Reported by Adam Martin of WrestleView.com
On Thursday, August 31, 2006 at 7:28 PM EST

There was reportedly a "widespread rumor" within the wrestling indusry last week that current WWE Vice President of Talent Relations John "Johnny Ace" Laurinaitis was going to be fired. One rumor that blew up within WWE was that Barry Windham was going to be hired to replace Laurinaitis.

Although strong sources within WWE are indicating now that those rumors were never true, those same sources have stated that the confidence Vince and Stephanie McMahon once had in Laurinaitis has been noticably shaken. Many WWE wrestlers, especially the veterans, do not respect Laurinaitis at all and actually mock him frequently behind his back.

The main criticism on Laurinaitis within WWE was that he doesn't have a natural eye for talent at all. As of now, there doesn't appear to be any candidates currently on WWE's staff being considered as front-runners to replace Laurinaitis if he were to be removed from his current position. While the rumor of Windam taking over the position may have been untrue, WWE officials have expressed interest in bringing him in as an agent. The feeling internally right now in WWE is that if a decision was made to remove Laurinaitis, Jim Ross would likely be asked to step in and serve as V.P. of Talent Relations for now (a title he held before Laurinaitis) and help train a replacement. It should be noted that Shane McMahon and Triple H are being considered as the "top two" heirs to the position, although both are still considered to be a few years away from being taken seriously for taking the role.

Source: Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter