WWF Names: The Road Dogg Jesse James, the Roadie
Birthdate: May 20, 1970
Height: 6'2" or 6'3"
Weight: around 230 lbs.
Hometown: Nashville, TN
Siblings: Steve, Scott, and Brad (he is the youngest of four)
Family: Wife Tracey, children Amber and Dustin
Before Wrestling...: served with the Marines for six years and participated in Operation Desert Storm
Titles Held: WWF (World Wrestling Federation) Tag Team Championship (5 times), WWF Intercontinental Championship, WWF Hardcore Championship, USWA (United States Wrestling Association) Heavyweight Championship, USWA TV Championship, USWA Tag Team Championship
Current Titles Held: none
Famous Quote: "Oh, you didn't know? Your ass better call somebody!"
Real Name: Brian James
The Road Dogg is, hands-down, one of the most charismatic personalities in the WWF. He is very talented both in the ring and on the microphone, and even though he is a member of the heel group D-Generation X, the cheers he receives these days are tremendous. Only the Rock and Jericho rival the Road Dogg in working the crowd! Roadie is currently a member of the New Age Outlaws, one of the most popular and successful tag teams in WWF history, and D-Generation X.
Thanks to KnowYourNews.com, from whom much of this info came. This bio may have some inaccuracies here and there, but it is as complete and correct as I can make it at this time.
In the early 1990s, Brian James was suffering through a frustrating stint with the WCW. Although a member of the well-known Armstrong wrestling family, he was not getting over with the fans. After touring briefly with the WWF as "The Roadie," a Jeff Jarrett tagalong, he moved to the USWA on the independent circuit and won a number of titles. After he left the World Wrestling Federation, it was made public that he, not Jeff Jarrett, had performed Jarrett's hit country song "With My Baby Tonight." James returned to the WWF in 1996 but the fans remained ho-hum about him... until the next year.
Jesse showed up on Shotgun Saturday Night and offered Billy Gunn the opportunity to take him as a partner. Gunn was a former tag team champ, but had fallen on hard times after he had broken up with his old partner, Bart Gunn. This new team of "Badd Ass" Billy Gunn and "Road Dogg" Jesse James collectively called themselves the "New Age Outlaws," and quickly became a well-known force in the WWF. As a heel team, they defeated the Legion of Doom for the WWF Tag Team Championship on November 24, 1997. After fooling around with singles matches and enjoying a long reign, the NAO lost their titles at Wrestlemania 14 on March 29, 1998 to the Hardcore Legends (Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie). The next night, the Outlaws not only got their belts back in a cage match, but they aligned themselves with the powerful force of D-Generation X.
The New Age Outlaws were extremely popular; talented on the microphones, excellent in the ring, and comedians to boot. Their second reign as tag team champs, however, came to an end on July 13, 1998 when Kane and Mankind defeated them on RAW. On August 30, 1998, the Outlaws regained their belts at Summerslam when Kane did not show up and Mankind was forced to defend the titles alone.
After this, the NAO enjoyed even more popularity, as did D-Generation X as a whole. While carrying the title, the Road Dogg became involved in a feud with former pal Jeff Jarrett. It heated up on September 12, 1998 during a match on RAW, when Jarrett hit the Road Dogg in the throat with his infamous guitar, resulting in a minor injury. By the time IYH: Breakdown rolled around, the situation had erupted into a six-man tag match that pitted the NAO and X-Pac against Jeff Jarrett and Southern Justice. Road Dogg and company were victorious, but soon were being challenged by the Headbangers (who one-upped Jarrett by smashing a boombox over the Road Dogg's head on another RAW). The titles went on the line at the October 1998 Judgment Day pay-per-view, and although the Headbangers won, it was a victory by DQ and the belts did not change hands.
It was not until December 14, 1998 that the Outlaws finally met their match. Prior to that they had successfully defended their titles at the Survivor Series and the Rock Bottom PPVs, but could not prevail over Ken Shamrock and the Big Bossman during a match on RAW.
After this loss, the Road Dogg and BABG began wrestling in singles competition. While still partners and still members of DX, their relationship had become strained as each grew (personally and career-wise) in different directions. Only a week after losing the Tag Team championship, the Road Dogg defeated the Big Bossman on RAW to capture the WWF Hardcore title. The New Age Outlaws briefly reunited in January for a match against Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart, but lost and did not think twice about resurrecting their old alliance.
The Road Dogg was unable to defend his Hardcore title at the St. Valentine's Day Massacre pay-per-view. One of the causes for this was injuries sustained in a frightening accident during a house show at Madison Square Garden in February of 1999. He was also suffering from other medical problems, and was forced to forfeit the title. Roadie, however, was soon back stronger than ever, and on March 15 he defeated Val Venis for his first reign as WWF Intercontinental champion. The Road Dogg's former partner Billy Gunn won the Hardcore title later that night. The two men soon met in a title-for-title match, but the contest ended in a draw after interference from several different sources.
The Road Dogg held onto his Intercontinental strap until March 29, 1999, when he was defeated by Goldust. Since Billy Gunn had lost his Hardcore title the night before, the New Age Outlaws decided to give partnership another go. Even though they had not partnered in some time, they were still a force so dominating that they received several shots at the titles. Just as in the past, however, it didn't take long for problems to develop. Billy Gunn began attacking Road Dogg's good buddy X-Pac, and Road Dogg could no longer consider BABG a friend. Soon D-Generation X itself fell apart, as clear lines were drawn splitting the Road Dogg and X-Pac off from Triple H, Billy Gunn, and Chyna. By this time, X-Pac had already begun teaming with the monstrous Kane in a partnership that took the two of them to Tag Team gold. The Road Dogg, meanwhile, continued his feud with Billy "Mr. Ass" Gunn even while taking care to stand up for Kane and X-Pac whenever the two might need him. After a time, Kane dropped his habit of chokeslamming the Road Dogg on sight, which greatly improved their relationship.
Things continued to heat up between the "heel" and "face" divisions of DX. At the July Fully Loaded pay-per-view, the Road Dogg and X-Pac defeated Chyna and Mr. Ass for the legal rights to the D-Generation X trademark. X-Pac was injured soon after by the Undertaker, however, and the Road Dogg ended up substituting for him as Kane's partner for several weeks. Upon his return the Road Dogg began to focus on once again capturing the WWF Hardcore championship-- that is, until the arrival of Chris Jericho. He and the Road Dogg had a war of words at Summerslam which quickly escalated into a match on the August 26, 1999 edition of SmackDown! It was there that Road Dogg received an up close and personal introduction to the Lion Tamer, knocking him out of action.
On September 23, the Road Dogg returned to the ring-- surprisingly, partnered with Billy Gunn! WWF fans saw an impressive return of the New Age Outlaws as the pair defeated the Rock and Mankind on SmackDown! to recapture the WWF tag team titles for the fourth time. But on October 14, 1999, this reign came to an end when they lost the belts on SmackDown! to the Rock and Mankind. This loss was largely due to interference from the Hollies.
On RAW October 25, 1999, D-Generation X reunited as the Outlaws, X-Pac, and Triple H once again joined forces. This time, however, D-X was heel and let it show by attacking Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Rock, and even Stephanie McMahon. Despite now being "bad guys," on November 8, 1999, Road Dogg and Billy Gunn defeated champions Mankind and Al Snow to begin their fifth reign as WWF Tag Team Champions of the World. They successfully defended these belts at Survivor Series in November, again at Armageddon in December, and yet again against the Acolytes on January 23, 2000 at the Royal Rumble.
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