What’s the story?
As discussed on the Wrestling Observer Radio, there has been a lot of speculation as of late that Brian James, aka Road Dogg of the famed tag team, New Age Outlaws, and former member of D-Generation X, is now the Head Writer of Smackdown, replacing Ryan Ward.
However, as per recent updates, it appears that Road Dogg will not be the Head Writer, but has been given a promotion within the company. James and Ward will be assisting Vince McMahon with the scripts of the show.
In case you didn’t know...
Ryan Ward had won the ‘Best Booker’ award from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in 2015 and was previously the head writer of NXT. He was called up shortly afterward and was set up to be the head of the Smackdown creative department.
Road Dogg was the head producer of Smackdown during the time, and was also heavily involved in the writing process.
The heart of the matter
Recent reports have been stating that Ryan Ward is still the Head Writer, while Road Dogg has only been promoted.
There was a story making rounds that Brian James had taken over Ward’s position as the head writer, but TopRopePress received word that even though James had been promoted to a higher title within the company in a Vice President role, Ward was still in charge of the creative department.
Brian James also has previous experience working as an Agent for the talent department.
What’s next?
Brian James is continuing to build success and earn a lot of praise from those in the locker room. Smackdown has been receiving a lot of positive feedback from those in the WWE Universe, wih Ward also getting lauded for his work with the brand.
Also read: WWE News: Scott Dawson's tweet offends Road Dogg and Bubba Ray Dudley
Triple H currently sees Brian James as a major power broker in the industry and this might be one of the reasons for him being promoted within the organisation.
Sportskeeda’s Take:
Regardless of either Ryan Ward or Brian James being the head writers, it definitely appears that WWE Smackdown is doing something right. Even though Smackdown has lesser writers than Raw, the brand has seen better storytelling and better matches put together.
It’s exciting to hear Brian James move up in the corporate world as he deserves to be there. His family lineage, on top of his many years spent in the professional wrestling business certainly contributes to his claim to the position.
Ryan Ward also deserves praise for all that he has done to work his way up in the corporate world himself, and with the two of them being on Smackdown, it definitely is showing results in how entertaining Smackdown has become since the brand split.
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