"Hunter called me" – Details of Triple H convincing Vince McMahon to get a former star back to WWE
"Road Dogg" Brian James recently opened up on the all-important phone call with Triple H that led to his WWE return in 2011.
The former tag team champion's WWE comeback didn't happen without resistance from Vince McMahon as the WWE boss was apprehensive about Road Dogg's drug-fueled past.
The WWE Hall of Famer was ten months into his sobriety when he spoke to Triple H about working for the company again. The Game believed Road Dogg could contribute both on-screen and behind the scenes. While it took some time, Triple H eventually convinced McMahon to re-sign James, and the D-Generation X member went on to have another lengthy run with WWE until his release in 2022.
Here's what Road Dogg revealed on his podcast on AdFreeShows.com:
"Hunter called me and said, 'Hey, what do you think about coming back and doing what we used to do the backstage skits with DX and how we used to do that stuff? I think we could do that again together and be successful.' I said, 'Well, heck yeah, I will.' He said, 'Okay, cool, I'll get to work on it.' Well, he worked on it, and it took him several tries because Vince was not keen on the idea and look; totally understandable why he was not," stated Road Dogg. "I'm a known and active, or at the time, an active drug addict in active addiction and not making good life choices, and so, that was the last thing he remembered of me. So it was a hard sell to get me to try out there," said James. (from 4:28 to 5:11)
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Road Dogg discusses his past issues with Triple H
Road Dogg's first WWE run ended on a sour note. He was released in 2001 due to undisclosed "personal problems." The legendary superstar was admittedly bitter at Triple H in the years that followed, and he made several shoot comments about his former partner outside WWE.
Much to Road Dogg's surprise, Triple H didn't bring up any issues when they reconnected regarding a WWE return in 2011. Triple H thought Brian James could help improve WWE's product and was willing to let bygones be bygones:
"So, to his credit, he never said a thing about any of that. He just kind of thought, 'You're doing what you've got to do to survive and whatever.' I don't know what he thought because we didn't talk about it," added the WWE legend. "And so, right, wrong or indifferent, that never came up. But, you know, he believed in me. He believed I could bring something to the product," James continued. (from 6:11 to 6:31)
Did you check out the never-heard-before Vince McMahon story as revealed on the latest episode of The Wrestling Outlaws featuring Vince Russo and Road Dogg? You can read more on that right 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.