW/ROH show of the year.  This venue had previously hosted two WWE events, and has since then hosted 3 Limitless Wrestling shows.  Oh yeah, Muhammad Ali defeated Sonny Liston for the boxing World Heavyweight Championship in 1965.
 

I did the meet and greet with the Briscoe's at this show got my photo with them and for my All In trading card signed by both of them.  I don't have that card anymore, after Jay died someone reached out to me about trading.  They were trying to get a complete signed All In set, so I now have their dual signed Missouri Wrestling Revival Card. 

What we didn't know was two months after this show Cody, Page, and The Young Bucks would announced AEW and would be leaving ROH.  The Briscoe's were leaning towards heel in this match, but still had the fans behind them.  Another great match you can read my original report about it here: ROH Lewiston, Maine Live Report

April 6, 2019
New Japan Pro Wrestling / ROH, Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, New York
G1 Supercard
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions: Guerrillas of Destiny: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa with Jado defeated ROH World Tag Team Champions: Villain Enterprises: PCO & Brody King and Los Ingobernables de Japon: Evil & Sanada and The Briscoe Brothers: Mark & Jay to win both championships when Tanga Loa pinned Brody King after a Superbomb

This was historic as no other wrestling promotion in 60 years had ever held a show at MSG other than WWE until this event.  We had front row in the balcony and it was amazing.

This match was a giant cluster and to be honest, not very good.  Briscoe's had a couple moments in it but they are probably best remember from the match with brawling with Big Caz and Enzo who jumped the rail after the match.  I don't know if ROH was trying to run an angle but it was never acknowledge on the broadcast and they kept the camera's off it.

You can read about it this show here: IndieMania 2019 Part 3

July 23, 2022
ROH: Ring of Honor, Tsongas Center, Lowell, Massachusetts    
Death Before Dishonor 2022
2 out of 3 Falls Match: ROH, IWGP, & AAA World Tag Team Champions: FTR: Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler defeated The Briscoe Brothers: Mark & Jay two falls to one
Fall 1: Mark pinned Dax with the Doomsday Device at 16:33
Fall 2: Dax pinned Jay with the shatter machine at 29:33
Fall 3: Dax pinned Jay with middle rope pile driver at 43:26

THIS IS THE GREATEST TAG TEAM MATCH I HAVE EVER SEEN LIVE!

Hands down, no doubt about it, and I can't imagine it will ever be topped on the list.  It had been over 3 years since the last time I saw the Briscoes and the been to Ring of Honor.  Since that time Tony Khan bought the promotion and Death Before Dishonor was the first ROH PPV under Khan after the sale finalized in May 2022.  I was on the fence about buying tickets, until the morning they went on sale and the two out of 3 falls match was announced.  I got VERY lucky and scored a front row ticket that ended up being right next to the commentators.





My seat was AMAZING.  It was a tremendous show from beginning to end, and FTR and The Briscoe's tore it up for almost 45 minutes! I wore my FTR shirt, Dax came around the front row and hugged everyone wearing an FTR shirt. I don't have the words to express just how good this match is.

Bonus:

These are the two times I've seen Mark Briscoe wrestle at AEW since he joined the promotion after Jay's passing. 

November 6, 2024
AEW Dynamite, SNHU Arena, Manchester, NH
Fight Without Honor: The Conglomerations: Tomohiro Ishii, Mark Briscoe, & Kyle O’Reilly defeated  Ring of Honor World Champion: Chris Jericho, Big Bill & Bryan Keith when Ishii pinned Jericho





April 17, 2025
AEW Collision, MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Boston, MA
Ring of Honor Tapings Episode 113 Aired April 24, 2025
8 Man Tag: AR Fox, Mark Briscoe, and Top Flight; Dante & Darius Martin with Leila Grey defeated Shane Taylor Promotions: Charlie Bravo, ROH Pure Champion: Lee Moriarty, Shane Taylor & Shawn Dean


Thank you for reading, please leave a comment, check out my other posts, and if you want like my blogs Facebook page.  You can also head over to Amazon and pick up a copy of my book the 2024 Limitless Wrestling Almanac, or any of my other books. 

