John Laurinaitis

 ( 1962 Births ) 

Following SummerSlam, Laurinaitis began to make regular appearances on WWE programming as part of an angle in which Triple H attempted to find out who had sent a text message to the returning Kevin Nash telling him to attack CM Punk after his victory at SummerSlam, causing him to lose the WWE Championship to Alberto Del Rio who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract immediately afterwards. On the August 15 episode of Raw, Laurinaitis asked Nash for a private meeting in his office, and on the September 5 episode of Raw, after Triple H fired Nash, Laurinaitis was seen entering Nash's limo with him, leaving the arena. During this period Laurinaitis was also regularly shown sending text messages backstage and at ringside. After Nash claimed that he had sent the text message to himself, it was implied that Laurinaitis was working to try and undermine Triple H in his new role as chief operating officer, presumably because he wanted the job for himself. At Night of Champions, Laurinaitis interfered in the main event in an attempt to have Triple H removed from power but was stopped by The Miz and R-Truth, who attacked both Triple H and CM Punk, believing there to be a . Nash also interfered in the match after Laurinaitis sent a text at ringside.

On the October 10 edition of Raw SuperShow, following a kayfabe strike by members of the WWE roster as a result of Triple H's management, Vince McMahon introduced Laurinaitis as the new Interim General Manager of Raw. That same night, Laurinaitis fired Jim Ross and reinstated The Miz and R-Truth, who had been suspended following repeated attacks. After a few weeks of impartiality during which he pledged that he would listen to the WWE fans using his slogan of "People Power", Laurinaitis began showing bias against WWE Champion CM Punk, who had repeatedly criticized Laurinaitis and questioned his integrity over the past few months. On the December 26 edition of Raw SuperShow, Laurinaitis placed Punk in a gauntlet match against three opponents; whoever pinned Punk would earn a shot at the WWE Championship the following week on Raw SuperShow. Punk agreed to the match under the condition that if he beat all three, then he would receive a match against Laurinaitis himself afterwards. During the match, Laurinaitis distracted Punk, allowing Dolph Ziggler to pin Punk and earn a title shot. The following week on Raw SuperShow, Laurinaitis distracted Punk once again, causing him to be counted-out in his title match against Ziggler, thus retaining the championship. Laurinaitis then scheduled a WWE Championship match between Punk and Ziggler at the Royal Rumble, in which he named himself guest referee. Laurinaitis continued to cause Punk to lose to Ziggler throughout January which ultimately led to Punk attacking Laurinaitis in retaliation, claiming that he was abusing his power. Laurinaitis began to declare himself as the soon to be permanent General Manager. In response to this, the Board of Directors ordered that his position as Interim General Manager would be taken under review by Chief Operating Officer Triple H. At the Royal Rumble, Laurinaitis brought in another official and Punk defeated Ziggler. On January 30 edition of Raw SuperShow, Laurinaitis was set to have a performance review by Triple H. During the review, Triple H degraded Laurinaitis and his actions, but before the final decision he was interrupted by The Undertaker. The Board of Directors then decided on February 7, 2012, to retain Laurinaitis as Interim General Manager.

Laurinaitis subsequently began a feud with SmackDown general manager Theodore Long. The respective General Managers of Raw and SmackDown swapped places for one night only with Laurinaitis in charge of SmackDown for March 9, 2012 and Long in charge of Raw for March 5, 2012. On that week's edition of SmackDown, Laurinaitis wrestled his first match in eleven years (as well as his first for WWE), losing to Theodore Long in a singles match. Laurinaitis continued his feud with Long until WrestleMania XXVIII, where both Long and Laurinaitis chose a team of six wrestlers to represent them, with the winning team earning general manager control over both brands. Team Johnny defeated Team Teddy, resulting in Long losing his position as General Manager of SmackDown. On the April 6, 2012 edition of SmackDown, Laurinaitis forced Long to become his new assistant after threatening to discontinue Long's grandchildren's trust fund. On the April 23, 2012 episode of Raw SuperShow, Laurinaitis appointed Eve Torres as Executive Administrator of Raw and SmackDown.

On the April 30, 2012 episode of Raw SuperShow, Laurinaitis, with the aid of Matt Bloom, attacked John Cena, before declaring himself as Cena's opponent at Over the Limit. On the May 14 episode of Raw SuperShow, Laurinaitis publicly humiliated and fired Big Show from WWE after Big Show disrespected him by constantly making fun of his voice. That same night, the Board of Directors sent Laurinaitis a letter stating that he would be fired if he lost the Hardcore Match match against Cena at Over the Limit. At Over the Limit, Laurinaitis defeated Cena despite taking a heavy beating after Big Show interfered and attacked Cena. The following night on Raw SuperShow, Laurinaitis, now using a power chair and crutches for mobility purposes, rehired Big Show after helping him win the match against Cena.

On the June 11, 2012 episode of Raw SuperShow, Vince McMahon gave Laurinaitis a job evaluation. Before McMahon could fire Laurinaitis, Big Show hit the WMD on McMahon by accident. At No Way Out, Cena defeated Big Show in a Steel Cage match. After the match, McMahon fired Laurinaitis, followed by Cena hitting the Attitude Adjustment on Laurinaitis through a broadcast table. The next night on Raw SuperShow, in his final show in charge, Laurinaitis booked himself in a 3-on-1 Handicap match, teaming up with Big Show and David Otunga against Cena. During the match, both Big Show and Otunga walked out on Laurinaitis, which allowed Cena to hit Laurinaitis with three Attitude Adjustments before making him submit to the STF.

On the March 29, 2013 episode of SmackDown, Laurinaitis offered Dwayne Johnson his services as manager for his match at WrestleMania 29 against John Cena. Rock responded by giving Laurinaitis a Spinebuster and a People's Elbow. Laurinaitis appeared at Survivor Series, alongside Los Matadores, R-Truth, Santino Marella and Fandango, and at the 2013 Slammy Awards, presenting the Rookie of the Year award to The Shield.

On SmackDown's 15th Anniversary Special on October 10, 2014, Laurinaitis formed a team to face Teddy Long's team to be determined as the greatest general manager in SmackDown history. The match was won by Teddy Long's team. He appeared at the Slammy Awards in December and, on March 28, 2015, he inducted The Bushwhackers into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Preceding the return of the brand split, Laurinaitis was one of several former authority figures to unsuccessfully apply for the general manager positions of either Raw or SmackDown. He made his appearance during the June 20, 2016 episode of Raw but was escorted off the stage by Shane McMahon.

On January 22, 2018, Laurinaitis was one of the guests that appeared on stage during the 25th Anniversary episode of Raw.

At Money in the Bank on May 10, 2020, Laurinaitis made a cameo appearance during the Men and Women's Money in the Bank match, which was filmed inside the WWE headquarters.