John Morrison has addressed John Laurinaitis’ recent departure from WWE, joking that he wonders if anyone wished him good luck with his future endeavours.
After almost a decade away, John Morrison returned to WWE in January 2020 where he quickly reunited with his former partner The Miz. The pair remained together until Miz turned on his partner in August 2021. However, with the A-Lister heading off to appear on Dancing With The Stars, the feud never reached a natural conclusion.
Around this time, Morrison’s TV time dramatically decreased and he was released by the company on November 18th. His departure came just two weeks after his partner Taya Valkyrie was also let go following a spell in NXT.
Speaking to NBC Sports Boston, Morrison reflected on his second exit from WWE, revealing that after his wife left the company, he no longer wanted to be there.
“We were going to feud, but he missed a couple of Raw before he left for Dancing With The Stars. So, that never happened. I don’t know if the reason for that is public. That never happened and that’s why I was left in limbo. Anyway, I don’t want to get into it. The thing about it is, after Taya was gone, I didn’t want to be there anymore. When I heard I was being released, I went through the eight steps of grief, or ten, however many, in like 30 seconds. From surprised to shock to regret to okay,”
Morrison joked that when he was released he wasn’t “wished luck with his future endeavours,” before wondering if someone said that to former Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis when he left the company.
“They didn’t even say ‘best of luck in your future endeavours.’ I thought that he said that to people. I didn’t get that out of (John) Laurinaitis. I wonder if someone said that to him [laughs]. I didn’t love him or hate him,”
“I thought he had a very tough job. I didn’t realize what he was doing behind the scenes. In retrospect, that’s pretty messed up. He has to deal with that and he created his own problems.”
On August 8th it was confirmed that former WWE Head Of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis had left the company. The report noted that ‘Johnny Ace’ had been “quietly let go,” although the information had been kept within a small circle.
John Laurinatis is being investigated by WWE’s Board of Directors in regard to a “$1.5 million nondisclosure agreement reached in 2012 with an employee.” Laurinaitis stepped down from his role as Head of Talent Relations at around the same time that the deal with the employee was reached. It is alleged that Laurinaitis demoted the woman after she ended their affair.
H/t to Fightful for the transcription.