Mark Briscoe On Being Turned Down By WWE: 'We Were Not Cosmetically Pleasing Enough'

It is widely acknowledged that The Briscoes, The New Day, Young Bucks, and The Usos are the four generation-defining tag teams of the modern era. While two of those units have dominated WWE's tag team division over the past decade or so, it's now come to light that The Briscoes were on the verge of doing the same — only if former WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis didn't have a change of heart.

During his recent appearance on "Talk Is Jericho," Mark Briscoe recounted the story of Laurinaitis rejecting The Briscoes at an FCW/WWE tryout in the early 2000s.

"Everybody was saying, 'They really liked you. They're gonna bring you guys on,'" Briscoe recalled. "I guess it was a week or two after we had got home, we were just waiting to hear back because they said, 'We will give you a holler and let you know.' John Laurinaitis called and he goes, 'Yeah, we really liked your stuff but I think we're going to pass for right now. Let us know if you guys want another try.' 

"That kind of rubbed me the wrong way," Briscoe continued. "But then I guess when he talked to Jay, as he called Jay either before or after he called me, he said, 'Man, you know what he told me? He said that we were not cosmetically pleasing enough!'"

Upon chatting with his brother, Mark felt Laurinaitis' comments were "cold" and that The Briscoes had been disrespected by the former WWE executive. 

Prior to the WWE tryout, The Briscoes were admittedly more focused on their in-ring prowess rather than building out their characters. According to Mark Briscoe, a conversation with a trainer in FCW actually helped them recognize the dynamics of their team.

"In the early stages, before we really learned the character aspect of the game, it was more just about work rate and how much could we do," Briscoe recalled. "Jay was more of a power guy, I was more of a high-flyer. He was the pounder, I was the flier."

Briscoe proceeded to detail the pivotal conversation with the trainer. "He came up and said, 'This is what I'm seeing. You are the crazy one, he's the cool one. That's the dynamic you got going here.'"

The characterization of the brothers stuck, as Mark and Jay embraced their new roles, making a natural progression from mere work-rate guys to well-rounded performers. As their careers progressed, Mark believes The Briscoes "regressed physically" but took drastic strides "from a mindset aspect," a change that held them in good stead in subsequent years in ROH.

"I used to be so timid and afraid to cut loose," Briscoe said, as he recalled his early years in the business. So, how did The Briscoes come up with their name? Mark credits indie wrestling promoter Jim Kettner for christening them.

"He says, 'Your chemistry reminds me of Jack and Jerry Brisco," Briscoe recalled. "I'm going to put an 'E' and you're gonna be The Briscoe Brothers 2000."

Incidentally, Briscoe met the legendary Jerry Brisco during The Briscoes' WWE/FCW tryout. During the conversation, The Briscoes made it clear they had no intention to disrespect the legendary Brisco Brothers. "Jerry said he didn't mind at all. He would have appreciated if someone told him [beforehand] but he was fine with it."