AJ Styles Defends Road Dogg After Appointment To Co-Lead Writer of WWE SmackDown

WWE Hall of Famer Brian James, best known to wrestling fans as the Road Dogg, has a new position on the creative team.

Mike Johnson of PWInsider reported Friday that James has taken over as the new Co-Lead Writer of Friday Night SmackDown, alongside fellow Co-Lead Writer John Swatika. Fightful Select was able to confirm that report by Saturday morning.

It's a position that Road Dogg has held before, most notably during the run up to WrestleMania 35 back in 2019. He ended up resigning not long after, but stayed on creative the team until he was released in January of 2022.

When Paul 'Triple H' took over as WWE Chief Content Officer that summer, James was almost immediately re-hired.

Those who remember the creative booking, or lack their of, the last time that James held a major position of creative influence, have not reacted well to the news that he'll be helping steer the ship once again on Friday nights.

AJ Styles is no longer a member of the SmackDown roster, but The Phenomenal One felt the need to speak out on social media amid all the discourse over James' promotion.

Before judging this guy from his past performance as the head writer. Just know that there was a man who picked it apart to the point that it was no longer his ideas anymore. 🤔 https://t.co/WnDXRjyuEI
— AJ Styles (@AJStylesOrg) February 17, 2025

"Before judging this guy from his past performance as the head writer. Just know that there was a man who picked it apart to the point that it was no longer his ideas anymore."
AJ Styles on X

While not outright saying it, Styles was clearly alluding to the old days when Vince McMahon was in charge of the creative team. McMahon was notorious for tearing up portions, if not entire scripts the day of a show and re-writing much of it on the fly. Sometimes re-writes would be happening while a Raw or SmackDown was already on the air.

Plans have been much more set in stone during the Triple H regime, with last minute changes becoming a rarity as opposed to normal operations.

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