Fans Blast Road Dogg After SmackDown and Call for WWE to Remove Him from Creative

Road Dogg’s return to WWE SmackDown’s creative team is off to a rough start, and fans are already calling for his removal.

Following the February 21 episode, where The Rock’s lengthy promo segment with Cody Rhodes left viewers frustrated, social media exploded with criticism aimed directly at Brian “Road Dogg” James, blaming him for what many are calling one of the worst episodes of SmackDown in recent memory.

Earlier this week, reports confirmed that Road Dogg had been named co-head writer of SmackDown, marking his return to the brand’s creative team for the first time since his previous run from 2016 to 2019. However, if fans had hoped for a fresh start, they were sorely disappointed.

The Rock’s in-ring promo segment with Cody Rhodes went on for an extended period, with the WWE legend discussing their newfound friendship, his power in WWE as a TKO Board of Directors member, and a strange request for Cody to give him his “soul.” While The Rock delivered his lines with confidence, many fans felt the storyline direction was aimless, dragging the show down instead of building momentum for WrestleMania 41.

After the episode, WWE fans flooded social media, venting their frustration at Road Dogg’s creative decisions and questioning why WWE put him back in charge of SmackDown’s storytelling. One fan didn’t hold back, posting, “I like Road Dogg but WTF does he know about booking a good show?!?!” Another fan echoed that sentiment, saying, “They got Road Dogg doing all the writing……..that’s all u need to know.”

Many WWE fans began tagging Triple H and WWE’s official accounts, demanding that Road Dogg be fired from his creative role. Some fans even joked that SmackDown’s decline under his leadership was entirely predictable. One user sarcastically wrote, “Well Road Dogg was writing for SmackDown in 2017-2019 and uhhh… you’ll never guess who’s writing SmackDown now😭.”

Others took things a step further, questioning why WWE would ever put Road Dogg back in charge, given his previous creative struggles. “Triple H ain’t writing the show (at least on SmackDown), it’s Road Dogg. He sucked in 2019 and he sucks now,” one fan complained. Another wrote, “Welcome back to the Road Dogg experience with creative.”

One frustrated viewer flat-out demanded WWE pull the plug on his tenure immediately, writing, “Is it too soon to fire Road Dogg? 🤣😂” Another fan commented, “Actively watching a three-hour SmackDown written by the ROAD DOGG in 2025 is a form of self-harm.”

There were even comparisons to Vince Russo, with one fan hoping that maybe this was just a bad start: “Maybe Road Dogg is the opposite of Russo? An absolute bomb on his first night and great shows for the rest of his tenure? Maybe? Possible?” But others weren’t willing to give him that much benefit of the doubt, with one user writing, “Glad we could blame Road Dogg for this and not Triple H.”

Road Dogg previously served as SmackDown’s lead writer from 2016 to 2019, but he left the position after reported creative frustrations. Now, with Triple H overseeing WWE’s creative vision, Road Dogg has returned to a major creative role on SmackDown, but it’s clear many fans aren’t happy about it.

The backlash following SmackDown raises a major question—will WWE stick with Road Dogg, or will the company be forced to reconsider his position if fan outrage continues?