Tag: Road Dogg

Road Dogg Has Been Rehired By WWE

Member of the legendary Armstrong family, Road Dogg (aka Brian James) has been rehired by WWE in an executive position, according to PWInsider. James had been released by WWE in January, after being one of the chief voices involved in the “Black & Gold” era of NXT. As revealed in a follow-up report by PWInsider, James will be assuming the position of Vice President of Live Events, a similar gig to that previously occupied by fellow wrestling dynasty member Jeff Jarrett.

Jarrett — whose title was Senior Vice President of Live Events — quietly left WWE sometime last week. Jarrett was responsible for introducing what would become James’ Road Dogg character on WWE programming back in 1995, as James was the onscreen roadie — and actual singer— for wannabe country music “star” Jarrett. Since his release, Road Dogg had been the host of his own podcast, “Oh You Didn’t Know?” on Conrad Thompson’s Ad Free Shows platform. A longtime friend of current Head of Talent Relations and Creative Paul “Triple H” Levesque, James had been openly asking for a backstage role with AEW, publicly calling out Tony Khan and the company to pick up the phone, while also peppering them with numerous critiques.

James had been a producer on “WWE SmackDown” until WrestleMania 35, when he stepped down due to Vince McMahon’s brutal schedule. PWInsider notes that James is the first member of Levesque’s inner circle to return to the company since Triple H assumed duties in the wake of Vince McMahon’s resignation. Levesque’s friend Shawn Michaels has also received a promotion since the company shakeup, as a recent press release referred to Michaels as “WWE Vice President of Talent Development Creative.” James was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019 alongside D-Generation X comrades Michaels, Billy Gunn, X-Pac, Chyna, and Triple H.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

William Regal, Road Dogg And Others Released By WWE

WWE has made some more releases at the NXT brand. Those released include, Road Dogg, William Regal, Scott Armstrong, Timothy Thatcher, Danny Burch, Diamond Mine’s Hideki Suzuki, Cathy Carino aka Allison Danger, Gabe Sapolsky and a few other people working behind the scenes in NXT.

WWE has issued a statement to Fightful in the wake of the releases as more and more names are added to the list. “With the continued evolution of NXT 2.0, we’ve decided to part ways with some of the staff based in our Performance Center,” the statement reads. This comes after New Year’s Evil, the first NXT show of 2022 and one that marked more change for the brand as Bron Breakker won the NXT Title.

According to people close to the situation in NXT and at the Performance Center, the cuts are a continued attempt to remove everyone at the PC hired by Triple H. The biggest giveaway in that regard is the release of Road Dogg who has been close with The Game ever since the pair were in D-Generation X together.

Despite technically being under the employ of WWE since 2000, Regal was also brought into NXT and the PC in 2014 by Triple H. The former commissioner has worked closely with The Cerebral Assassin ever since, helping him to recruit talent for the NXT UK Title tournament which would eventually become the NXT UK brand. Wrestlers who worked under Regal have been sharing messages about the now-former NXT GM ever since the news broke.

The plot really does keep thickening in NXT and WWE as a whole when it comes to the company’s future. The role of Triple H, in particular, remains shrouded in mystery. The Game has been off TV and pretty much off work since he underwent surgery for a cardiac event a few months ago. While there is no reason to believe Triple H will be leaving the company, speculation will be more rife than ever before following the news above.

Sources: Fightful and TheSportster

Road Dogg Reportedly Working Full-Time On The WWE NXT Brand

According to PWInsider, WWE Hall of Famer “Road Dogg” BG James is now working full-time on the WWE NXT brand. His official role and title haven’t been confirmed yet though.

As it was reported earlier this month, James has been working at the Performance Center. He also made a cameo Sunday on the WWE PC Combine, which aired on the WWE Network.

