Fightful Speaks To Mark Briscoe And Orange Cassidy Of The Conglomeration

Fightful Select had the opportunity to speak with the ROH Heavyweight Champion, Mark Briscoe, in an exclusive interview.

Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp spoke with the Conglomeration member for about twenty minutes, discussing numerous topics.

The interview began with Sean mentioning to Mark that The Briscoes vs. FTR matches came in first and second place for the Fightful Tag Team Match of the Year. [The winner was Briscoes vs. FTR III - Final Battle]

Sean asked Mark how it felt knowing that the matches between The Briscoes and FTR affected people. Mark said, “How everything worked out and came together, now that it’s in the past, it was almost like a dream. The BackSeat Boyz used to have a move called The Dream Sequence. It was like a dream sequence.” Mark would mention that Jay’s passing just over a month later makes it more legendary.”

Sean shared a story he heard from the WWE Tag Team, The War Raiders [Erik and Ivar], and in the story, Sean mentioned how he was told Jay and Mark began fighting once because they disagreed on how to help tape up an ankle. Mark told Sean this was a common occurrence and that people would be caught off guard. Briscoe said it could happen in multiple places, like airports, TGI Fridays, etc. Mark noted that after they fought, things would return to normal between the two.

The former 13-time ROH World Tag Team Champion was asked how the word of the day comes about. Mark said, “The word of the day is a thing that just happened. It just happened on its own. Sometimes there are multiple words of the day.” Mark told Sean there wasn’t a word of the day before he asked him. Mark then told Sean the word of the day is “Tomfoolery.”

When asked about working with creative at AEW, Mark said everyone in the creative department respects the artist's art and notes that there are always suggestions and input.

Mark also told Sean that talent chooses what they want to say. It can be critiqued, tweaked, or twerked, but that’s part of the beauty of AEW. Mark said having that creative freedom in AEW comes down to what you do, what you say, who you are, and who your character is.

Sean mentioned that Mark’s match at WrestleDream would be the first time he would wrestle Chris Jericho and that they had never crossed paths until now. Mark said he attributes this to the beauty of professional wrestling because two people can wrestle at the highest level but have never crossed paths. Mark also noted that the beauty of pro wrestling is that it’s the greatest variety show in the world, and it is remarkable that his and Jericho's paths will now cross.

Sean mentioned The Briscoes history with Charlie Haas. He said they were his punching bags when they first started, and they [Charlie and Russ Haas] were their punching bags.

When asked what winning the ROH Heavyweight Championship was like, Mark said, “It was too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence. God had his hand in how I ended up winning the title on the anniversary of when my brother won the title, and it was in Philadelphia, which is right up the road for a lot of our friends and family to drive up to.”

Mark said his family wouldn't have been there if the event had not happened in Philadelphia and had happened somewhere like Chicago or Los Angeles.

Mark told Sean that ROH PPVs are among the best shows in professional wrestling. Mark also mentioned that he wants to see marquee matches on Ring of Honor TV, and they have to get the word out. He added that fans will not come and watch if they don’t know about it.

Mark said Homicide is the person who has hit him the hardest in the ring. He said it came from a headbutt.

Sean mentioned how The Briscoes were making a name for themselves in 2002. Sean asked who they had their eyes on at the time. Mark said, “Ring of Honor felt special when it started because it was just an indie show, but it ended up being the All-Star Game of the Indies.” He mentioned they flew in wrestlers like Mike Modest and Chris Daniels. He added that Ring of Honor was one of the first things that felt special in that period after WWE purchased ECW. He said the spirit of ECW in the northeast was Ring of Honor, where they had work-rated guys like Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, RVD, Jerry Lynn, Tajiri, and Super Crazy. Mark said the spirit of the hardcore side went to CZW.

Sean asked him who is someone he wanted to wrestle. Mark said he and Bryan Danielson have never wrestled one-on-one. He said they’ve shared the ring multiple times but never one-on-one.

He shared a story about the first time he was in the ring with Danielson. Mark said it was a tag match, The Briscoes vs. Danielson and Samoa Joe. He said he was slightly in awe of the American Dragon during that first match with Danielson. He also mentioned that he was around 17 or 18 years old, and Bryan kicked the shit out of him in that match.

Mark then shared that he and his brother had a match with Danielson and Davey Richards a few years later in NOAH. Mark mentioned that they both hurt their knees in the match, and the next day, they had to drive ten hours to Osaka. Mark noted that one of the NOAH guys put them in touch with a local healer/doctor.

You can follow Mark on X at @SussexCoChicken or on Instagram at m.briscoesr.

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Shirleigh (@ShirleighShirlz) represented Fightful Select recently when she spoke with the former AEW International Champion, Orange Cassidy. Shirleigh and Cassidy spoke for a little over ten minutes and discussed numerous topics.

Orange Cassidy shared that he attended a Taylor Swift concert and Cassidy mentioned that he got to see Florence and the Machine. Swift’s tour had multiple dates at Wembley Stadium. He noted that he was late to the show and missed the opening band “RAYE.” Cassidy said he enjoyed the show overall.

Shirleigh asked if he had hit any tourist spots. Cassidy only mentioned not taking a photo at the "Swifty Steps" because he dislikes waiting in lines.

The two then spoke about food, and the Philly Cheesesteak came up. Cassidy says he enjoys them and enjoys a good Chicken Pot Pie. Cassidy recommended that if you are at the Reading (Philadelphia, Pennslyvania) Terminal Market and don’t want the greased-up food, you should try the pastries or go to one of the bakeries.

Cassidy praises the quality of the Indian food in the UK and highlights his enjoyment of English breakfasts. Cassidy outlines his ideal English breakfast, which includes bacon, beans, tomato, eggs (fried preferred), and toast to "slop it up.”

Cassidy shared a story about the bus ride after the AEW Dynamite show in Cardiff, where AEW provided food from Nandos (restaurant). Cassidy recalled arriving late and almost missing out on the food, but Jeff Jarrett generously gave him his Nandos, which Cassidy appreciated. He wanted to ensure that we knew Jarrett was a hero and an icon.

Cassidy noted he had a lemon and herb chicken wrap and said it was delicious.

Shirleigh then mentioned that Cassidy had a history with UK-based Fight Club Pro. Cassidy says he appreciates how Fight Club Pro allowed him to perform and highlights the positive reception he gets from UK fans.

When asked how Cassidy felt going into his match at AEW All In, Cassidy told Shirleigh, “I feel a lot different than I did last year, talking about the match, because the Stadium Stampede is wild. Cassidy says the Casino Gauntlet match is great for the fans because they don’t know who will come out, who will be next, or when it could end.

You can follow Orange Cassidy on X at @orangecassidy.