History Wrestling / JohnLaurinaitis

John Joseph Laurinaitis (born July 31, 1962) is a former wrestler under the name Johnny Ace. He is a 4-time Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling World Tag Team Champion, holding the belts once with Wrestling/DrDeathSteveWilliams, twice with Wrestling/KentaKobashi and once with Mike Barton (formerly {{Wrestling/WWE}}'s Bart Gunn), and a 2-time AJPW All Asia Tag Team Champion]], holding the belts both times with Kobashi.

Laurinatis is hard to separate from his off-screen decisions, since he regularly took the heat for WWE debacles. Between stuff like torpedoing the planned 2005 Cruiserweight reboot and replacing them with dwarves, or combing through swimsuit catalogs to find Divas, Johnny Ace sounds like he was doing everything possible to water the product down. It took over 10 years to get any sort of development system up and running thanks to him. In actuality, he tried bringing in legitimate talent. He's always been a big proponent of Japanese wrestlers who've made it in the U.S. (Wrestling/KennyOmega credits Laurinaitus for sticking up for him), and Wrestling/LanceStorm owed his brief-but-tremendous run in WCW (when he became the top heel and held three championships at once) to Laurinaitus. Wrestling/VinceRusso didn't understand the appeal of a Canadian who wrestled, but Laurinaitis stuck to his guns and even told Lance off for giving his opponents too much offense. Years later, there's a story floating around about him showing Wrestling/VinceMcMahon a tape of a Japanese wrestler who was really good. Vince had no interest, told him to look elsewhere, and... well, Big Johnny did. Also, they were big into hiring fitness models, which is where {{Wrestling/Trish|Stratus}} and {{Wrestling/Charlotte}} started. They had the bonus of being athletic. But afterwards...Seeing as how Vince signed off on all of those swimsuit models, it's hard to say that Johnny Ace was wrong in doing so.

Nowadays Laurinatis seems content to just enjoy his retirement, though he still makes the sporadic appearance. He is currently married to Kathy Colace, the mother of WWE's [[Wrestling/TheBellaTwin Bella Twins]].

Nowadays Laurinatis seems content to just enjoy his retirement. He is currently married to Kathy Colace, the mother of WWE's [[Wrestling/TheBellaTwin Bella Twins]].

John Joseph Laurinaitis (born July 31, 1962) is a former wrestler under the name Johnny Ace. He wrestled mainly in Japan before his retirement, then became the head booker for Wrestling/{{WCW}}, replacing the outgoing Wrestling/VinceRusso. This job proved less-than-secure in 2001, so he jumped ship to WWE, first as an road agent, then became the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations until 2012. He also briefly served as GM of both [[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]] and [[Wrestling/WWESmackDown SmackDown]].

He is a former 4x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/alljapan/aj-t.html All Japan Pro Wrestling World Tag Team Champion]], holding the belts once with Wrestling/DrDeathSteveWilliams, twice with Wrestling/KentaKobashi and once with Mike Barton (formerly WWE's Bart Gunn), and a 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/alljapan/asia-t.html All Japan Pro Wrestling All Asia Tag Team Champion]], holding the belts both times with Kobashi.

* BreakupBreakout: Played with. While Johnny Ace has found success as an executive and even became a prominent onscreen character (albeit, a really hated one, [[XPacHeat for all the wrong reasons]]), Wrestling/ShaneDouglas is far more well-known and more successful as a wrestler, though he's kinda hated too. It'd be safer to say that the Dynamic Dudes are just hated in general, even when they have long since left the gimmick behind.

* BadBoss: When accused of abusing students, [[Wrestling/HughMorrus Bill DeMott]] denied most allegations, but when evidence was presented which made this impossible, he in turn produced evidence that he was acting under Laurinaitis's instruction, leading to the end of his role as head of talent relations.

** PetTheDog: Due to said FlameBait and the not so PG friendly responses he gives J.R a match with Wrestling/MichaelCole[[note]]A tag-team match but still[[/note]].

** (In WWE): Teddy Long, CM Punk and Wrestling/JohnCena

** Started his on-screen career as a flagbearer for Wrestling/TheSheepherders.

* HumiliationConga: Starting on the June 11th ''Wrestling/WWERaw'', where Wrestling/VinceMcMahon pretty much openly mocks him all night, along with Wrestling/{{Sheamus}}. It continues on ''[=SmackDown=]'', where John Cena knocked him out on his ass. It ultimately culminates at ''Wrestling/{{No Way Out|Wrestling}}'', where Wrestling/BrodusClay holds him while Wrestling/JohnCena escapes the cage and seals Laurinaitis' fate. He's then promptly fired and put through the announce table by Wrestling/JohnCena. Finally, on the next ''Raw'', he gets mocked by Wrestling/MickFoley, and has Wrestling/TheBigShow and David Otunga walk out on him since [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he's no longer the boss and thus no longer useful to them]], leaving him to Wrestling/JohnCena, who, at the request of the fans, gives him ''three'' Attitude Adjustments and makes him tap out to the STF. Oh, and his favorite [[KickTheDog dog to kick]] Theodore Long watches this from ringside clapping and cheering.

