JBL Says Road Dogg Is One of the Greatest Sports Entertainers of All Time

On the latest episode of Something to Wrestle, JBL talked about Road Dogg while looking back at the WWF in 1996. JBL said he has never understood why Road Dogg didn’t become a music star, called him one of the smartest people in the business, and gave his answer when Conrad Thompson asked whether Bret Hart or Road Dogg was the better sports entertainer. You can check out his comments below:

On Road Dogg’s Charisma & Mind For the Business:

“Road Dogg, to me, I’ve asked Road Dogg this before, and I was dead serious, he kind of blows it off. I don’t know why he wasn’t a big music star. The guy can sing and he’s, as you know, an incredible entertainer. Good lord man, that guy’s loaded with charisma. I’ve seen guys out there that have made it singing that are a lot worse than him, and that’s not to say he’s bad. He’s great. I don’t know why he never made it as a singer. That’s a separate issue.

“But it was great to have Road Dogg. He was very well-liked by the guys. He’s very funny. He’s good for a locker room; he’s good for anywhere. Plus, as you find out later, how smart he is. A lot of that was masked earlier, and people probably say the same thing about me. Just because there’s a lot of humor and guys screwing around, and you want to be fun and funny and all that stuff. You find out later Road Dogg is a really sharp guy. I remember one time we’re on the plane and Vince goes, ‘I got big plans for him.’ He thought a lot of Road Dogg and his brain. Really smart guy. I don’t keep up with stuff, but I assume he’s in demand everywhere now because he’s no longer with WWE. But it was great to have him back.”

On Whether Bret Hart or Road Dogg was the Better Sports Entertainer:

“No doubt about it. Bret’s one of the greatest wrestlers of all time; Road Dogg’s one of the greatest sports entertainers of all time. Road Dogg can’t wrestle like Bret, and Bret can’t do the stuff that Road Dogg does. Road Dogg — brother, that guy is sports entertainment. If you put a sports entertainment caption up, his name should be underneath it. That’s how good he is. He got his push when they had Sunday Night Heat, I think it was. They didn’t care about him or Billy, just like they didn’t care about me or Ron back when they gave us our first promo, when we did an 8.6 rating on that uncontested night against WCW.

“Same thing with Road Dogg. They said, ‘Get out there and cut a promo.’ He cut the funniest promo. That’s what he’d been doing in the dressing room forever. Brad Armstrong was a guy that should have been NWA Champion many times over. Of course, he’s passed away now. But Brad had charisma like Road Dogg. It never came out on camera. Brad’s work certainly did. My God man, he had a match with Finlay in Europe — that thing was good. What a classic. They only had seven or eight rounds. They had shorter rounds for championship matches but man, what a match. But Road Dogg, I can see where you can say he’s polarizing, but what a mind he has for the business.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Something to Wrestle with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.