Road Dogg was involved in a number of acclaimed moments throughout his career – but his proudest achievement actually came outside the squared circle!
WWE Hall of Famer Road Dogg has been around for a number of celebrated moments and matches during his career, having been part of one of the Attitude Era’s most beloved pairings. Despite this, the multi-time Tag Team Champion has stated that his favourite moment actually came from working behind the scenes.
Speaking on his Oh…You Didn’t Know? podcast, the real-life Brian James noted that Kofi Kingston’s ascension to the WWE Championship in early 2019 saw him play a major role in the progression of the story:
“But look, the proudest moment of my career was being so involved with KofiMania. Like KofiMania, I was heavily, heavily, heavily involved in the creation of that show, and some before it, but that one had a different feel, that one hit different, you know. Look, I had some great moments when I was a wrestler, but that’s a five-minute spot, a 10-minute spot, a 12-minute spot, whatever. You go out, you do your thing, the next match comes out.”
Road Dogg continued, explaining how his sobriety allowed him to enjoy the moment more for what it was:
“Like I was doing things, I was in charge of things, I was running stuff. And so it felt really good to be a part of that. And literally the next day, no, two days later is the day I said, ‘I’m going home and I’m not coming back.’ Because of some creative decisions that were made post-KofiMania the next day that I disagreed with strongly. And so I had to stand my ground there and so that did not make me happy but look, it is what it is in business.
That was one of my proudest moments was being involved in that and being involved in all the WrestleManias I was involved with behind the scenes, especially when I got to start running rehearsals and helping literally produce from a television standpoint and helping out with that, it became really rewarding. And maybe it’s because I’m sober, maybe it’s because I’m older maybe, but just it’s really rewarding more so than winning the titles or something. You know what I mean?”
KofiMania peaked when Kofi Kingston dethroned Daniel Bryan of the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35. The New Day man ultimately dropped the championship to Brock Lesnar that October in a matter of seconds, causing outrage at WWE’s treatment of him.
Road Dogg is now back in WWE, having taken over from Jeff Jarrett in the role of Vice President of Live Events. His podcast co-host Ryan Katz is also expected to have returned, though it’s not known what role he’ll be taking on. Both were cut from their backstage roles this past January.