** On the Raw before No Way Out 2012, Vince [=McMahon=] returns to do a evaluation on Laurinaitis. At the end of the night, Vince was about to fire him before the Big Show showed up. Vince then said that if Big Show loses at No Way Out, Laurinaitis will be fired. And with help with some friends, Show lost and Laurinatis was fired then and there Although, on the next Raw after No Way Out, he tries to get the last laugh on Cena by putting him in a three on one handicap match with himself, Wrestling/TheBigShow, and David Otunga. This backfires when in the end both walk out on him, since [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he's no longer the boss and there's nothing to gain from helping him]], leaving him to Cena's wrath who, in the spirit of "People Power" answers the crowd's request and gives him ''three'' well deserved Attitude Adjustments before making him tap out to the STF.

** After [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor betraying every superstar that helped him get where he was]], including basically telling Wrestling/TheMiz YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness, he finally gets a big dose of this when Wrestling/TheBigShow and David Otunga walk out on him...for no longer being able to help them since he was fired and no longer the boss, leaving him at the mercy of Wrestling/JohnCena. Wrestling/JohnCena then proceeds to give Mr. "People Power" three Attitude Adjustments at the request of the audience, while Laurinaitis' favorite victim, Theodore Long, cheers from ringside.

** Was actually a very good wrestler in his day. He helped invent the [[Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage Diamond Cutter]][=/=][[Wrestling/RandyOrton RKO]], the [[Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin Stunner]] and the [[Wrestling/BrockLesnar F-5]]. He was also in a match that Dave Meltzer gave 5 stars and won the ''Wrestling/TheWrestlingObserverNewsletter'' Match of the Year in 1996, which was [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/alljapan/aj-t.html All Japan Pro Wrestling World Tag Team Champions]] Wrestling/MitsuharuMisawa and Jun Akiyama defeating Ace and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams at AJPW Super Power Series 1996, Day 15, June 7, 1996. That was the same year as the Wrestling/ShawnMichaels[=/=]Wrestling/BretHart Iron Man match at ''Wrestling/{{WrestleMania}} XII''.

* DullSurprise[=/=]NoSell: Gave absolutely no reaction when he was about to get the GTS from Wrestling/CMPunk.

* FiveBadBand: Seemed to lead an informal one when running WWE TV under "People Power", although the actual number of members could be disputed.
** BigBad: John Laurinaitis, of course.
** TheDragon: Tensai, who overlapped with TheBrute as well.
** TheEvilGenius: [[AmoralAttorney David Otunga]] fit this to a T - although he ''[[MilesGloriosus tried]] [[SmallNameBigEgo really]] [[ButtMonkey hard]]'' to be TheDragon.
** TheBrute: ''Definitely'' Tensai, and possibly the pair of [[DreadlockRasta Tyler Reks]] [[ThoseTwoBadGuys and Curt Hawkins]], who were seen working security or 'muscle' jobs for Laurinaitis in recent months.
** TheDarkChick: Wrestling/EveTorres.
** SixthRangerTraitor: Wrestling/TheBigShow.
* ForgotFlandersCouldDoThat[=/=]RetiredBadass:

* [[FullNameBasis Full Name and Title Basis]]: ''[[OverlyLongGag Always]]'' introduced himself this way.

** (In WWE): Teddy Long, Wrestling/CMPunk and Wrestling/JohnCena

** Spent years in the background in WWE, until 2011 when Wrestling/CMPunk cut a promo where Laurinaitis was included. The he became the Raw and Smackdown GM. That is until he was "fired" by [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon Vince [=McMahon=]]].

** Was in danger of losing his status as Interim General Manager before the 2012 Royal Rumble after publicly admitting that he intended to screw Wrestling/CMPunk out of the championship title, but he managed to convince the Board of Directors to give him another chance. Then he manages to take over both ''Raw'' and ''Smackdown'' and made Jerkass decisions as well as blackmailing Teddy Long. Then he decided to make Wrestling/BrockLesnar, a brute who enjoys beating people up, the top face of the company, even giving in to Lesnar's outrageous demands. And after losing his top face, he lashes out on a already-injured Wrestling/JohnCena. And despite all that, the Board of Directors still didn't take any action against him. Should be noted that, Wrestling/JohnCena had been approached by the Board of Directors about Laurinaitis' attack on him and told them not to do anything to him until after their match at ''Over the Limit''. Which they didn't. They just declared ''very'' specific rules for the match that cut off any possible attempts by Laurinaitis to fix the match and declared that if Cena beat him, Laurinaitis will be fired. Cena approved. Only for Laurinatis to win the match as a result of a FaceHeelTurn by Wrestling/TheBigShow and maintain his job as GM (albeit after a lengthy beatdown by Cena).

* TheResenter: Resents CMPunk due to Punk's success and his own lack of. Johnny had the look going for him yet was so bland that he couldn't land a decent job in the states, while Punk, a guy who doesn't fit the mold and wasn't supposed to make it in the WWE, ended up achieving more in the last year than Johnny did his entire life. Johnny's so bitter about it that he made it his purpose in life to to make Punk's miserable.

