Why Road Dogg Was On Commentary For WWE SmackDown (And Why It Was So Hard)

Brian "Road Dogg" James joined Michael Cole and Kevin Patrick on commentary for "WWE SmackDown" last week, simply filling in for Corey Graves in a one-off appearance. But how exactly did he find himself in such a position Friday night? That's easy. He was asked.

"They did ask me. They said, 'Hey would you like to do it?' It was a one-off, they just needed somebody to do it," he shared on his "Oh You Didn't Know" podcast. 

Graves has been absent the last several weeks from WWE programming — and for good reason. His wife, and fellow WWE Superstar, Carmella recently delivered a new baby boy named Dimitri into the family. 

Kevin Owens was designated as the fill-in the week prior, but he was unable to to fulfill those duties for a second week in a row after being "suspended" by Nick Aldis. The "SmackDown" General Manager had warned Owens against getting physical with anyone while working as an announcer — a rule he broke when he was antagonized by both Grayson Waller and Austin Theory. 

That opened the door for the Road Dogg to join the broadcast booth for the first time in his career. James felt he did okay, but he was surprised by the amount of voices in his ear throughout the show, revealing that at least four people were talking to him.

"I loved it, man," he said. "But it's hard with stuff in your ear and those guys doing those reads and stuff is crazy to me because I was just sitting there listening to it going, 'Thank god I don't have to read nothing.'" 

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Oh You Didn't Know" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.