News

WWE Accused Of Making Road Dogg The “Scapegoat”

By Harikesh Shekhar • Published Mar 06, 2026 09:32 EST
road dogg wwe
Road Dogg (Image Source: WWE.com)

Road Dogg shockingly departed WWE yesterday from his position as head writer on SmackDown.

Road Dogg (real name: Brian James) is a WWE legend. He was part of one of the Attitude Era’s most memorable tag teams, The New Age Outlaws, along with Billy Gunn. He was also part of the era-defining faction D-Generation X with the likes of Triple H and Shawn Michaels.

Since returning to WWE in 2014, he assumed a creative role and has been writing for the company. He was most recently the co-lead writer on its SmackDown brand and had a major hand in the weekly presentation of the product.

Road Dogg could also be seen actively fighting for wrestlers who weren’t being given the right kind of push, like Chelsea Green and his good friend R-Truth, in the second episode of the second season of the Netflix docuseries WWE: Unreal.

In the episode, he can be seen arguing with Triple H over how an R-Truth angle should go. These scenes showcase his passion for the business, and former WWE star Johnathan Coachman acknowledged this in his recent X post.

Johnathan Coachman Calls WWE Out For Making Road Dogg A Scapegoat

Coachman and former writer Vince Russo have been very critical of the recent WWE product, something they talk about on a weekly YouTube show called Coach & Bro.

Coachman, who is out promoting the PGA Tour (Golf), took a minute to post on X, writing against WWE’s creative team and their treatment of Road Dogg, which could potentially have led the latter to leave the company after decades of loyalty.

Coach demanded that someone from the creative team needs to stand in front of the camera and admit that there has been a lack of creativity, and start over.

In the video attached to the post, he talks about the matter in more detail, saying that Road Dogg’s departure is a bad look for the company’s back end.

Emergency wrestling take: @THEVinceRusso
asked me on @TheCoachandBro
show with creative struggling so much who on the creative has been released instead of blaming the talent. The answer noone until today. Regardless of if he left or was let go the Bottomline is that it’s not surprising that he was made the skapegoat because everyone has a hand in these shows and it starts at the top. Loved working with Road Dogg and this another bad look. Someone should stand in front of the camera and admit to lack of creative and start over. That would go a long way with the fan base. Let me know if you agree or disagree.

Also read: Truth Behind Road Dogg’s Sudden WWE Departure Revealed