"People like him, I leave them to god"- WWE Hall of Famer goes off on John Laurinaitis (Exclusive)
WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long detailed his issues with John Laurinaitis during his recent appearance on Sportskeeda Wrestling's show The Wrestling Time Machine.
Long was a part of the Stamford-based promotion for a long time, during which he played multiple on-screen roles. The 75-year-old's most notable run came as SmackDown General Manager, during which he was quite famous for making tag matches and booking stars to go one on one against The Undertaker.
During a recent Q&A on The Wrestling Time Machine, host Mac Davis asked Teddy Long about his merchandise. The Hall of Famer noted that probably John Laurinaitis was against the idea.
"If a man tells you that they ain’t gonna make an action figure of you because the people won’t buy it, why would they make a T-shirt? They ain’t gonna buy the action figure, they ain’t gonna buy nothing else. So that’s what John Laurinaitis said you know that they won’t buy you. He told me this to my face so I guarantee you, if he had anything to do with them making many T-shirts, he was probably the guy that stopped it."
Long continued:
"I knew all this when I was working there with him, I just didn’t let him know. You don’t let anybody know what you know, because if you do, then that way they can get you. So I just acted like a dumb old guy who’s just happy to be here. If I see him, he speaks to me, I speak to him. If he don't, I don't say nothing to him. I don't wish bad on nobody because people like him, I leave them to god. He''ll take care of him, don't worry" [From 10:56 to 12:03]
Check out the entire episode below:
John Laurinaitis was not much liked during his time with WWE
John Laurinaitis was seemingly one of the few backstage people in WWE that weren't very popular with everyone. Numerous former personalities have spoken against the controversial figure in the past, with Teddy Long being another addition to the list.
That time CM Punk publicly shoot on John Laurinaitis for firing wrestlers https://t.co/jA26bQ3G24
Laurinaitis was investigated by WWE's board of directors in April 2022 for alleged misconduct. The former Johnny Ace was soon replaced by Bruce Prichard as the Head of Talent Relations and was eventually let go by the company in August last year.
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