As first reported by PWInsider, and then FWOnline, John Laurinaitis was reportedly fired by WWE within the last week.
The reports note the dismissal was for “obvious reasons” and kept quiet outside a very small circle of people in the know.
Laurinaitis, the now-former Head of WWE Talent Relations came under fire when he was named as part of several allegations along with Vince McMahon. Bruce Prichard was then put in charge of talent relations in late-June after Laurinaitis had been put on administrative leave. Triple H now holds the position of EVP, Talent Relations, along with Head of Creative.
Laurinaitis, along with Vince McMahon, are currently under investigation by the WWE Board of Directors over several hush money agreements, including one former employee who allegedly had a sexual relationship with both men. McMahon announced his retirement just last month.
Laurinaitis was a long-term WWE employee. He came to WWE following the company’s purchase of WCW in March 2001. He worked his way up in WWE to talent relations as , moving over from WCW in early-2001 following WWE’s acquisition. He then began to work his way up in the company as a director, executive vice president, and senior vice president of talent relations.
In 2012, Laurinaitis was demoted to a head producer role for reasons unknown. However it has been noted that this aligns with the timeline of the current sexual misconduct allegations.