Monday, February 23, 2026

The times I've seen AJ Styles Wrestle Live!

I'm not 100% convinced that we have seen the last of AJ Styles in the ring.  He said that 2026 would be his last year in wrestling, but to have his final match in Saudi Arabia at Royal Rumble seems wrong.  I would love to see him tour the indies, maybe return to New Japan, TNA, ROH, and even an AEW match or two.

While I do recall his matches at the end of WCW, I became a fan of AJ Styles thanks to his matches in TNA where is fine tuned his skills and became the Phenomenal One.  I followed him to New Japan, Ring of Honor and into the WWE.  In recent years he's been one of the few wrestlers in WWE whose matches I always make a point of watching. 

In this blog post we will look at the times I have seen AJ Styles wrestling in person.    

April 21, 2007
Big Time Wrestling, State College Athletic Center, Framingham, Massachusetts
“Hurricane” John Walters defeated “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles by DQ when Christopher Daniels ran in attacking Walters.


This was the one year anniversary event for Big Time Wrestling.  It was a loaded card with other matches including Christopher Daniels vs. Jay Lethal for the Big Time Wrestling Championship, as well as Eddie Edwards, King Kong Bundy, and Velvet Sky then known as Talia Madison.  Also NWA World Champion Christian Cage did a meet and greet.  

This was a tremendous match!  Walters was hitting all cylinders and AJ's never really had an off night.  It was the main event of the show, and Daniels causing the DQ was the right finish.











June 24, 2007
TNA Wrestling, The Casino Ballroom, Hampton Beach, New Hampshire
World Tag Team Champions: Team 3D: Brother Ray & Brother Devon defeated AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels




This was my first even TNA Live event and even though it was a six sided ring, it was a very small ring.  Before the show we met Michael Shane outside, during the show I got photos with Jeremy Borash, referee Andrew Thomas, Hernandez, and even Terry Taylor.

I was excited to see Styles and Daniels wrestle has a tag team, they have great chemistry and the Dudley's could still go at this time. 

December 4, 2009
TNA Wrestling, Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, Maine
World Heavyweight Champion: “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles pinned Christopher Daniels after a styles clash

To date this is the only TNA wrestling event in Maine.  We had awesome seats for the show as we managed to get second row on the aisle.  Was very happy to see Styles wrestle as world champion in this match.  These two put on a fantastic match really going all out on a packed show. 

I can't find my photos for this show, which is a bit frustrating.  

April 25, 2014
MainEvent Wrestling, Parks & Rec Center, Bangor, Maine
“Phenomenal” AJ Styles & Heavyweight Champion: Mark Moment w/ Lizzie Raze battled to a time limit draw

This was during the very brief window when AJ had left TNA and was doing some independent shows. Just a few days before this show he made his ROH return, and 8 days after this show, he defeated Kazuchika Okada in Fukuoka to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship!







AJ was his normal Phenomenal self, Moment, he did his best to keep up, but it's AJ Styles for crying out loud!  This went to an all too short 20 minutes time limit draw, which was for the best considering Moment's conditioning. 

March 16, 2018
WWE, Madison Square Garden, New York City
Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Kevin Owens with Sami Zayn by Disqualification - this was supposed to be Nakamura & WWE Champion: AJ Styles vs. Owens and Zayn in a tag match when Styles was injured pre-match - Styles ran in and made the save for Nakamura


This was my first time going to Madison Square Garden, I had been wanting to go for years, we had always talked about going and finally just did.  You can read my blog post about it here: My Madison Square Garden Adventure.  AJ was advertised to wrestle on the show, they ran an injury angle and it was a singles match.  He did make the save at the end. 

July 9, 2018
WWE, The Civic Center, Augusta, Maine
No Disqualification: WWE Champion: AJ Styles pinned Shinsuke Nakamura





This was the last time I saw AJ wrestle live, you can read about it here: WWE House Show July 9, 2018.  It's funny that only 4 months after I was supposed to see them team together here they are fighting each other in a no DQ match for Styles WWE Championship.

To me AJ will go down as one of the greatest to ever wrestle.  I do wish I would have had the chance to see him wrestle live more often.  I feel lucky I was able to see him defend both the TNA and WWE Worlds Championships. 

Thank you for reading, please leave a comment, check out my other posts, and if you want like my blogs Facebook page.  You can also head over to Amazon and pick up a copy of my book the 2024 Limitless Wrestling Almanac, or any of my other books. 

Saturday, February 7, 2026

Celles Qui Luttent Wrestling Documentary


Celles Qui Luttent or Sisters of Wrestling is a documentary by Sarah Baril Gaudet that follows French Canadian women wrestlers Azaelle, Loue O'Farrell, and Lufisto.  The film is primarily in French with English subtitles is an all too short 68 minutes, with an official release date was November 17, 2023 at the Montreal International Documentary Festival.  The director was inspired to make this feature after attending a Femmes Fatales event in Ottawa.   

Each of the woman featured have their own segments where we are introduced to who they are, get to view a part of their private lives and learn about their passion for pro wrestling.  Sprinkled through out the documentary are clips of matches, including some older ones for Lufisto, and we watch them go through the process of putting a match together. 

I'm not going to give away too much because I want people to watch this documentary because it's well worth your time.  The documentary cuts between the 3 with Azaelle sharing her concerns with pregnancy, Loue being a single mom and balancing wrestling and life, and they both share the financial struggles being being an independent wrestler.  

What is also unique is that we get look at a months long feud over the FCL Women's Championship between Azaelle and Loue with promos and match footage that rolls through the entirety of the documentary.

Where as Loue and Azaelle are friends and appear on the same shows, Lufisto has been wrestling much longer and does not appear of those shows.  Lufisto's struggles are different as she is nearing the end of her career, having spent nearly 30 years in wrestling, and doesn't seem satisfied with what she has accomplished.

We get footage of Lufisto with current WWE wrestlers:

May 18, 2004 a Three Way: Kevin Steen defeats El Generico and Lufisto
CWE Anger Management 101, Universite Concordia, Montreal, Quebec

As well as clips of Lufisto's early hardcore wrestling days: 

March 3, 2002 Three Way Tables: Jason defeats Precious Lucy and Scream
FLQ Plus, Montreal, Quebec

January 5, 2000 Precious Lucy vs. Amanda Storm, Augusta Civic Center, Maine

I first saw Lufisto in my home state of Maine in 1999 as Precious Lucy the manager of "Centerfold" Steve Ramsey, and later as a competitor in the ring for EWA.  I used to chat with her in the locker room and about her hardcore matches and where she wanted to go as a wrestler.  She last appeared in the EWA in 2000, and I didn't see her again in person until 2019 when I went to C4 in Ottawa.

September 20, 2019 at C4 Ottawa, Ontario

Since then she has wrestled in Limitless Wrestling a few times and I saw her compete for AEW for AEW Dark.

April 6, 2022 AEW Agganis Arena, Boston

Limitless Wrestling May 28, 2022 Yarmouth, Maine

My Lufisto trading card collection

I've been a fan of Loue O'Farrell for many years because of Tabarnak de Team from their appearances in Limitless Wrestling.  There is so much wrestling to watch there isn't enough time to watch all of it.  So if I find someone or a tag team that I like I will follow them and watch the shows they are on and that is how I first saw Loue O'Farrell.

I can't speak enough on just how good Loue is in the ring, her 729 day reign as the NSPW Junior Heavyweight Champion was a declaration of how good she is.  One of the struggles they discuss in the film is how being Canadian makes it difficult get noticed and to be able to work in the thriving United States wrestling scene.

