Felix Upton on March 9, 2026
John Laurinaitis is set to make his first wrestling-related appearance since leaving WWE, but the announcement hasn’t exactly been met with enthusiasm from everyone in the industry.
During a recent episode of Jim Cornette’s Drive-Thru, Jim Cornette and co-host Brian Last reacted to the news that Laurinaitis has been booked for an upcoming event with World Classic Professional Big Time Wrestling. The appearance comes after Laurinaitis spoke in a recent interview with Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling about his role in WWE’s developmental system and his hopes of helping develop future stars in the business.
Cornette immediately took issue with Laurinaitis’ claim about how long he was involved in WWE developmental. In the interview, Laurinaitis said he ran the company’s developmental system for two decades.
“I ran the WWE developmental system for 20 years.”
Cornette quickly disputed that timeline, pointing out that Laurinaitis didn’t take control of the developmental system until Jim Ross stepped away from the role in 2004.
“20 years? He didn’t take over for Jim Ross until 2004. That was only 22 years ago, and he’s had numerous interruptions.”
Cornette also reacted strongly to Laurinaitis describing his passion for helping younger wrestlers grow in the industry. Laurinaitis explained during the interview that developing talent remains his main focus.
“So my one love is to help and develop and groom young talent and that’s what I think the strategy is for Big Time Wrestling. It’s now to find young talent and develop them into the stars of tomorrow.”
Cornette said the phrasing immediately stood out to him given the modern meaning of the word “grooming,” especially in light of Laurinaitis’ recent controversies.
“It’s either complete stunning cluelessness or the stunning balls to use the word ‘grooming.’ Mama Cornette, that used to be a compliment when she would say, ‘Well, he’s a very well-groomed young man.’ It meant you were tidy, you were neat, you were clean. That’s not what it means to most people anymore.”
Cornette also questioned Laurinaitis’ suggestion that he could take on a meaningful executive or promotional role with the organization. According to Cornette, the promotion does not appear to have the infrastructure that Laurinaitis described.
“He’s not going to be running their developmental because they don’t have one. He’s not going to be training at their wrestling school because they don’t have one of those either.”
Cornette continued by dismissing the idea that Laurinaitis would be overseeing any kind of international talent recruitment. Cornette ultimately suggested that Laurinaitis may simply be trying to maintain a sense of importance within the wrestling business.
“If they bring in any international talent, it will probably be because said international talent is already on a goddamn American holiday. They don’t expect to be drastically increasing their goddamn international air travel bill.”
“He’s just making sht up because he doesn’t know, I guess, what the f**k they’re even doing. He’s delusional. I guess he’s trying to make himself sound somewhat important still.”*
Brian Last echoed many of Cornette’s criticisms during the discussion and referred to Laurinaitis as “Defendant C,” referencing his involvement in ongoing legal matters tied to his time in WWE. Last argued that Laurinaitis’ influence on the wrestling industry was largely negative and questioned why any promotion would want to center attention around him.
“This guy was horrible for wrestling. This guy made awful decisions. This guy had no instincts. Literally, couldn’t pick the right one-legged wrestler. He couldn’t pick talent. He picked talent out of a lingerie catalog.”
Last also dismissed Laurinaitis’ comments about developing the next generation of wrestlers and took a shot at his past role both on-screen and backstage in WWE.
“He couldn’t work, and he couldn’t do promos, and eventually they made him another one of their characters on air at the same time that apparently he was lovers with Vince McMahon in whatever twisted f**king sht they had going on.”*
While Last made it clear he has respect for Bobby Fulton, who is involved with the promotion booking Laurinaitis, he questioned the overall decision to feature Laurinaitis given the reaction that similar bookings have received in the past.
According to Last, a previous attempt to book Laurinaitis at a wrestling event years ago was canceled due to backlash from fans and the industry. With Laurinaitis now scheduled to appear at the upcoming Big Time Wrestling event, the reaction from figures like Cornette and Last suggests the controversy surrounding his return to wrestling appearances is unlikely to fade anytime soon.
What do you think about John Laurinaitis appearing at a wrestling event again after his WWE exit? Do you think promotions should give him another chance, or is the backlash understandable? Let us know your thoughts and join the discussion in the comments.
2 hours ago
Disqus Comments Loading...