WWE has had a few personalities that weren't universally well-liked backstage, and one of them seems to be John Laurinaitis. Teddy Long has now spoken about not being on good terms with the man formerly Johnny Ace.
Laurinaitis is known for his multiple spells in WWE, where he took a plethora of roles behind the scenes and was most recently released from the company in 2022.
In addition to being an on-air authority figure, the 60-year-old was also WWE's Head of Talent relations, and as documented in interviews of various wrestlers, he did rub some the wrong way.
While speaking on the latest episode of The Wrestling Time Machine, Teddy Long revealed that he disliked John Laurinaitis in real life and explained the reason behind the heat, as you can view below:
"Well, see, they [on-air segments] were good because he didn't know I hated him in real life. Yeah, but he didn't know it. I mean, I have no respect for a man who tried to stop me from feeding my family. A guy that hated me for no reason. I'd never done nothing to him, and to come in my face and laugh and grin, like, it's unreal, man." [8:01 - 8:30]
Teddy Long recalled when he learned that a referee was getting paid more than him in WWE, even though he was a General Manager and was prominently featured on the product. The WWE Hall of Famer felt John Laurinaitis deliberately tried to screw him over.
Long also mentioned another former Talent Relations head, Mark Carrano, who he said was one of the two worst people on earth alongside Laurinaitis.
"And then, you know, the other thing too, I had the opportunity to be with one of the referees on the road together, and I'll leave the name out, but he'd come and told me what exactly he was making. As a referee, he was making more money than me, and I'm the General Manager running this company. That was all John Laurinaitis' deal. Like I told you, man, him and Mark Carrano are the two worst people on the planet." [8:31 - 8:58]
WWE legend Teddy Long says he got along with eveyrybody else in wrestling
Teddy Long is a true veteran of the business who has been around since 1985, done almost everything in professional wrestling before getting a deserved Hall of Fame induction in 2017.
While fans certainly love the 75-year-old, he is also quite popular within the industry. When asked about the wrestlers he liked working with, Teddy Long revealed he had good relations with every talent he met.
Long even mentioned JBL and Ron Simmons as he talked about his time in the locker room:
"I enjoyed working with everybody because I got along with everybody. I loved working with APA, you know, when I was out there with them, messing around as General Manager, I loved feuding with them. I just had a great time with everybody; it didn't bother me." [7:27 - 8:00]
Teddy Long also had a message for a legend who has been firing barbs at Dominik Mysterio of late, and you can read more here.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the YouTube video if you use quotes from this article.
