Road Dogg

Road Dogg
James in 2014
Birth nameBrian Girard James
Born (1969-05-20) May 20, 1969 (age 55)[1]
Marietta, Georgia, U.S.[2]
Children3
Parent(s)Bob Armstrong (father)
RelativesScott Armstrong (brother)
Brad Armstrong (brother)
Steve Armstrong (brother)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)B.G. James[2]
Brian Armstrong[2]
The Dark Secret[2]
Jesse James[2][3]
Jesse James Armstrong[4]
Road Dogg[3]
The Roadie[2]
"Road Dogg" Jesse James
Brian James
Billed height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[3]
Billed weight241 lb (109 kg)[3]
Billed fromMarietta, Georgia[3]
Trained byBob Armstrong[4]
Brad Armstrong[4]
Paul Orndorff[4]
DebutDecember 1, 1986[5][6]
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Marines Corps
Years of service1987–1994
RankPlatoon sergeant
Battles/warsGulf War

Brian Girard James[7][8] (born May 20, 1969) is an American professional wrestler currently signed with the WWE, where he performs as the Senior Vice President of Live Events,[9] and as a commentator on WWE Main Event.[10]

James was best known for his initial tenure with World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) as The Roadie from 1994 to 1995 and as "Road Dogg" Jesse James from 1996 to 2001. He is also known for his appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as B.G. James from 2002 to 2009, and has also made appearances for several other promotions such as Smoky Mountain Wrestling,[5] World Championship Wrestling,[5] the United States Wrestling Association, the Catch Wrestling Association, and World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA).

James has held numerous championships in a career spanning more than three decades. In the WWF/E, he achieved mainstream notoriety as half of The New Age Outlaws (who became part of D-Generation X): he and partner Billy Gunn won the WWF World Tag Team Championship five times, and later held the WWE Tag Team Championship once. Additionally, James found success in singles competition, becoming a one-time Intercontinental Champion and a one-time Hardcore Champion.[3]

Following his 2001 departure from the WWF, James became the inaugural WWA World Heavyweight Champion before once again finding success as a tag team wrestler in TNA, where he was a two-time National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) World Tag Team Champion with Konnan and Ron Killings under the Freebird Rule as the 3 Live Kru. He twice competed for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on pay-per-view.[11]

WWE commentator John Layfield charted James's transition from "a cornerstone of the Attitude Era; one of its greatest stars and one of its architects", to "one of the prime creative forces behind WWE".[12] James is a second generation wrestler; his father Bob wrestled,[5] as did his brothers Scott, Brad, and Steve. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2019) as part of D-Generation X.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference SLAM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference OWOW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Road Dogg". WWE.
  4. ^ a b c d "Road Dogg " Wrestlers Database " CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  5. ^ a b c d "Superstars Who Served: Road Dogg". Archived from the original on June 7, 2013.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cage10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Jarrett, Jeff (March 4, 2012). "JeffJarrettTNA: Sgt Brian Girard James USMC..." Twitter. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  8. ^ Benson, Katie (1998). "About Him". Brian James Tribute Site. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference F4W was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Savage, Amanda (February 2, 2024). "Another Replacement WWE Commentator Revealed". WrestleTalk. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference iwdb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Brian James". Legends With JBL. Season 1. Episode 4. January 18, 2016. 1 minutes in. WWE Network. WWE.