Brian “Road Dogg” James has reportedly departed WWE, stepping away from his role on the company’s creative team. James had been serving as the co-lead writer for SmackDown alongside John Swikata before deciding to leave his position.

According to a report from PWInsider, the decision to step down came from James himself. Sources within the company indicate that he chose to leave the role rather than being released from the position.

This marked James’ second run working within WWE’s creative department. He previously served as the head writer of SmackDown during an earlier stint before stepping away from that role in 2019. Following his time as head writer, James remained with the company in a backstage capacity until he was released by WWE in 2022.

After Paul “Triple H” Levesque took over a major leadership role within WWE, James was brought back to the company and eventually returned to the creative side of the business. During his most recent tenure, he worked closely with the SmackDown writing team while helping guide storylines and segments for the weekly show.

During his earlier run as SmackDown’s head writer, James frequently faced criticism from fans regarding creative decisions tied to the show. However, several WWE talents publicly defended his work. At one point, AJ Styles explained that during the Vince McMahon era, many ideas presented by writers were heavily altered during the creative process.

Styles noted that by the time the final version of a segment reached television, many original ideas had been changed significantly, meaning the finished product often no longer reflected the writer’s original concept.

Outside of his work behind the scenes, James is best known for his in-ring career as part of the legendary Attitude Era faction D-Generation X. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019 alongside the rest of the group.

James’ departure comes during a period of changes within WWE’s creative structure. Earlier this week, Alexandra Williams announced that she has been promoted to lead writer for WWE RAW. Williams originally joined WWE in 2020 and had been working as a Senior Writer/Producer before recently being elevated to the position of Vice President and Lead Writer.

Road Dogg Leaves WWE Creative Team

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