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WWE Hall of Famer "Road Dogg" Brian James has been vocal in the past about a myriad of subjects, but something people have shied away from has been the Chris Benoit tragedy. However, the DX member recently spoke about how he believes the tragedy did not change the pro wrestling business as a whole.
James and Benoit shared the WWE locker room for a short time from 2000 to 2001 before Road Dogg was released in January 2001. However, they had eight televised matches against one another, including a bout at Survivor Series 2000.
On the most recent episode of the Oh... You Didn't Know podcast, the D-Generation X member said he does not believe the tragedy and pro wrestling have any connection whatsoever.
"I don't wanna comment too much on this, but I don't think it changed - what did it have to do with wrestling? That honestly would be my question. This was a totally - like, I guess you're stretching if you're connecting that to wrestling," said James. [H/T Ringsidenews]
Road Dogg continued that the Benoit incident gave the bookers and promoters a chance to adopt concussion protocols and other elements to ensure the overall safety of the wrestlers.
"It made the culture, or the environment safer. Look, I'm not saying that this horrible incident had to happen so that this could be better, but something positive did come out of it, and I'm so sorry to everybody involved and can't even fathom the feelings of the family members," added James. [H/T Ringsidenews]
WWE does not air any footage of Benoit due to the tragedy that happened. However, he was briefly shown in highlights from the first-ever Tribute to the Troops on the December 12, 2022, episode of Monday Night RAW.
Benoit was shown as he was part of a TV special in 2003 that was filmed at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq.
Road Dogg is back in WWE
Road Dogg is back with World Wrestling Entertainment after replacing Jeff Jarrett as the senior VP of Live Events last summer. The Hall of Famer was released while working with the NXT back in January 2021. James was re-hired by the Triple H-Stephanie McMahon regime in August of that same year.
Brian "Road Dogg" James is no stranger to working as a backstage executive in WWE as he has worked as the head writer of SmackDown throughout his previous tenure.
Do you believe that the Chris Benoit tragedy changed the pro wrestling business? Let us know in the comments section below.
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