Road Dogg discusses AEW's growth and recalls his attempt to join the company.
Following the end of his in-ring career, Brian “Road Dogg” James worked for WWE as a producer and eventually became the head writer of SmackDown. He then worked behind the scenes at NXT before WWE released him in January 2022. During his time away from WWE, he joked that he "begged" Tony Khan for a job with AEW, but he never joined the company. James returned to WWE in an executive role in August 2022, as he was hired as the Senior Vice President of Live Events.
Speaking on Oh...You Didn't Know, James was asked to share his thoughts on AEW's success with the ticket sales for AEW All In London at Wembley Stadium, and he stated that it was "awesome." He noted that the business as a whole is doing well before he questioned the notion that AEW's success is comparable to WWE.
“I think they’ve done awesome at Wembley. That’s an incredible amount of tickets sold. It’s just, to me, it’s about business. That’s where I’m at in the business. I’m not in the trenches anymore, like fighting for a spot. Now I’m on the other side of the fence and thinking about the business aspect of this. So from that standpoint, what a huge success it is, and kudos to them for doing it. I think the timing is right. I’ve said this before, and I say it a lot with this job especially, the three Ts is timing, talent, and the team. I think the time is really good, I’ve said this before. It feels like there’s something rumbling, and dare I say, I feels like ‘97, but it feels like the business is either taking off, which it has already, but it's continuing to do so, and that’s proof of it. I also think they’re not the first people to go global. He sold a few tickets there, we have too. I think from a lot of people, the question is, ‘Do you think they’re doing better than… it’s comparable, in a way,’ and I don’t know that it is. But they’re doing really well, and that’s cool," James said.
The WWE Senior Vice President of Live Events was also asked if he had any advice to give the person who had the same job in AEW. He highlighted the importance of making every show the best it can be, and he went on to describe how he thought it was great to have competition. James then referenced his attempt to join AEW; when talking about the company's leadership team, the veteran noted that "he" wouldn't have him.
“Again, time, then you gotta have the talent. They got great talent over there, we got great talent here. It’s obvious because they’ve been back and forth to one another. I think it’s awesome to have competition. I think they’re doing great. I think their doing great makes us do great, too. I think it’s a good time to be in the business. Three Ts, time, talent, and then the team, the leadership team. Look, that’s where I will get a little confrontational and opinionated. I think we got a great leadership team in place, and I think the right people are in the right spots to make the right things happen. I don’t know that I could say the same for the others, and yet I have no idea how the other is run. I want to be very clear on that. I’ve only heard from individuals. I have no idea, I’ve never experienced it. He wouldn’t have me, I asked. I asked him to take me to prom, and he wouldn’t take me," Road Dogg said.
Road Dogg previously recalled how Billy Gunn told him he was "in" for the DX Reunion on WWE Raw. Click here to see what he had to say.
Check out Road Dogg's comments about how NXT was never competing with AEW Dynamite here.
Road Dogg once let Chuck E. Cheese join D-Generation X. More information is available here.
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