Road Dogg has opened up about his departure from WWE, saying he felt wronged by the company and that his final period there left him without purpose, despite still receiving a paycheck.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Brian James addressed his exit from the WWE creative team in March and pointed to the Netflix series WWE: Unreal as a way to show fans exactly what his working situation looked like.
“Did any of you watch? I know you’re not a fan of the show. I’m old, so I’m not a fan of it either. It’s a little behind the scenes. But I mean, I feel like you, I don’t need to tell you what happened. I feel like, if you watch that show, you saw what happened and so here I sit with you tonight, and I’m happy, man, because of it. I have friends there that are still going to be there. I have gripes. I do have gripes. But in saying that, it even sounds to me like, ‘oh, you’re just going to gripe about some stuff then, like, why? What?’ Some of the people there are still my friends, I feel like I was done a little wrong, and I feel like I was receiving a paycheck and I didn’t have any purpose. I was making $1 but I wasn’t making any decisions. I think I can make a difference somewhere where maybe I don’t make as many dollars and that, and in this phase of my life, that’s what I’m thinking about,” James said.
The WWE: Unreal moment James referenced saw him and Triple H engage in a creative meeting that went viral, in which James pushed to put the WWE Women’s United States Championship back on Chelsea Green, while Triple H disagreed based on his vision for the women’s division. The exchange read as uncomfortable to many viewers and was widely interpreted as showing the dynamics of James’ working relationship with Triple H.
James had served as co-lead writer for SmackDown since February 2024 and had previously held roles as a Performance Center coach and Senior Vice President of Live Events during his time with WWE from 2014 to 2025. He was briefly released in January 2022 before being re-signed that same summer.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Busted Open Radio with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
At the #bustedopen247 WrestleMania Party, Road Dogg Brian James revealed why he parted ways with WWE.@WynnLasVegas pic.twitter.com/Jr4k6hGEFj
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