Road Dogg
- Brian James is also the name of a British punk musician, a former member of The Damned. See Brian James (musician).
Brian Gerard James (born May 20, 1970 )[1]) is an American professional wrestler, currently wrestling for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He is best known as a former member of D-Generation X and as the former tag team partner of Billy Gunn, with whom he comprised the New Age Outlaws.
Career
The youngest son of wrestling patriarch Bob James, Brian James is without a doubt the most successful of the four James brothers (Brad, Scott, Steve and Brian). A former Marine who fought in Operation Desert Storm, James is likely to be better remembered for his formidable vocal skills than for his pure wrestling ability.
World Wrestling Federation
After wrestling for a year in Smoky Mountain Wrestling and making occasional appearance for World Championship Wrestling as Brian Armstrong, James began his career with the then World Wrestling Federation towards the end of 1994. He was billed as The Roadie, an assistant to "Double J" Jeff Jarrett, a would-be country singer. He wrestled on several PPVs and television shows, but most of his first WWF tenure was spent accompanying Jarrett and interfering in his matches, on his behalf. In early 1995, Jeff Jarrett would release a song, "With My Baby Tonight", that Jarrett claimed he had sung himself. The planned angle was that it would be revealed that it was the Roadie, not Jarrett, who had really performed the vocals on this song, sparking a feud between the two wrestlers. However, before this revelation could take place, Jarrett and James suddenly left the WWF following the second In Your House pay-per-view on July 23, 1995. James then joined the United States Wrestling Association as Jesse James Armstrong, winning the heavyweight and tag titles before being forced to leave as a result of a defeat at the hands of Jeff Jarrett.
James returned to the WWF in 1996 as Jesse James, "The Real Double J", and revealed himself, somewhat belatedly, to be the true singer of "With My Baby Tonight". He languished as a midcard singles wrestler until he formed a tag team with Billy Gunn. A change in creative direction in the WWF in late 1997 led Billy Gunn, who had formerly been stuck in the dead-end gimmick of "Rockabilly," to bleach his hair blonde and assume the name "Badd Ass" Billy Gunn (a.k.a. Mr. Ass), while James became "The Road Dogg" Jesse James. The appearance and mannerisms of the team became more and more controversial and anti-social. The team, known as the New Age Outlaws, feuded with the Road Warriors and the short-lived tag team of Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie before joining D-Generation X the night after WrestleMania XIV.
James's career peaked in late 1998 and 1999, with the New Age Outlaws and D-Generation X becoming more and more popular. The team split briefly in mid-1999, but soon reconciled. The Outlaws amassed five Tag Title reigns before Gunn was (legitimately) injured in early 2000, and was unceremoniously thrown out of D-Generation X to explain his absence. James then teamed with fellow D-Generation X member X-Pac throughout the summer of 2000, but failed to regain his former popularity or title success. The team eventually split and D-Generation X fell apart. James formed a tag team with newcomer K-Kwik, but was released from the WWF soon after. He was rumoured to have arrived at an arena under the influence of drugs.
Over the next two years, James's career lost momentum. His most prominent appearance were with the short lived World Wrestling Allstars promotion.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Brian James debuted for the upstart Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion on September 18, 2002, wrestling as B.G. James (the popular Road Dogg gimmick was owned by the WWE). He was initially a heel, and was one of the founding members of Vince Russo's Sports Entertainment Xtreme faction.
In July 2003, James formed the popular group known as the 3Live Kru with Hispanic wrestler Konnan and the African-American wrestler K-Kwik, by then wrestling under his real name, Ron Killings. James was presented as a white trash redneck. The group was popular from the outset, and were notable for the fact that they sang their own entrance music as they approached the ring. The 3Live Kru turned out to be a successful teaming, as Killings held the NWA World Heavyweight Title for a second time and all three members enjoyed Tag Title reigns.
Tension arose when James' former partner Billy Gunn joined TNA in February 2005 as "The New Age Outlaw" (later shortened to "The Outlaw") in February 2005. The Outlaw repeatedly courted James, seeking to split the Kru and reform the New Age Outlaws. When The Outlaw began feuding with the Kru, James repeatedly found his loyalties divided, unwilling to fight either his former or current tag team partners. For a time, James stopped appearing with the Kru, but did not align himself with The Outlaw, who had by then changed his name to "Kip James" as a "tribute" to James' father. At TNA Sacrifice, however, he reasserted his allegiance with 3LK as special guest referee in another match between the other members and the team of Kip James and Monty Brown.
In Wrestling
Nicknames
- The Real Double J
- B-Jizzle
- The Trailer Park Gangsta
Previous Managers
Quotes
- "Oh you didn't know? Yo ass better call somebody!"
- "It's me, it's me, it's the D-O-Double G."
- "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, the D-Generation X proudly presents to you: the Road Dogg Jesse James, The Bad Ass Billy Gunn, The New Age Outlaws!"
- "Detroit Rock City, Welcome to the Dogg House! [got him booed in cleveland]"
Finishing and signature moves
Championships/Accomplishments
- 5-Time WWF World Tag-Team Champion (with Billy Gunn as The New Age Outlaws)
- 1-Time WWF Intercontinental Champion
- 1-Time WWF Hardcore Champion
- 2-Time NWA TNA Tag-Team Champion (1-time with Konnan, 1-time with Ron "The Truth" Killings)
- 1-Time USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion
- 2-Time USWA Tag-Team Champion (with Tracy Smothers)
- 2-Time USWA Television Champion
- PWI ranked him # 183 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
- PWI ranked him # 43 of the best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Billy Gunn
- PWI Tag Team of the Year Award (1998) with Billy Gunn
| WWE Intercontinental Championship Reigns | ||
| Preceded by: Val Venis | First | Succeeded by Goldust |
| WWE Hardcore Championship Reigns | ||
| Preceded by: The Big Boss Man | First | Succeeded by Vacant |