** His fiancee's daughters are the Wrestling/BellaTwins, which also means that he's the father-in-law of two of the most popular wrestlers of all time with the two separate factions of the fandom: casual fans (Wrestling/JohnCena, married to Nikki Bella) and smarks (Wrestling/DanielBryan, married to Brie Bella).

** His fiancee's daughters are the Wrestling/BellaTwins... which will make one Wrestling/DanielBryan his son-in-law if the marriage goes through.
*** It did. The Bellas are now his stepdaughters, Daniel Bryan's his stepson-in-law through his marriage to Brie. And keep in mind, Nikki Bella's been dating Wrestling/JohnCena for several years now...
*** They're engaged, so he's about to be the father in law of two of the most popular wrestlers of all time with the two separate factions of the fandom: casual fans (Cena) and smarks (Bryan).

* HumiliationConga: Starting on the June 11th ''[[Wrestling/{{WWERaw}} Raw]]'', where [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon Vince [=McMahon=]]] pretty much openly mocks him all night, along with Wrestling/{{Sheamus}}. It continues on ''[=SmackDown=]'', where John Cena knocked him out on his ass. It ultimately culminates at ''Wrestling/NoWayOut'', where Wrestling/BrodusClay holds him while Wrestling/JohnCena escapes the cage and seals Laurinaitis' fate. He's then promptly fired and put through the announce table by Wrestling/JohnCena. Finally, on the next RAW, he gets mocked by Wrestling/MickFoley, and has Wrestling/TheBigShow and David Otunga walk out on him since [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he's no longer the boss and thus no longer useful to them]], leaving him to Wrestling/JohnCena, who, at the request of the fans, gives him ''three'' Attitude Adjustments and makes him tap out to the STF. Oh, and his favorite [[KickTheDog dog to kick]] Theodore Long watches this from ringside clapping and cheering.
** TheBusCameBack: Returned on the March 29, 2013 ''[=SmackDown=]'' where he tried to convince Wrestling/TheRock to let him be in the Rock's corner for his match against Cena at ''[=WrestleMania=]''. Rock promised that he wouldn't give Laurinaitis the Rock Bottom. They shook hands, followed by Rock hitting a Spinebuster and a People's Elbow.

** He ended his MotiveRant to Wrestling/MickFoley about how much he hated Wrestling/CMPunk and was planning on screwing Punk at the RoyalRumble...by blasting Foley in the head with the microphone, which is one of the distinctive things Punk has been known for doing.

John Joseph Laurinaitis (born July 31, 1965) is a former wrestler under the name Johnny Ace. He wrestled mainly in Japan before his retirement, then became the head booker for Wrestling/{{WCW}}, replacing the outgoing Wrestling/VinceRusso. This job proved less-than-secure in 2001, so he jumped ship to WWE, first as an road agent, then became the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations until 2012. He also briefly served as GM of both [[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]] and [[Wrestling/WWESmackDown SmackDown]].

* HesBack: He returned on the March 29th edition of Smackdown. But doing so in the middle of "Story Time with [[DwayneJohnson The Rock]]" probably wasn't one of his better ideas however, since it ended in a Rock Bottom and People's Elbow.

** TheBusCameBack: Returned on the March 29, 2013 ''[=SmackDown=]'' where he tried to convince [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] to let him be in the Rock's corner for his match against Cena at ''[=WrestleMania=]''. Rock promised that he wouldn't give Laurinaitis the Rock Bottom. They shook hands, followed by Rock hitting a Spinebuster and a People's Elbow.

* MilesGloriosus: "I am better than [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] and Wrestling/BrockLesnar combined."

'''John Joseph Laurinaitis''' (born July 31, 1965) is a former wrestler under the name '''Johnny Ace'''. He wrestled mainly in Japan before his retirement, then became the head booker for Wrestling/{{WCW}}, replacing the outgoing Wrestling/VinceRusso. This job proved less-than-secure in 2001, so he jumped ship to WWE, first as an road agent, then became the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations until 2012. He also briefly served as GM of both [[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]] and [[Wrestling/WWESmackDown SmackDown]].

* FollowTheLeader: Invented the Cutter, originally calling the Ace Crusher, with Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage. Superstars who've adapted the cutter include Wrestling/RandyOrton (RKO), Wrestling/CodyRhodes, Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys, [[Wrestling/MattHardy both]] [[Wrestling/JeffHardy Hardys]], etc. In fact, one of the most common names for the cutter is the Ace Crusher.

** Made Wrestling/ZackRyder's Number One Contenders match with Wrestling/MarkHenry a No Disqualification Match. Wrestling/JohnCena takes full advantage to [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy go on out and interfere in Zack's favor]].

** His nephew James (Animal's son), who is 240 pounds of muscle and wouldn't have been terribly out of place in a WWE ring, [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball went to Ohio State to play linebacker instead.]] [[UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball He now plays for the St. Louis Rams.]]

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: When Wrestling/MitsuharuMisawa took nearly all of the Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling roster with him to form Wrestling/ProWrestlingNOAH, Laurinaitis was going to be one of the few Gaijin (foreign wrestlers) to be a part of that walkout, had there not been a job for him at WCW.