Big Backstage Update On Road Dogg's WWE Status

Wrestling has more than one royal family. Scion of the legendary Armstrong family, Road Dogg (aka Brian James) has been rehired by WWE in an executive position, according to PWInsider. James had been released by WWE in January, after being one of the chief voices involved in the "Black & Gold" era of NXT. As revealed in a follow-up report by PWInsider, James will be assuming the position of Vice President of Live Events, a similar gig to that previously occupied by fellow wrestling dynasty member Jeff Jarrett.

Jarrett — whose title was Senior Vice President of Live Events — quietly left WWE sometime last week. Jarrett was responsible for introducing what would become James' Road Dogg character on WWE programming back in 1995, as James was the onscreen roadie — and actual singer— for wannabe country music "star" Jarrett. Since his release, Road Dogg had been the host of his own podcast, "Oh You Didn't Know?" on Conrad Thompson's Ad Free Shows platform. A longtime friend of current Head of Talent Relations and Creative Paul "Triple H" Levesque, James had been openly asking for a backstage role with AEW, publicly calling out Tony Khan and the company to pick up the phone, while also peppering them with numerous critiques.

James had been a producer on "WWE SmackDown" until WrestleMania 35, when he stepped down due to Vince McMahon's brutal schedule. PWInsider notes that James is the first member of Levesque's inner circle to return to the company since Triple H assumed duties in the wake of Vince McMahon's resignation. Levesque's friend Shawn Michaels has also received a promotion since the company shakeup, as a recent press release referred to Michaels as "WWE Vice President of Talent Development Creative." James was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019 alongside D-Generation X comrades Michaels, Billy Gunn, X-Pac, Chyna, and Triple H.