John Laurinaitis
Ring name(s)	Johnny Ace
Billed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Billed weight	250 lb (110 kg)
Born	July 31, 1962 (1962-07-31) (age 47) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Trained by	Nelson Royal
Debut	1986
Retired	2000

John Laurinaitis (born July 31, 1962) is an executive with World Wrestling Entertainment. He was previously a professional wrestler known as Johnny Ace, and is credited as the inventor of the "Ace Crusher" maneuver. He is also the brother of Joe Laurinaitis (Road Warrior Animal), one half of the wrestling tag team The Road Warriors, and the uncle of James Laurinaitis, former Ohio State standout and currently a linebacker for the St. Louis Rams.

Contents 1 Career 2 Booking style 3 Criticism 4 Personal life 5 In wrestling 6 Championships and accomplishments 7 Notes 8 References

[edit] Career

John Laurinaitis started wrestling in 1986 as Johnny Ace. At first, while wrestling in Florida Championship Wrestling Ace frequently teamed with his brother The Terminator. Later, when he wrestled for NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions he formed a tag team with Shane Douglas called "The Dynamic Dudes".^[1] They were managed by Jim Cornette until Cornette turned on them for Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane's version of The Midnight Express. Prior to entering the competition as one of The Dynamic Dudes at the NWA, he already appeared as a valet (a flagbearer) for the team of The Sheepherders.

As All Japan Pro Wrestling was cutting its ties with the NWA in 1990, Laurinaitis chose to stay in it, thus becoming a permanent foreign fixture on the roster. In AJPW, he found a lot of success, teaming with Kenta Kobashi, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Mike Barton.

Laurinaitis retired from the ring in 2000 after the split between All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah. He soon joined World Championship Wrestling where he replaced Vince Russo as head booker. He became a road agent in the World Wrestling Federation after the sale of WCW to the WWF in 2001. Laurinaitis worked his way up to become Vice President of Talent Relations for WWE in 2004 (replacing Jim Ross), which put him in charge of talent scouting and contracts for the company.^[2] In May 2007, Laurinaitis was promoted to Senior Vice President of Talent Relations. In 2009, he was promoted to Executive Vice President, Talent Relations.

[edit] Booking style

Laurinaitis has been credited for changing the match style of WCW, and later WWF, to emphasize greater ring psychology. This is often attributed to his experience in All Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he wrestled and was head foreign booker. The AJPW-style, perfected during the 1990s, emphasized among other things clean finishes, gradual build-up of "heat" (viewer tension), and multiple false finishes (when a wrestler, much to audience surprise, kicks out of what is usually a finishing move). All of these stylistic elements have increasingly been utilized in WCW/WWE matches.

[edit] Criticism

This article's Criticism or Controversy section(s) may mean the article does not present a neutral point of view of the subject. It may be better to integrate the material in those sections into the article as a whole.

Ace was known to be the favorite foreign booker of Shohei Baba's widow Motoko.^[1] However, following the Pro Wrestling Noah split by Mitsuharu Misawa, Ace announced his retirement from the ring and chose to return to the U.S., and not support Motoko in her quest to rebuild the company.

Ace is often criticized for signing talent to wrestling contracts based more on their physical appearances instead of their actual wrestling ability. Many of those who Ace has signed eventually wash out of the industry due to their lack of passion and desire for the business and overall lack of talent.

The Dudley Boys, Spike Dudley, Matt Hardy, Jackie Gayda, Dan Spivey, Charles Wright and many others have expressed their disregard for Ace, claiming that he outright lied to them and screwed them out of contracts and licensing rights. Former SmackDown! commentator John Bradshaw Layfield has also made jokes on the show at the expense of Ace such as when Deuce 'n Domino debuted (he claimed that if Cherry was carrying a skateboard instead of wearing roller blades then she could be Head of Talent Relations). Matt Hardy has also been on the wrong side of Ace, claiming on an episode of WWE's Internet show Byte This! that his release in 2005 was due to Ace "having something against him".

Although he is close to the McMahon's, Ace has been known to anger them such as when Ace's secretary revealed a list of possible WWE Hall of Fame inductees for 2007 to Hulk Hogan on the phone while he was on the Bubba the Love Sponge radio show on Sirius Satellite radio channel Howard 101.^[3]

As a result of his gruff voice, many of the wrestlers have taken to calling him "Johnny Laryngitis" in a derisive manner.

[edit] Personal life

Laurinaitis' brothers have both been involved in professional wrestling: Joseph, also known as Road Warrior Animal; and former wrestler Marcus, mainly known as one half of the tag team The Wrecking Crew (Terminator / Fury). Laurinaitis' nephew, James (Joseph's son) is a linebacker for the St. Louis Rams.

[edit] In wrestling

• Finishing and signature moves
  • Ace Crusher, sometimes from the top rope – innovated
  • Guillotine Ace Crusher (Leg drop bulldog)
  • Johnny Spike (Spike DDT)

• Signature moves
  • Abdominal stretch
  • Big boot
  • Cobra clutch suplex

• Managers
  • Jim Cornette^[4]
  • Diamond Dallas Page^[5]

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

• All Japan Pro Wrestling

• AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Kenta Kobashi
• AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Kenta Kobashi (2), Mike Barton (1), and Steve Williams (1)

• Championship Wrestling from Florida

• FCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with The Terminator

• International Championship Wrestling Alliance

• ICWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Oregon Wrestling Federation

• OWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• PWI ranked him # 203 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003^[6]

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • 5 Star Match (1995) with Steve Williams vs. Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi on March 4
  • 5 Star Match (1996) with Steve Williams vs. Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama on June 7
  • Match of the Year (1996) with Steve Williams vs. Mitsuharu Misawa and Jun Akiyama on June 7

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Mick Foley (2000). Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks. HarperCollins. p. 511. ISBN 0061031011.