Legend quit WWE role because he "couldn't keep up" with Vince McMahon
Brian James, also known as Road Dogg, has explained why he stopped working closely with Vince McMahon as WWE SmackDown’s head writer.
The Hall of Famer held the important creative role between 2016 and 2019 before transitioning into a Performance Center coaching position. Although he received his release from WWE in January, the 53-year-old is open to returning one day.
Speaking on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw, Road Dogg recalled how McMahon once paid for his rehab treatment before re-employing him for 10 years. He added that his writing stint ended simply because he could not match the WWE Chairman’s work ethic.
“So what am I to be mad about?” Road Dogg said. “Who am I supposed to be mad at? Because I can’t keep up with him? Because I can’t outwork the superhuman worker? The man is a machine and he works and works and works, and I personally couldn’t keep up with him. And that’s on me. That ain’t on him.” [40:37-40:56]
Road Dogg is a one-time Intercontinental Champion, one-time Hardcore Champion, and six-time Tag Team Champion alongside Billy Gunn. He joined the Hall of Fame in 2019 as a D-Generation X member.
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It is well known that commentators are sometimes fed lines by WWE’s higher-ups, including Vince McMahon, via a headset during shows. Corey Graves, for example, was recently told to refer to Naomi and Sasha Banks as “unprofessional” following their RAW walkout.
Road Dogg often watched shows from WWE’s backstage area, also known as the Gorilla Position, close to McMahon. He clarified that his former boss never yelled at announcers while they were working.
“I would sit there during SmackDown recordings and listen to him pitch stuff to y’all [former commentator JBL] and I would be like, ‘Oh, man,’ and I would hear y’all say it,” Road Dogg recalled. “I would be like, ‘Oh, okay, so he’s just passing them [information].’ I never heard him yell at anybody either. I just heard him passing stuff.” [39:16-39:32]
The wrestling legend added that he would like to become a commentator one day, either in WWE or elsewhere. He is also interested in providing his expert opinion on premium live event kickoff shows.
Please credit Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.