John Laurinaitis is reportedly gone from WWE.
In the latest of several major changes within the company, Laurinaitis has reportedly been let go. He had been named in the ongoing investigation by the WWE Board of Director’s investigation of Vince McMahon for his own misconduct
Mike Johnson of PWInsider reports that multiple WWE sources confirmed that Laurinaitis has been officially let go by the company, and the move was quietly made within the last week or so. He had been with the company since March 2001, and he quickly became the Director of Talent Relations. In 2009, WWE promoted him Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, but he shifted responsibilities when Paul Levesque (Triple H) started working in the department. He reported to Levesque as Senior Vice President of Talent Operations before he was demoted to a road agent in 2012.
Years later, WWE re-hired Laurinaitis as the Head of Talent Relations in March 2021, but he was placed on administrative leave in June 2022 when the WWE Board of Directors’ investigation began.
Outside of his backstage duties, Laurinaitis had a memorable career in front of the camera. As a wrestler, he had a successful run with All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he won their World Tag Team Championship four times. With WWE, he was featured as an on-screen authority figure from 2011-2012. He even wrestled on a handful of occasions, such as WWE Over The Limit 2012; there, he defeated John Cena. He subsequently made a few appearances over the years.
On July 22, McMahon retired after he previously stepped back from his responsibilities as the WWE Chairman and CEO. Levesque was named as the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations, with Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan becoming the new co-CEOs. On July 25, Levesque took over as the head of WWE creative.
Update: Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful confirmed Laurinaitis’ departure, though he is still “looped in” to the company’s internal emails. Ross Sapp noted that Fightful hasn’t heard of any correspondence from Laurinaitis’ side, though he remains on the email lists, where “sensitive information” about the company is transmitted.
Sources told Ross Sapp that they don’t expect Laurinaitis to return, with some expressing their “excitement” about his exit. Ross Sapp cited one top WWE name who called Laurinaitis “the biggest snake in the business.”
It’s also worth noting that, per Sapp’s report, both Laurinaitis and Vince McMahon were named on an internal internal WWE termination list.
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