WWE News: Co-Head Writer Of ‘SmackDown Live’ Leaves His Position, Vince McMahon Possibly To Blame
A lot of changes are being made to the WWE creative team, and they all appear to be happening at the same time. The Inquisitr reported that Vince McMahon reportedly fired one writer during the WWE Hall of Fame, but that writer — Robert Evans — insists that he quit. Now, one of the co-head writers for SmackDown Live has stepped down from his position, and rumors are swirling that Vince McMahon is responsible for this, as well.
PW Insider reported that Brian James (BG James, Road Dogg) has resigned as the co-lead writer of SmackDown Live as of Wednesday, April 10, 2019. He had been leading the show with Stephen Guerreri (Steve G) for years, but James was the one going on the road with the blue brand.
James was just inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this past weekend, along with the rest of D-Generation X.
Sources have stated that James has had an increasing amount of frustration with his position on SmackDown Live, and that he hit a “breaking point” this week. The frustration reportedly comes from Vince McMahon making numerous changes to the script for SmackDown after they were seemingly completed.
Just one day removed from the post-WrestleMania 35 episode of SmackDown Live, James decided to resign from his position.
On Wednesday, James took to his Twitter account. He is very active on the social media service, and posts to it almost daily. His tweet on Wednesday was obviously a sign of things to come, and the news was officially broken to the public on Thursday.
Today I pray that I face the change, that is inevitably coming, head on and with faith and courage. The only constant is change! #HOPE #FAITH #OUDK
— Brian G. James (@BrianRDJames) April 10, 2019
Given the departure of Brian James from the SmackDown Live writing team, it is not yet known who is going to replace him. While Road Dogg did step down from his position with the blue brand, he did not resign from the company writ large.
Pro Wrestling Sheet is reporting that the change for SmackDown was a mutual decision between James and WWE. Later this year, WWE is moving SmackDown from the USA Network to Fox, and it is being said that this move happened due to that impending network change.
WWE is reportedly looking to keep James’ position flexible, one wherein he can be used more like a “utility player” who can go where he is needed the most. There is also the possibility that James could fill a role at live events — a position which recently opened due to the firing of longtime employee Arn Anderson.
The WWE creative team has seen a lot of changes in the last week, and it appears as if there are only going to be more. Brian James stepping out of the position of co-head writer for SmackDown Live is huge news, but the good thing for the company is that he’s not leaving entirely.
