Road Dogg Talks All In At Wembley, Says AEW Wouldn't Take Him
"Road Dogg" Brian James — WWE's Senior VP of Live Events — has shared his two cents on AEW becoming the first North American promotion since WWE to hold a stadium show in the United Kingdom, and for having the drawing power to sell as many as 60,000 tickets for All In on August 27. While discussing AEW's impressive accomplishment on his "Oh...You Didn't Know" podcast, James was asked if he had any advice for the upstart promotion.
"Advice goes both ways. They've done awesome at Wembley — that's an incredible amount of tickets sold," James admitted. "To me, it's about business. That's where I'm at, as I'm not in the trenches fighting for a spot anymore. Instead, I'm on the other side of the fence, thinking about the business aspect. From that standpoint, what a huge success it is, and kudos to them for doing it.
"I think the timing is right. It feels like something is rumbling, and dare I say '97 [start of the Monday Night Wars], but it feels like the business is either taking off — which it has already — and that [All In] is proof of it."
James said he often gets asked if AEW was doing "even better" than WWE in terms of global marketing, to which he says "it's comparable in a way" but that AEW still had ways to go before catching up to WWE. However, James reiterated that AEW had "done really well" in swinging for the fences and for being ambitious enough to book a stadium show.
'I have no idea how they are run'
James spoke further on the advice he'd give to AEW CEO Tony Khan and AEW Director of Business Development Jeff Jarrett, the latter of whom he shares a long history with.
"The advice I would give is, 'What can't I do?' Because I'll try everything but that," James said. "I'd like to do everything I can do — and I'm talking about changing the top of where the videos go or the national anthem goes. It's about making it the best possible experience for the fan who has spent their hard-earned money."
James believes pro wrestling is in a unique position as one of the last forms of entertainment relying on live events to maximize business opportunities, and therefore requires an abundance of talent to stay afloat and praised AEW for "having great talent" in order to sell a show of the magnitude of All In.
"I think it's awesome to have competition. I think them doing great makes us do great, too. I think it's a good time to be in the business."
James believes AEW has the two 'T's' covered, time and talent, to sustain a successful operation, but remains in a dicey situation with regard to the third 'T' in the equation.
"I think we have a great leadership team in place, the right people are in the right spots to make things happen. I don't know if I can say the same for the other [AEW], and yet I have no idea how they are run. I want to be very clear about that. I've only heard from individuals. I have no idea since I haven't experienced it."
James revealed that AEW refused to hire him when he asked for a job. "He [Khan] wouldn't have me. I asked."