12 Wrestlers Whose Ring Names Outlasted Their Gimmicks

Brian James arrived in the WWF as Jeff Jarrett’s roadie, known, creatively, as The Roadie. After spending most of his run carrying Jeff Jarrett’s water and setting up his microphones, The Roadie, or “Road Dog”, wrestled for a few months, even making it to the semifinals of the 1995 King of the Ring tournament. He abruptly disappeared along with Jarrett just as the two began a feud over who exactly sang on Double J’s hit record.

Roadie returned a year later as “The Real Double J”, Jesse James, and exposed the long-gone Jarrett as a lip-syncing fraud (though he did offer Jeff a job as his “road dog”). After a year of crooning, James formed the New Age Outlaws, brought back the old “Road Dog(g)” name, and used it for the remainder of his run with the company. Even today, he uses the “Road Dogg” name in his occasional WWE appearances, despite not having roadied for anyone since 1995.