Brian "Road Dogg" James Has Some Thoughts On His WWE Departure

Posted in: TV, WWE | Tagged: Brian James, road dogg, wrestling

Brian "Road Dogg" James Has Some Thoughts On His WWE Departure

Brian "Road Dogg" James discussed his departure from WWE during a recent signing, explaining that the company was "moving too fast."

Published Mon, 06 Apr 2026 11:37:07 -0500
by Gavin Sheehan
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Article Summary

• Road Dogg addresses his sudden WWE exit for the first time at a virtual signing with Billy Gunn.
• He reveals WWE was "moving too fast" and he's focusing more on family after leaving creative.
• James discusses his involvement in shaping the WrestleMania 42 card before his departure.
• He comments on criticism of WWE Unreal, saying it’s meant to help viewers engage with the show.

Earlier this month, Brian "Road Dogg" James unexpectedly left WWE and the creative team in the middle of the company's build to WrestleMania 42. James has been the co-lead writer on SmackDown alongside John Swikata prior to his departure, and had served as the VP of Live Events Creative, helping guide the Friday night show's direction and storylines. According to reports at the time, James was "unhappy" with his most recent performance review and left the company shortly after it took place. A few weeks later, we finally got some insight into it from the man himself.

Road Dogg Comments That Things Were "Moving Too Fast" at WWE

James was at a recent virtual signing along with his former New Age Outlaws tag team partner, Billy Gunn, where over the course of three hours, the two signed a bunch of photos and fielded questions. The topic of his departure came up, to which he said, "It was moving too fast. It was just moving too fast for me. We talked about my brothers and their grandkids, and I didn't get to spend a whole lot of time with mine, so I'm gonna do more of that now."

He was also asked about his work on the WrestleMania 42 card before he left, to which he replied, "Yeah, I did. A lot… I think it's strong. I think it's as strong as you're gonna get. I really do. I'm excited about Brock and — look, I've got nothing bad to say. […] They're moving fast, and they are growing expeditiously — financially, they're setting records every. You can't say nothing bad. It just was moving too fast for me. I'm getting older and it's a young man's game. They're running fast, and they're running fast internationally."

James also addressed the criticism he received for the way he was portrayed on WWE Unreal, and how the show seems to give away too much of how WWE runs things, saying "As an old timer, I think we always feel that way [… ] The idea behind it, in my opinion, is it's an on-ramp or an exit ramp into the actual episodic television show, and I don't know if there's a metric that can tell you whether that works or not."

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