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In 2022, John Laurinaitis was quietly dismissed from his job at WWE. A well-known “Vince guy”, Laurinaitis’ firing came as a result of the WWE Board of Director’s investigation into hush money payments then-Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon made to multiple women over the years in exchange for their agreement to not speak about McMahon or any of their dealings with him.
Laurinaitis — or Johnny Ace, as he’s been known since his own in-ring days — was booked for a signing in January of 2023, but that was cancelled due to the promoter receiving “only negative feedback”. And this was before Laurinaitis was named as a co-defendant with McMahon and WWE in the 2024 civil sex trafficking lawsuit filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant, one of the women involved in the Board investigation.
Through his attorneys, Laurinaitis first claimed that like Grant he was a McMahon victim. But he flipped back to working with Vince a few months later… only to agree a year later to cooperate with Grant’s legal team in exchange from being dropped from her suit.
We have not heard or learned about any of the testimony the 63-year-old former Talent Relations head may offer, as resolution of Grant’s sex trafficking suit is likely a long ways off. It has yet to be determined if it will be decided in court (her preference) or in closed moderation proceedings (McMahon and WWE’s), for instance.
But Johnny Ace can’t wait. He’s trying another comeback. Laurinaitis even returned to social media for the first time in years to promote his first appearance in even longer, for World Classic Professional Big Time Wrestling in Chillicothe, Ohio on March 14. He’ll be signing and doing meet & greets during the day, then working WCPBTW’s March Mayhem show afterwards.
There’s no word at this point if the other names listed for the show, or specifically Lauriniatis’ fellow “headliners” Mickie James, Diamond Dallas Page, Jerry Lawler, and Stan Hansen knew they were sharing the bill with a man who’s allegedly shared beds and partners with McMahon. We’re guessing at least one of them won’t have an issue.
It’s our latest example that “cancelling” isn’t a thing so much as (often short-term) consequences are.
But that’s just one takeaway from this news. Share yours in the comments below.
