Road Dogg believes today’s professional wrestlers need to worry more about being entertaining than being great in the ring.
WWE Hall of Famer Road Dogg Jesse James recently sat down with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard to promote his Oh, You Didn’t Know? podcast. One recent episode saw him discuss the formation of the New Age Outlaws with Billy Gunn, who is still actively competing with his sons in AEW. Asked about the recent success of Billy Gunn’s sons Austin and Colten Gunn in All Elite Wrestling, Road Dogg admitted that he had no idea that they wanted to get into the business in the first place, but they are making their father — and him — very proud.
“I had no idea they ever wanted to be professional wrestlers. And so — I’m getting goosebumps just talking about it right now — the coolest thing in the world for me was to wrestle with my father,” Road Dogg said. “TNA gave me that opportunity, WWE gave me the opportunity to induct him into the WWE Hall Of Fame, things like that are real in a world that’s not so real. It’s your blood and it’s your family, I couldn’t be more proud of his children I know he is too, I know he’s having a blast,” Road Dogg said. “He talks about his boys, and look — they’re really good. They’re learning how to work, and it’s not to get ‘Uncle Dave’ to give them a five-star match, it’s to be entertaining and it’s to entertain people. If you ask me, that’s the name of the game.
James went on to speak about how being entertaining is paramount in wrestling, noting that some of the all-time greats were not the best wrestlers, but they were incredibly charismatic.
“If there was money in wrestling, Tony Khan wouldn’t have had to buy Ring Of Honor back. It would have never gone out of business because they had great wrestling, but, people wanna be entertained too. And so, you’ve gotta give them a little glitz and glamour, you’ve gotta give them a little carny. [Imitates a carnival barker] ‘Step right up folks…’ and show ’em some shiny stuff, pyro, whatever, and here we go. People wanna be entertained. Jamie Dundee one time said, ‘There ain’t a dime in wrestling.’ And I almost believe that now.
“There are very few just really good wrestlers. What, you can count five or ten tops? But the ones you know that are most famous were horrible in the ring. We can go down the list. And look, I say horrible, I didn’t mean that [literally] as everything is hyperbole nowadays, but they just weren’t great workers, they had something other than that that people grabbed on to. And that’s what they want, they want an emotional investment into this character, into this talent, into whoever it is that is ‘my guy.’ I have to be emotionally invested in him, and if I’m not, none of it matters, none of it counts. Wins, losses, none of it. If you don’t make an emotional investment, an attachment to the viewing audience or the live event attendee, you may as well pack it up.”
Road Dogg praised the Gunn Club’s charisma and social media game, noting that Austin Gunn has the intangibles to be endearing and annoying at the same time.
“[Austin] has so much charisma and just — one minute you want to kiss him, the next minute you want to slap him because he’s that kind of kid, but he’s got something, man. He’s got something that I want, I want to watch him and follow him because he’s that kind of exciting dude to be next to. I’ve spent a lot of time with them at these signings because Billy has brought them with him, and I’ve almost gotten to know them as peers. So funny, so entertaining, athletic. Huge stars. They’re going to be huge stars and if they’re not, it’s somebody else’s fault, that’s for damn sure.”
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What do you make of Road Dogg’s comments? Do you truly believe that there’s no money in simply just being a great professional wrestler in 2022? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
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