WWE issued a memo to talents Monday evening following “Raw” announcing that Senior VP Bruce Prichard will be taking over as the Interim Head of Talent Relations effective immediately, according to PWInsider.
The memo also informed talents that John Laurinaitis has been placed on “administrative leave” in light of the serious allegations made against him and Vince McMahon. The memo noted that Laurinaitis will not be on the road with WWE “pending the conclusion of our Board of Directors’ internal investigation.”
Laurinaitis hasn’t been on the road since the WWE Board of Directors’ investigation was publicly revealed last week.
In the explosive Wall Street Journal story that dropped last week, it was alleged that McMahon had a consensual relationship with a WWE paralegal, and later agreed to a $3 million settlement in January 2022 to bar the person from commenting on the affair. While the investigation, which began on March 30, initially focused on McMahon’s settlement with the 41-year-old woman, it has since expanded into NDA agreements involving misconduct claims made by other former female WWE employees about McMahon and Laurinaitis.
Fightful Select’s follow-up report to the story noted that when Laurinaitis was re-hired as WWE’s Head of Talent Relations in 2021, one specific female talent was frustrated with the move. One talent revealed that she would rather get all her stuff sent to her in a trash bag when she gets fired rather than deal with Laurinaitis. The report quoted another employee as saying that they believe the allegations against McMahon and Laurinaitis will lead to a “domino effect” and the possible exit of Laurinaitis from the company.
A later report from Fightful suggested that Laurinaitis is expected to exit the company amidst allegations of misconduct, with one source noting that as long as McMahon has any say, Laurinaitis’ position is safe unless he is determined to be “Vince’s latest scapegoat.” McMahon himself stepped down as the CEO & Chairman to cooperate with the ongoing investigation of WWE’s Board of Directors.