Last month James stepped down as the co-lead writer of SmackDown Live. He quit the position because he was reportedly frustrated with Vince McMahon always making changes to the TV scripts.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage Update On “Road Dogg” BG James’ WWE Status And Future

WWE Hall of Famer “Road Dogg” Brian G. James is now expected to take an extended break from the company, according to PWInsider.

As noted, James recently stepped down as the co-lead writer of the SmackDown brand and there had been talk on James possibly filling the behind-the-scenes role once held by WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson at live events. There was also talk of James possibly working as a commentator. Now word is that the parties involved will assess the situation and see where James may fit in the company going forward.

James was not at the WWE TV tapings in Montreal this past week. With James not there, Ryan Ward was leading the creative team on Tuesday for the Superstar Shakeup episode. Ward handled the responsibilities that were usually overseen by James.

James is still considered to be with the company, but there is no current timetable for his return to work.

It was reported before that James had become increasingly frustrated with changed made to blue brand TV scripts by Vince McMahon, and that he finally “hit a breaking point” at the post-WrestleMania 35 SmackDown in Brooklyn.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Possible New WWE Roles For “Road Dogg” BG James, More Details On WWE Creative Situation,

It was reported earlier that 2019 WWE Hall of Famer “Road Dogg” BG James had stepped down as the co-lead writer of the SmackDown brand, and that he informed officials that he was stepping down on Wednesday as WrestleMania 35 Week was coming to an end in Brooklyn. Word was that James had become increasingly frustrated with changed made to blue brand TV scripts by Vince McMahon, and that he finally “hit a breaking point” at Tuesday’s SmackDown.

It was also noted that James could be transitioning into another role with WWE. There was no role on a possible replacement for James, but the report also stated that the way WWE creative is set up these days the lead writer is more of a formality as opposed to a specific voice that drives the show. Everything pitched for SmackDown TV comes through the writing team to Vince, and is then approved with Vince tweaking the script up until it’s time to go live.

In an update, James is not leaving the company, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet. Word is now that James could fill the behind-the-scenes role once held by WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson at live events. There was also talk of James possibly working as a commentator.

Regarding the situation with James, it was described as a mutual decision to change his position with SmackDown moving to Friday nights on Fox in October, not necessarily James “stepping down.” WWE officials reportedly want to keep James’ position flexible at this time, and use him as a “utility player” so they can see where he would fit best moving forward. However, sources made it clear that this was not a contentious decision, and that both sides thought it was best.

James had been working on the SmackDown creative team since 2016. He was quickly promoted to become co-lead writer with Ryan Ward.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

“Road Dogg” BG James Steps Down As WWE SmackDown Co-Lead Writer, Another Writer Fired At WWE Hall Of Fame

2019 WWE Hall of Famer “Road Dogg” BG James has stepped down as the co-lead writer for WWE SmackDown, according to PWInsider. James informed WWE officials that he was stepping down on Wednesday as WrestleMania 35 Week came to an end.

James had been leading SmackDown with Stephen Guerrieri, who has been with the creative team since 2012 and in a head writer position since 2014, with James going on the road with the blue brand while Guerrieri would work out of WWE HQ in Stamford, CT. Word is that James had become increasingly frustrated with changes made to SmackDown scripts by Vince McMahon, and he finally hit a “breaking point” at Tuesday’s post-WrestleMania 35 edition of SmackDown from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

There’s no word yet on who may be replacing James in the co-lead writer role on the blue brand, but sources stated to PWInsider that with the way WWE creative is set up these days the lead writer is more of a formality as opposed to a specific voice that drives the show. Everything pitched for SmackDown comes through the team to Vince, and is then approved with Vince tweaking the script up until it’s time to go on the air. There’s also no word yet on if James will be transitioning into another role with WWE.

James had been working on the SmackDown creative team since 2016. He was quickly promoted to become co-lead writer with Ryan Ward.