December 7, 2024 NSPW Quebec City

I had the opportunity to see Loue wrestling live for the first time in December 2024 when I traveled to Quebec City to watch NSPW.  I learned about documentary from following Loue on Instagram as she shared information about it.  


After the show Loue signed my trading card and we had fantastic conversation about wrestling, her participation with the wrestling exhibit at the museum and more.  A fantastically nice person.
 

When I learned about the documentary I needed to see it.  I wasn't able to stream it online because it wasn't available in the United States to stream.  I attempted to buy the DVD online, however shipping from both retailers was over $40!!  My son and I traveled to Quebec City in January 2026 for our Canadian Hockey weekend and went to NSPW again.  I went to the SPIRA offices and bought the DVD direct from them.

I saw Azaelle for the first time at the December 2024 NSPW show a well, she was in the pre-show match.  At the January 2026 show she was in a featured tag team match that I thoroughly enjoyed.

January 10, 2026 NSPW Quebec City

I chatted with her at intermission and she also signed my trading card and the DVD.  I was hoping to get Loue to sign the DVD as well, she was at the show for a promo but she didn't come out, next time.  


Azaelle could not have been nicer and I hope she too is able to find success in wrestling.  From when the documentary was filmed in 2022 & 2023 to today she has clearly worked hard and cut weight.
  

I was very excited to get home and watch the documentary, and it did not disappoint!  It is very well done, you get attached to each of them and route for their success.  I wish it was longer.  I would have loved some bonus footage on the DVD.   

Using cagematch I was able to find figure out the dates and locates of the match footage that was shown in the feature.  There are matches from, NSPW: North Shore Pro Wrestling, FCL: Federation Canadienne de Lutte, IWS: International Wrestling Syndicate, and C4: Capital City Championship Combat.  I have listed the matches in the order that they appear in the documentary.

February 18, 2023
NSPW Le Diamant, Montreal, Quebec
NSPW Champion Matt Falco defeated Travis Toxic

March 18, 2023
NSPW Show Mystere, Quebec City, Quebec
Azaelle defeats Jeff Saunders with Giovanni by disqualification

April 2, 2022
FCL: Centre Christ Roy, Shawinigan, Quebec
FCL Women's Champion: Azaelle wrestled Loue O'Farrell to a draw

April 23, 2022
IWS Know Your Enemies 2022, Club Soda, Montreal, Quebec
Lufisto pinned Kristara

July 28, 2022
NSPW Thursday Night Wrestling, Centre Horizon, Quebec City, Quebec
No Disqualification: Loue O'Farrell & Melanie Havok defeat Jason Petitclerc & Michael Style

September 17, 2022
NSPW 400e Show, Centre Horizon, Quebec City, Quebec 
Three Way: Travis Toxic defeated Loue O'Farrell and Zak Patterson pinning Loue

April 22, 2022
C4 Time And Tide, St. Anthony's Hall, Ottawa, Ontario,
The Tiger And The Wolf: Holden Albright & Kobe Durst defeated LuFisto & Mathieu St-Jacques when Albright pinned Lufisto

May 14, 2022
FCL Finale De La Saison, Centre Christ Roy, Shawinigan, Quebec
Best Two Out Of Three Falls: Loue O'Farrell defeated FCL Women's Champion: Azaelle to win the championship

March 4, 2023
NSPW Vs. Femmes Fatales Snowstorm Edition, Centre Horizon, Quebec City, Quebec
Loue O'Farrell, Stu Grayson & Travis Toxic defeated James Stone, Pee Wee & Vanessa Kraven

If you are a wrestling fan, you should take the time to watch this as it's well worth your time.

If you want to read my blog posts about my C4 and two NSPW shows here you go:




Thank you for reading, please leave a comment, check out my other posts, and if you want like my blogs Facebook page.  You can also head over to Amazon and pick up a copy of my book the 2024 Limitless Wrestling Almanac, or any of my other books.