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On June 17, we learned that Vince McMahon decided to step back from his role as CEO and president of WWE to make room for his daughter Stephanie after the scandal involving him. In fact, he and John Laurinaitis are currently under investigation for apparently making a $3 million deal with an employee to silence her about her secret relationship with the Chairman.
Now, after the decision taken by McMahon, here comes also that of the WWE against Laurinaitis who according to the PWInsider has been replaced as Head of Talent Relations by Bruce Prichard. This was communicated to the talents on Raw afternoon through a memo that further informed that John Laurinaitis has been placed on "administrative leave" in light of the serious charges leveled against him and Vince McMahon.
The memo added that Laurinaitis will not be traveling with WWE "pending the conclusion of our Board of Directors' internal investigation."
New details on John Laurinaitis
Speaking on “Jofo in the Ring,” McAllister revealed that WWE’s Head of Talent Relations told him The Highlanders would never join the company permanently.
“John Laurinaitis, he basically crushed us and said we’d never have jobs there,” McAllister said. “He said, ‘I can take any guys in OVW and put them in kilts and call them The Highlanders. What makes you different?’ That’s where The Highlanders evolved, just out of that conversation”.
In light of these new company directives, Fightful wanted to report that the unanimous belief among the company was that Laurinaitis was as "good as gone", with several talents close to "celebrating his imminent departure." However, the news of Prichard taking his place hasn't exactly sparked positive reactions behind the scenes.
The main problem here, according to the talents Fightful spoke to, is that Prichard will be doing double duty as Head of Creative and Head of Talent Relations. Several former and current WWE talents likewise intervened, saying almost like a joke that: "Vince [McMahon] only knows three people," as both Laurinaitis and Prichard always flip these roles when needed.
Another said he had received multiple messages from internal talents that spoke of the specific concern of having Prichard managing both roles. "Now, if you want a break, you have to ask the person who is actually your filter between the creative team and Vince McMahon," said the anonymous talent.
It is unclear exactly why Laurinaitis and WWE’s higher-ups changed their opinion on The Highlanders.