While it’s not known if this is directly related, but James posted a tweet about change on Wednesday, writing, “Today I pray that I face the change, that is inevitably coming, head on and with faith and courage. The only constant is change! #HOPE #FAITH #OUDK”

James also defended SmackDown creative on Twitter, as he often does. Responding to criticism over the two six-man matches on this week’s episode, James wrote, “What about either 6 man last night was BS? A lot of the time it gets more talent on tv. I really don’t see what there is to get so angry about!”

In other WWE creative team news coming out of WrestleMania 35 Week, WWE writer Robert Evans was fired this past week. Word is that Evans was fired at the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony after he helped produce the Bret Hart speech for The Hart Foundation’s induction, and it featured a mention of Vince. Vince has strongly stressed for years that he does not want to be mentioned or praised during Hall of Fame speeches, according to PWInsider, to the point that it has become a running joke. When Vince was mentioned in Bret’s speech, Evans reportedly took the blame as the writer and producer of that segment. Evans was reportedly fired backstage in the Gorilla Position as the ceremony was going on.

For those who missed it, Bret’s speech included a story of the first time Vince reacted to The Hart Foundation and praised their in-ring work. DX later joked about Vince’s name being mentioned during their speech that wrapped the ceremony, and these jokes may have been inspired by Vince firing Evans for the earlier mention in Hart’s speech.

Evans was reportedly liked by those who worked with him backstage. The 35 year old previously wrestled on the indies as RD Evans and Archibald Peck before joining the WWE creative team in the fall of 2016.

You can see Road Dogg’s tweet on “change” below along with the exchange defending SmackDown:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Confirms DX In The 2019 WWE Hall Of Fame Class, Triple H On Chyna’s WWE HOF Induction

WWE and ESPN have confirmed that DX will be going into the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame class during WrestleMania 35 weekend. It will be Chyna, Sean “X-Pac” Waltman, Billy Gunn, “Road Dogg” BG James, Triple H and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels going in together as a group.

“I think it’s the most meaningful for us all to go in together and to be recognized together,” Triple H told ESPN. “Because I think both groups were [just] as impactful.”

Triple H told ESPN that the idea to induct DX as a group had been “swirling around” for some time before a few key events and decisions allowed everything to slide right into place.

“It’s a funny thing, because DX was something that, before Kevin [Nash] and Scott [Hall] left, at the time we all talked about using ‘The Kliq’ as it was — kind of morphing that into television, since it was so out there anyways,” Triple H said. “But things worked out the way they did — they left, and the timing was right. Shawn and I still wanted to do it. Vince saw the value in it, I guess, and finally let us go at it. By that point in time I was looking for a heater, and we had brought Chyna.”

ESPN noted how fans have wanted Chyna’s role in WWE history to be better recognized, and how her induction with DX is a major step forward in that regard. Triple H said Chyna absolutely deserves to be in the Hall.

“Look, people believe what they want to believe. When I said a few years ago on the Austin podcast, or show, or whatever you want to call it, there’s complexities around it,” said Triple H. “But absolutely, definitely deserves to be in there. It’d be tough to pick a female that was more impactful on the business. She did something that was completely so out of left field that it wasn’t even being considered when we first brought it up for her to come in. It wasn’t even a consideration… it wasn’t an easy thing, and against all odds she did all of that. She earned everybody’s trust. She won over the fans. She won over the boys. She did all of it. From that standpoint, absolutely 100 percent deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, and should probably be more than once — as a group, but individually as well. There’s more complexity to that than meets the eye, but here we are. I’m just happy that it’s here. I’m happy for her family, the people that she was close to, that hopefully this is super meaningful to them. I know it would be to her. It’s a great thing — very deserving.”

Below is WWE’s full announcement on the induction:

D-Generation X to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019Are you ready?

As first reported by ESPN, D-Generation X, the most rebellious group in WWE history, are the first inductees in the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2019. As first reported by ESPN, Triple H, Shawn Michaels (who now joins Ric Flair as a two-time inductee), Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, X-Pac and the late Chyna will take their place in sports-entertainment history during the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, April 6, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., during WrestleMania 35 Week. Tickets for the ceremony will be available starting Friday, Feb. 22, at 12 p.m. ET.

