WWE Stars Reportedly Unhappy With 8-Time Champion’s Sudden Departure
This WWE star recently parted ways with the company, and it’s something that hasn’t sat well with many stars on the roster
Brian “Road Dogg” James, who was the co-lead writer of SmackDown, departed WWE recently amid major shifts in structure in the company’s creative department.
James was a major star in the Attitude Era of WWE (then WWF), known for his work with the tag team The New Age Outlaws and for being part of the era-defining stable D-Generation X. He has been Tag Team Champion 6 times, Intercontinental Champion once, and Hardcore Champion once during his wrestling career.
Since James rejoined the company in 2014, he had been working in a creative role until he suddenly quit a few weeks ago.
Multiple stars are reportedly unhappy with his departure, according to a recent Fightful Select Q&A.
Brian “Road Dogg” James has reportedly departed WWE.
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— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) March 5, 2026
Road Dogg Supported A Push For WWE Star Chelsea Green
Chelsea Green’s Women’s United States Title reign ended on the first SmackDown of this year when she lost the belt to Giulia.
Road Dogg was one of the people in the creative team wanting to push Chelsea Green, as was evidenced by the behind-the-scenes docu-series WWE: Unreal – Season 2. CCO Triple H, however, was against this idea. Michael Hayes also added in the Unreal episode that Green’s job was to “elevate top talents” like Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill, both of whom secured pinfall victories over Green in the past couple of months.
One of the questions in the Fightful Select Q&A was whether his departure was because of how Chelsea Green was being booked.
The answer was that it wasn’t about how a star was being booked, but how WWE made Road Dogg look in the Unreal series. The company had every chance to edit the show the way they wanted to make someone look good or bad, and they chose to make Road Dogg not look too great.
Road Dogg was a beloved figure in the company, and many stars were reportedly unhappy and surprised at his departure.
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