John Laurinaitis Wanted To Fire Wrestler That Became One Of WWE’s Biggest Ever Stars

John Laurinaitis famously almost hired the wrong one-legged wrestler after nearly signing Steve Chamberland instead of Zach Gowen in 2003. Additionally, he allowed Bob Orton Jr. to bleed in a match that featured The Undertaker despite having been made aware he had Hepatitis C, plus he was the person who convinced Brock Lesnar to attempt a Shooting Star Press at WrestleMania 19, which almost broke his neck.

Therefore, to say he messed up plenty of times in his roles as a producer and executive would be an understatement. And now, during an interview with Chris Van Vliet , wrestler-turned-actor Batista has revealed that while gaining experience in WWE’s former developmental territory OVW, Laurinaitis wanted to fire him. Had this happened, WWE would have missed out on a six-time world champion and two-time WrestleMania main eventer.

“You know, a lot of people didn’t believe in me. Even when I was in developmental camp down in OVW, there was people with the WWE and John Laurinaitis who wanted to fire me, but I just kept digging in and digging in and digging in and digging in until I finally got my real first opportunity with, you know, with Evolution. And I had access to Triple H and Ric Flair, I mean, two of the greatest professional wrestlers ever. And I wasn’t going to blow my shot, man.”

62-year-old Laurinaitis started wrestling in 1986 under the name Johnny Ace, and while he never matched his brother Road Warrior Animal’s success, he still had a noteworthy career in Japan. Then, following his in-ring retirement in 2000, he would transition into working backstage for WCW, which eventually saw him join WWE when Vince McMahon purchased the company. Yet, his lengthy spell with the company ended in 2022 when he was fired after it was alleged that McMahon and himself were involved in inappropriate behavior with women.