Many pro wrestling fans and observers expected it wouldn’t be long until John Laurinaitis was fired following the investigation into Vince McMahon allegedly paying former talent to remain quiet following his affairs.
It was reported that Laurinaitis, Former WWE Head of Talent Relations, had his own alleged escapades covered up by Vince as well, which put him in a precarious situation when the news of the investigations came out.
He was expected to go before Vince according to many, and while the news just broke on his firing, it appears he was fired last week but the news was kept to a small circle of people for the time being.
WWE FIRES John Laurinaitis
Mike Johnson of PW Insider reported on Laurinaitis being fired: “We are told that the termination happened within the last week or so and it was, for obvious reasons, being kept very quiet beyond a very small circle. We are working to confirm when the departure took place but every source, to a person, made it clear Laurinaitis was let go.”
With Laurinaitis’ firing, Stephanie McMahon and Nick Kahn and the Board have wasted little time in removing those that had allegations against them, and the investigation could still be ongoing so more news could come out.
With WWE Over 20 years
This news ended on of the longest tenured careers in the WWE office as Laurinaitis was with the WWE since March of 2001.
He was hired shortly after the WWE purchased WCW, and within a couple of months he was promoted to Director of Talent Relations.
In 2009, he was promoted again to Executive Vice President of Talent Relations.
Laurinaitis’ WWE career hit a snag in 2012 when he was demoted to being one of the Head Producers.
While it was never clear why he was demoted at the time, The Wall Street Journal’s reports a few months ago pointed out around that time a alleged $1.5 million NDA (Non-disclosure agreement) was reached in 2012 with an employee and alleged misconduct claims against Laurinaitis.
Prior to working with the WWE, Laurinaitis earned a reputation for putting together great finishes while with All Japan Pro Wrestling as a wrestler, and this led to Eric Bischoff hiring him for that job in WCW toward the end of the company’s run.
While predominately a backstage/office presence, Laurinaitis appeared on camera in authority roles from time to time, and he was also featured regular on Total Bellas with his wife Kathy and his daughters in law Brie and Nikki Bella.
During his time with the company, Laurinaitis helped develop a lot of the talent, but also developed a reputation with some that claimed listening to him was the worst thing they did in their career.
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