There was a time in Road Dogg’s career when he wasn’t sold on women’s wrestling. He had little faith that it could be seen as something special or that the women that wrestled for WWE would ever make it into main-event positions.
Then one match changed his perceptions completely.
One of Road Dogg’s responsibilities during his time in WWE was to give women their match finishes. Over time, he began taking a more active role in the women’s matches and also began watching them to see where things could be improved.
During that time, Road Dogg started working more closely with Paige – now known as Saraya – who was both an active in-ring competitor and an on-screen official during her time in WWE.
Road Dogg loved one of Paige’s matches so much it shattered his previously-held beliefs about women’s wrestling
As it turns out, Road Dogg liked Paige’s work so much that, on a recent edition of his Oh You Didn’t Know podcast, he credited one of her matches as being the one that caused him to change his mind on women’s wrestling.
“I was a fan of Paige. I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before — but her and Emma watching them two wrestle one time was the first time I ever kind of really understood and got I don’t know maybe it was sexism and I’m just talking around it, but whatever.
I didn’t like women’s wrestling. When I saw them wrestle the effort they put forth, the athleticism they put into it, the psychology put into it, totally changed my mind right then and there on women’s wrestling.
So, I’ve been a fan of hers forever and I think she could work great. I think she was a great promo. This was the best way I could utilize her because of her limitations physically at the time, you know? I needed someone when she spoke I believed her you what I mean?
Because she was the person in charge and so I needed, at least I needed her to believe the words that were coming out of her mouth and she was good at that.”
h/t 411Mania for the transcription