Road Dogg spent several years working behind the scenes in WWE – now, he’s criticised the presentation of AEW for looking like an indie show with “nice cameras”.
Before he was surprisingly released this year, Road Dogg worked with WWE in a backstage capacity, teaching promo classes at the WWE Performance Center. Prior to this, the real-life Brian James worked as both a producer and a writer, once serving as SmackDown’s head writer.
Being around a television production team in this capacity gave Road Dogg a pantheon of information on the topic, which is perhaps why he’s now chastised the production of All Elite Wrestling.
The former multi-time Tag Team Champion was a recent guest on Dr Chris Featherstone’s podcast with Sportskeeda, failing to hold back his opinions on AEW’s presentation. Road Dogg went on a rant, stating how AEW came across as looking like an independent show:
“I would talk to them about television wrestling and what we’re doing here. When you watch it, it looks like an indie show that somebody filmed with some nice cameras. People will win their match, get their hand raised, and just turn around and start walking away. It’s like, ‘Oh, that’s a great shot. Thank you, dude, who just won the match and now you give me your a-crack and your back to look at.’ You have to think about this like it’s a television show because it is.”
AEW’s production is headed up by Kevin Sullivan, who works under the title of Vice President of Post Production. Sullivan had worked for IMPACT Wrestling in the same role for two years prior, having previously held the Creative Director and Executive Producer roles.
Road Dogg, meanwhile, was let go from WWE this past January alongside a host of backstage WWE personnel, including now-AEW star William Regal. He’d previously stated an interest in joining the Tony Khan-helmed promotion, though this most likely won’t occur now following his less-than-complimentary comments.