DX was born out of the friendship between Shawn Michaels and Triple H, along with Chyna and their “insurance policy,” “Ravishing” Rick Rude. The two pals were lewd, rude and in-your-face, bucking authority and letting anyone in their way know that they had two words for them. Their penchant for crossing the line with regularity led to Bret “Hit Man” Hart calling Michaels “nothing more than a degenerate,” which HBK embraced, sparking the idea behind the alliance’s name.

When Michaels went on a hiatus from the squared circle following WrestleMania XIV, Triple H expanded the membership of the group, welcoming in The New Age Outlaws, Road Dogg & Billy Gunn, and the cocky X-Pac. Though you might not think it would be possible, the new DX turned up the irreverence to 11 and helped lead WWE into the Attitude Era. DX’s defiance wasn’t just limited to WWE. In one of the most infamous and groundbreaking moments of the era, the rebels hopped aboard a tank and drove from Monday Night Raw to rival WCW’s Monday Nitro, launching one of the biggest attacks in The Monday Night War.

The group eventually went their separate ways, but the DX name would not be limited to the history books after that. Following a long rivalry against each other, Michaels and Triple H patched things up and donned the green and black once again. The reunited DX may have only been the tag team of The Game & HBK, but that did not stop them from making Mr. McMahon’s life a living hell. The two troublemakers were a thorn in the side of the WWE Chairman, subjecting him to a flurry of pranks, even going so far as to vandalize Mr. McMahon’s personal limo and jet, and leaving their mark on the façade of WWE’s world headquarters. But it wasn’t only fun and games for Michaels & Triple H, as they also captured the WWE Tag Team Championship along the way.

Even though they disbanded once again and moved on to other roles within the industry, the DX Army maintained a close bond, and the tight-knit unit got the band back together for special occasions like Monday Night Raw’s 25th Anniversary, where they shared a “too sweet” moment with the Bálor Club.

And now, D-Generation X will enter the annals of sports-entertainment history. What will the rebels have to say when they take their place in the WWE Hall of Fame? Find out during the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, April 6, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. during WrestleMania 35 Week. Tickets for the ceremony will be available starting Friday, Feb. 22, at 12 p.m. ET. Don’t miss your chance to witness history!

Source: WrestlingInc

DX Advertised For 2019 WWE Hall Of Fame Ceremony

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Iconic stable D-Generation X (DX) look to be the headliners of the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony … and Chyna appears to be going in with them.

An advertisement apparently aired locally in the New York area, seen below, which states the popular group will be inducted this year and tickets go on sale Friday.

Shawn Michaels, Triple H, X-Pac, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and Chyna are all featured in ad.

Chyna’s mother and friends have been on a public mission to get the deceased wrestler inducted into the Hall of Fame ceremony this year. Based on the advertisement, it looks like they achieved their goal.

This will also be the first inductions for Triple H, the New Age Outlaws and X-Pac.

https://twitter.com/Red_Carousell/status/1097395559424577537

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

WWE RAW Highlights 1/28/19, Jeff Jarrett, Road Dogg, Bayley, Rousey, The Man, Rollins, Lesnar, Women’s Tag Titles

Image result for Jeff Jarrett and Road Dogg on RAW with Elias

Road Dogg Teases Performance Of “With My Baby Tonight” At WWE Hall Of Fame Ceremony

Image result for What inducting Jeff Jarrett into the WWE Hall of Fame means to Road Dogg

Below is video of “Road Dogg” Brian James talking to Renee Young at last night’s SmackDown, discussing how he will induct Jeff Jarrett into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 34 weekend in New Orleans. BG called it an honor and a privilege, and said the two have been really good friends as of late. Renee asks Dogg if he can sing a few lines from “With My Baby Tonight” but he gives her a bunch of excuses instead. Dogg does tease a potential performance at the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony.