John Laurinaitis (born
July
31,
1962) is an executive with
World Wrestling Entertainment.
He was previously a
professional
wrestler known as
Johnny Ace, and is credited
as the inventor of the "
Ace Crusher" maneuver.
He is also
the brother of Joe Laurinaitis
(Road Warrior Animal), one half of the wrestling tag team The Road Warriors, and the uncle of
James Laurinaitis, former Ohio State
standout and currently a linebacker for the
St. Louis Rams.
Career
John Laurinaitis started wrestling in 1986 as
Johnny
Ace. At first, while wrestling in
Florida Championship
Wrestling Ace frequently teamed with his brother
The Terminator. Later, when he wrestled
for
NWA's
Jim Crockett Promotions he formed a
tag team with
Shane Douglas called
"The Dynamic Dudes". They were managed by
Jim Cornette until Cornette turned on them for
Bobby Eaton and
Stan Lane's version of The
Midnight Express.
Prior to entering the competition as one of The Dynamic Dudes at
the
NWA, he already
appeared as a valet (a flagbearer) for the team of
The Sheepherders.
As
All Japan Pro Wrestling
was cutting its ties with the NWA in 1990, Laurinaitis chose to
stay in it, thus becoming a permanent foreign fixture on the
roster. In AJPW, he found a lot of success, teaming with
Kenta Kobashi,
"Dr.
Death" Steve Williams and
Mike
Barton.
Laurinaitis retired from wrestling in 2000 after the split between
All Japan Pro Wrestling and
Pro Wrestling Noah. He soon
joined
World Championship
Wrestling where he replaced
Vince
Russo as head booker. He became a road agent in the
World Wrestling Federation
after the sale of WCW to the WWF in 2001. Laurinaitis worked his
way up to become Vice President of Talent Relations for WWE in 2004
(replacing
Jim Ross), which put him in
charge of talent scouting and contracts for the company. In May
2007, Laurinaitis was promoted to Senior Vice President of Talent
Relations. In 2009, he was promoted to Executive Vice President,
Talent Relations.
Booking style
Laurinaitis has been credited for changing the match style of WCW,
and later WWF, to emphasize greater ring psychology. This is often
attributed to his experience in All Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he
wrestled and was head foreign booker. The AJPW-style, perfected
during the 1990s, emphasized among other things clean finishes,
gradual build-up of "heat" (viewer tension), and multiple false
finishes (when a wrestler, much to audience surprise, kicks out of
what is usually a finishing move). All of these stylistic elements
have increasingly been utilized in WCW/WWE matches.
Criticism
Ace was known to be the favorite foreign booker of
Shohei Baba's widow Motoko. However, following
the
Pro Wrestling Noah split by
Mitsuharu Misawa, Ace announced his
retirement and chose to return to the U.S., and not support Motoko
in her quest to rebuild the company.
Ace is often criticized for signing talent to wrestling contracts
based more on their physical appearances instead of their actual
wrestling ability. Many of those who Ace has signed eventually wash
out of the industry due to their lack of passion and desire for the
business and overall lack of talent.
The Dudley Boys,
Spike Dudley,
Matt
Hardy,
Jackie Gayda,
Dan Spivey,
Charles Wright and many others
have expressed their disregard for Ace, claiming that he outright
lied to them and screwed them out of contracts and licensing
rights. Former
SmackDown! commentator
John Bradshaw Layfield has also made
jokes on the show at the expense of Ace such as when
Deuce 'n Domino debuted (he claimed that if
Cherry was carrying a skateboard instead
of wearing roller blades then she could be Head of Talent
Relations).
Matt Hardy has also been on
the wrong side of Ace, claiming on an episode of WWE's Internet
show
Byte This! that his release in 2005 was due to Ace
"having something against him".
Although he is close to the McMahon's, Ace has been known to anger
them such as when Ace's secretary revealed a list of possible WWE
Hall of Fame inductees for 2007 to Hulk Hogan on the phone while he
was on the
Bubba the Love
Sponge radio show on Sirius Satellite radio channel Howard
101.
As a result of his gruff voice, many of the wrestlers have taken to
calling him "Johnny
Laryngitis" in a
derisive manner.
Personal life
Laurinaitis' brothers have both been involved in professional
wrestling: Joseph, also known as
Road Warrior Animal; and former wrestler
Marcus, mainly known as one half
of the tag team The Wrecking Crew (Terminator / Fury). Laurinaitis'
nephew,
James (Joseph's son) is a
linebacker for the
St. Louis Rams.
In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
Championships and accomplishments
- *AJPW All Asia
Tag Team Championship (2 times) –
with Kenta Kobashi
- *AJPW
Unified World Tag Team Championship (4
times) – with Kenta Kobashi (2), Mike
Barton (1), and Steve Williams
(1)
- *FCW Tag Team
Championship (1 time) –
with The Terminator
- International Championship Wrestling
Alliance
- *ICWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Oregon Wrestling Federation
- *OWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- *PWI ranked him # 203 of the 500 best singles
wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in
2003
Notes
References
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