"It shouldn't be a shocker if he wanted a job" - Jim Ross speculates on released WWE figure possibly looking to work for AEW
AEW personality Jim Ross has weighed in on whether he believes a controversial former WWE figure is potentially eyeing up a job with All Elite Wrestling.
The person in question is John Laurinaitis, who has been unemployed since August 2022 after he was released by WWE due to his involvement in the Vince McMahon "hush money" scandal.
Laurinaitis is a resident of Pheonix, Arizona, so when AEW brought the latest editions of Dynamite and Rampage to the city, the former Johnny Ace wanted to catch up with some of his old friends.
Jim Ross says he spoke with John Laurinaitis at #AEW hotel in Phoenix, AZ nodq.com/news/jim-ross-… https://t.co/dIac8KS1YX
But was his visit more than just a friendly catch-up? Speaking on the Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross stated that it wouldn't be a shock if John was trying to find a way to land a position in AEW.
"I don't know. I'm guessing that his original intent was to visit his friends, especially some of those guys he worked with in WCW and WWE like Dean Malenko, and others. So I kind of think that was his primary motivation for coming down the hotel and having a pop seeing his friends. He didn't mention to me about working for AEW. It shouldn't be a shocker if he wanted a job. One of the hardest jobs in wrestling is the talent relations job, especially now. It's doubly challenging. Talents are always looking for more information. They're looking for honesty. They're looking for you to be upfront with them." (H/T Cultaholic)
Ross elaborated by saying that the former Johnny Ace might want a role as the head of talent relations, but didn't get that impression when speaking to him.
"He may be interested in a talent relations role. I don't know. But he didn't tell me that...There could be some smoke, some fire where the smoke is, but I don't know that. He didn't tell me that he was here looking for work...I hope he lands on his feet and does whatever he wants to do." (H/T Cultaholic)
Jim Ross is currently the lead voice on AEW Rampage
After being with the company since its very first event, health problems and travel issues finally caught up to Jim Ross in 2022, meaning he could no longer put in the level of effort he wanted to on AEW Dynamite every week.
However, JR is still a valued member of the AEW commentary team, and has since moved over to Rampage to be the lead voice on the show alongside Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Chris Jericho.
Jim Ross AEW schedule changes made to give Dynamite, Rampage ‘a boost’ dlvr.it/STtgpR https://t.co/TPaotb5bmn
WWE legend Taz took JR's place on Dynamite, but that hasn't stopped Ross from popping up every now and then with a series of sit-down interviews with several AEW's top stars.
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