Vince McMahon On WWE HOFer – “Known Drug Addict”
A WWE Hall of Famer has opened up about Vince McMahon’s perception of them as being a “known drug addict” and why they understand McMahon’s thinking.
Back in the halcyon days of the Attitude Era, one man found fame and fortune among the biggest stars of the day with a microphone being his biggest weapon as he asked fans week in, week out one simple question – “oh you didn’t know?”
Road Dogg shot to stardom with Billy Gunn as the New Age Outlaws before the pair were co-opted into the revamped D-Generation X on the night after WrestleMania 14.
A member of the famed Armstrong wrestling family, the real-life Brian James was no stranger to the world of wrestling before he hit his stride in WWE. He was honoured as part of DX with a WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2019.
But things could have been so different for Road Dogg. In 2001, his time in WWE was brought to an abrupt end as issues with substance abuse reared their head.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Road Dogg revealed that it was those issues that almost scuppered a return to the company in a backstage role a decade later, as Vince McMahon was unsure of offering him employment:
“To be quite honest, he didn’t see anything in me [as a producer]. I know he did as a wrestler back in the day, he obviously saw something in me. But, Hunter [Triple H] went to him, and he had to go to him three times and say, ‘Look, I’d like to bring Brian James back.’ And he [McMahon] said, ‘Why? He’s a known drug addict. Why would you do that?’ And that is a totally legitimate point. He [Triple H] said, ‘Well, he’s been sober about a year now.'”
Thankfully for Road Dogg, Triple H got his way and that began a decade-long run for him in a backstage capacity in both WWE and NXT until he was let go from his WWE deal in early 2022.