Real Reason Road Dogg QUIT WWE In Major Creative Shake-Up (WWE News)
WWE writer and ex-wrestler "openly expressed his unhappiness" behind the curtain.
Major outlets, including The Wrestling Observer, Bodyslam+ and PWInsider have been dishing out details on the reasons why Brian 'Road Dogg' James decided to leave his position as a key WWE writer on Thursday. The Observer collated reports from others as they pieced together details about Dogg's decision.
Bodyslam+ broke the news by announcing that James was on the outs. Then, PWInsider noted that it was the legend's own choice to depart, and revealed that he'd "openly expressed his unhappiness" to some behind the curtain for a while. Road Dogg had been working as one of the main writers responsible for episodes of SmackDown, and he'd regularly come in for criticism.
That only heightened when WWE bumped the weekly from 2-3 hours for a second year running.
Dogg had previously received flak for his writing before leaving the company in 2022, but he was brought back under old D-Generation X cohort Triple H's watch once 'The Game' assumed control from Vince McMahon. AJ Styles even publicly defended the former New Age Outlaw by saying that his ideas were typically good but got butchered by those above him in the pecking order.
Road Dogg had returned to WWE in August 2022 after being released that January. He and John Switaka shared duties as co-lead writers on SmackDown from February 2025 onwards. The Observer says he'll remain under a WWE legends contract in the interim despite this creative shake up.
The Hall Of Famer could be spotted during select episodes of WWE Unreal on Netflix during crunch creative meetings behind the scenes.