Jim Ross has sent his best wishes to Road Dogg Brian James after the WWE Hall Of Fame star suffered a suspected heart attack.
Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, the AEW announcer discussed his relationship with James and how the New Age Outlaw fought to overcome his vices.
Jim Ross then sent his best wishes to James:
“I wanted to make sure that we said something about wishing Brian James – Road Dogg – a speedy recovery. I met him, I think he might have still been in the Marines. Brad, his brother was the link to all that, Brad was an amazing worker, a tremendous talent. Then I got to know Bob the patriarch and he was a hell of a good guy. I liked him a lot, he was really good too boy. A good talker and Brian had that same gift.”
“We hired Brian and we went through all the issues. It’s a story that just repeats itself. Guys have issues with maintaining their impulses, [Brian] worked hard at it, I know that. I know one time we went to WrestleMania, I don’t remember which one it was, I worked so damn many of them. He came over to me and said ‘I need to talk to you for a second.’ You never knew what that conversation was gonna be like. He apologised to me for all his unprofessional conduct shall we say. And that was part of his twelve-step deal, and it was sincere. I don’t know if he hadn’t put the kibosh on some of his activities he might not even be here today.”
Jim Ross continued, saying that James’ grit and determination will serve him well as he recovers:
“I bet he recovers knowing his grit. I think he’ll pull through – I’m being optimistic because I know he’s a fighter and very talented. His relationship with Paul Levesque has really enhanced his career at this stage of his life and he’s got great product knowledge. He seems to be a good communicator to the talents. […] So let’s keep our fingers crossed folks.”
“He’s changed his life a lot, he was high maintenance for a long time but I’m glad he’s changed a lot. WWE’s been really good to the Armstrongs. Scotty’s there, he was a referee and now he’s doing other stuff. At the end of the day, the best worker in the whole damn family was Brad and that’s not knocking the other guys. If Brad had Road Dogg’s verbal skills he’d have been pretty damn good man.”
“Get well Brian, we’re thinking about you. Just keep fighting man, you’re gonna be alright.”
During the podcast, Ross discussed the career of Mick Foley. JR recalled Vince McMahon’s reaction to Ross’s suggestion of bringing Foley to WWE in the mid-nineties.