WWE announced via an internal memo late Monday night that John Laurinaitis has been placed on administrative leave in the wake of the WWE Board of Directors’ ongoing investigation into Vince McMahon allegedly paying a former employee millions of dollars to keep an affair quiet. Laurinaitis was directly attached to the situation and was directly mentioned multiple times in the initial report from The Wall Street Journal last week. He has not been backstage at a WWE television event since then and Bruce Prichard has stepped in to fill the position as interim Head of Talent Relations.
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The reaction to WWE’s decision has been, to put it mildly, complex. Per Fightful Select‘s Sean Ross Sapp, some within the company have already celebrated Laurinaitis’ departure. Sapp previously reported that Laurinaitis’ rehiring back in March 2021 had wrestlers worried, particularly regarding his preference to the “diva” era of the women’s division. But the decision to put Prichard in charge isn’t being well-received either as now he’ll be juggling that alongside his responsibilities as Executive Director for both Raw and SmackDown as part of WWE’s Creative team.
“Former and present talent alike chimed in, with one saying ‘Vince only knows three people,’ as a joke to Johnny Ace and Bruce Prichard being tasked with roles. Another said that they’d had multiple texts from talent stating that there is concern about Bruce handling both roles, because now if you want time off, you have to ask the person who effectively is your filter between creative and Vince McMahon,” Sapp wrote.
Meanwhile, McMahon is still operating as WWE’s head booker and has been present at both SmackDown and Raw over the past week. He even opted to physically appear on both shows, though neither of his promos made any mention of the ongoing investigation. Stephanie McMahon, fresh off her decision to temporarily step back from her role as Chief Brand Officer, has now taken on the roles of interim Chairwoman and CEO until the investigation is over. Stay tuned for more updates as they become available.
