Former WWE executive John Laurinaitis is preparing for his first public appearance since being named in former WWE employee Janel Grant’s sex trafficking lawsuit. Although Laurinaitis was later removed from the suit after agreeing to provide evidence in Grant’s case against Vince McMahon and WWE, this marks his first step back into the public wrestling scene.
Laurinaitis is scheduled to appear at Big Time Wrestling’s March 14 event in Ohio, which will also honor The Road Warriors—Animal and Hawk—who are being posthumously inducted into the Ohio Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. The moment carries personal weight, as Laurinaitis is the brother of the late Road Warrior Animal (Joe Laurinaitis).
Speaking on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, Laurinaitis explained why the timing of this appearance matters to him. He said, “March Madness is gonna be historic in a sense that it’s actually my first-ever public appearance for a company, and part of the (reason) I’m doing that is because of — it’s kind of just ironic that The Road Warriors are gonna be inducted into the Ohio Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, and actually there’s a match, a tribute to the Road Warriors so it’s kind of nice that my first appearance is gonna be actually something that is honoring my brother.”
Laurinaitis described the moment as a full-circle experience for his family. Beyond the appearance itself, he revealed that he has been in discussions about potentially working with Big Time Wrestling behind the scenes. He referenced conversations with Bobby Fulton and Dillon Hines about the promotion’s goals and long-term direction.
He explained, “I think the way Big Time Wrestling — and I’ve had discussions with Bobby (Fulton) and Dillon (Hines), and you know, what they’re looking to do is make it a place to be, so to speak. In other words, there’s ideas of maybe having international talent come in, having more high-profile names come in, and I’m really looking forward to their future, and hoping that somehow I can be part of that, whether it’s behind the scenes or help them with promoting and stuff like that because I think the more places for talent to work, the better opportunity it is for the business and I don’t know if everybody realizes this but, I ran the developmental system for WWE for 20 years. So, my one love is to help and develop and groom young talent, and that’s what I think is the strategy for Big Time Wrestling now is to find younger talent and develop them into the stars of tomorrow.”
Laurinaitis emphasized that developing young talent remains his passion, and while nothing is confirmed, his March appearance could be the first step toward a deeper role with the promotion.
John Laurinaitis Talks First Public Appearance Since WWE Lawsuit
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