Former WWE Champion JBL isn’t holding back when it comes to the criticism aimed at Road Dogg’s time in WWE creative.
After Road Dogg quietly left WWE earlier this year, fans expressed mixed reactions. While many thanked him for his years of service, others blamed him for some of SmackDown’s creative decisions and questioned his role behind the scenes.
JBL, however, believes that criticism is completely unfair.
JBL says critics don’t understand how WWE creative functions
Speaking during a recent Q&A session on Something To Wrestle, JBL was asked about the backlash Road Dogg received, especially after clips from WWE Unreal began circulating online.
The WWE Hall of Famer immediately defended his longtime friend. JBL pointed to WWE’s business success as proof that the people behind the scenes, including Road Dogg, deserve more credit than criticism.
“These guys that are out there, they’re talking about Road Dogg didn’t do a good job, man f*ck you. It’s just bullsh*t. These guys are selling out arenas all over the world, making more money. We never dreamed that people would make money like this. Road Dogg was one of the guys behind it,” JBL said.
According to JBL, many fans judge WWE creative without understanding how difficult the job actually is.
JBL argued that even the greatest minds in wrestling have made mistakes. He pointed to Vince McMahon as an example. While McMahon made numerous creative decisions that fans disagreed with over the years, he also turned WWE into a global entertainment powerhouse.
Unlike regular TV shows that are filmed months in advance and edited before airing, WWE produces multiple hours of live programming every week. Writers and producers constantly have to adapt to injuries, changing plans, audience reactions, and unexpected situations. Because of that, not every storyline or segment is going to be perfect.
“This isn’t a TV episode show where you can do 13 episodes and you film it, you put it in a can and then if you don’t like it, you go back and edit it. This is live. And you’re talking about people who may or may not deliver what you’re thinking they’re going to deliver. Sometimes they do something that is not what they’re supposed to do. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. If it doesn’t work, you get the blame for that too. I mean, there’s a lot of things going on,” JBL said.
From JBL’s perspective, producing several hours of live TV content year-round while keeping millions of fans invested is one of the toughest jobs in the industry. Because of that, he believes Road Dogg deserves respect rather than becoming an easy target for online criticism.
“It’s tough to do what they’ve done. I think Road Dogg did an excellent job. And those guys who are complaining about it, man, f*ck you,” JBL said.
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