When CM Punk infamously referred to Vince McMahons inner circle of glad-handed, nonsensical, douchebag yes-men, the first name that came up was John Laurinaitis, the former Executive Vice President of Talent Relations for the company, and one of the most notorious suck-ups that Vince has ever dealt with. Laurinaitis was said to be someone who rarely disagreed with Vince, preferring to nod his head in approval at everything that Vince came up with. This yes-man mentality is one of the main reasons that Vince has become out of touch in recent months; he has become accustomed to everyone (including Laurinaitis) agreeing with him on everything that he now thinks that everything he thinks of is correct; and without any dissenting voices, the company suffers as a result. Laurinaitis also showed his company loyalty through his on-screen character, which was basically a (slightly) exaggerated portrayal of his yes-man self. He agreed with Vince all the time, disagreed with and punished anyone who didnt, and in one case, willingly got down onto his knees in preparation for kissing Vince McMahons ass, completely unashamed of his own lack of self-respect. These on-screen moments were supposed to be parodies of Laurinaitis backstage personality. However, for many people, they seem to be nothing more than 100% accurate depictions of how the man once known as Johnny Ace really behaved backstage: an unquestionably loyal yes-man with lower-than-normal levels of self-respect.
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.
