PWInsider is reporting that John Laurinaitis has officially been terminated by WWE. The report comes not long after they first reported he was still technically a part of the company, even though no plans were set for him as he sat out time during an investigation into allegations made against both he and Vince McMahon.
The report notes that things changed on Laurinaitis' status and that the termination happened within the last week or so. For obvious reasons, the entire process of his release was kept very quiet and wasn't told to more than a handful of people. There was no definitive timeline given on the release or when it was decided WWE should officially cut ties, but they write, "We are working to confirm when the departure took place but every source, to a person, made it clear Laurinaitis was let go." PWInsider is also told that the company's Board of Directors' investigation is still ongoing at this time.
Laurinaitis had been a part of WWE behind the scenes (and sometimes on-screen) dating back to March 2001. He came over as part of the company's acquisition of WCW and has been an important piece in the production of television shows and pay-per-views, specifically working in Talent Relations. By March 2009, Laurinaitis became the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and was often the man on the other end of the phone as WWE was letting talents know they were being released during budget cutbacks.
Definite Changing Of the Guard
With Vince McMahon having retired and Laurinaitis now officially gone, WWE is under new direction and there are key players running things in the most prominent positions. Ties that were connected to Vince are being moved out and it shouldn't come as a surprise if other departures follow, even ones not related to the allegations against Vince.
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