"Brothers fight" – 8-time champion opens up on past animosity between him and Triple H
Road Dogg and Triple H have known each other since the early 90s and, throughout the years, have had their fair share of differences.
Brian James has been honest about his drug and alcohol addiction, which led to his WWE release in 2001 and soured his backstage relationship with Triple H.
Road Dogg ultimately returned to WWE in 2011 after his commendable effort at staying sober and admitted on this week's episode of his podcast that it was initially uncomfortable dealing with Triple H and other WWE personnel.
The legendary tag team star returned with Billy Gunn, who also battled substance abuse issues. The iconic duo had a "grown-up" conversation with the people they had insulted in the time leading up to their return.
Road Dogg said arguments between friends are expected to happen and added that he considers Triple H a brother:
"It didn't take long. I mean, look, we've been friends for a long time, and I've mentioned this before, brothers fight, friends argue. It was one of those things where we both (Road Dogg & Billy Gunn) came back sober, we both came back clear-minded, and we were both able to have grown-up conversations with the men that we were hurling insults at, you know what I mean?" (from 1:25:23 to 1:25:47)
"It wasn't hard" – Road Dogg on burying the hatchet with Triple H
The New Age Outlaws were welcomed back into WWE with open arms. For Road Dogg and Billy Gunn, getting over resentments wasn't the complicated part.
The six-time tag team champions weren't sure how they'd be viewed backstage. Still, thankfully for the veteran superstars, they had productive talks with Triple H and other high-ranking officials before beginning another in-ring stint with the promotion:
"It wasn't hard; it wasn't difficult; it was uncomfortable until we had that conversation because I didn't know how much and how into they had gotten and if they held a grudge. So, we talked about it, and all was fair in love and war, and everything was fine." (from 1:25:53 to 1:26:07)
Road Dogg was fired from his backstage position in WWE in January 2022. The Hall of Famer revealed that a top superstar was the first person to call him after his shocking release. You can read more on that here.
If you use any quotes from the article, please credit the Oh...You Didn't Know podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.