On the latest “Grilling JR” podcast, Jim Ross said he saw John Laurinaitis at the AEW hotel on the night before AEW Dynamite in Phoenix.
“I gotta tell you a story about my last trip to Phoenix,” Ross said. “Rafael Morffi and I were going to dinner in the hotel. And there was a bar area leading into the restaurant area in the back of the house. And so I saw John Laurinaitis there. I think he was there with Dean Malenko. They’re buddies.”
“And so I just walked on by back in the restaurant at my table. Raphael stuck behind…” Ross continued, “It surprised me. I had heard something. I think maybe Dean told me that he was going to get picked up at the airport by Laurinaitis when he arrived in Phoenix, but I’d forgotten about it. Like it’s a big deal to me one way or the other. So I walk on down to the restaurant and waiting on Raphael to get down there so we get to be seated. And I look up and here comes Raphael and Jonny Laurinaitis. And I’m thinking, ‘Oh, geez, I wasn’t ready for this conference. It wasn’t a confrontation at all. We had a nice conversation. I told him, I said, ‘you know, I’m too old and I’m trying to overcome these issues of my skin cancer and all the subsequent treatment. I got more important things to worry about than having a grudge, and living a grudge. So we kind of cleared the air and had a nice conversation. And I thought it took a lot of balls for him to come approach me, to be honest with you. Because he had read everything I’d written about, you know, him being a chicken sh*t.”
Ross continued, “And I told him, I said I apologize for some of the things I said. I get emotional and there you go. So anyway, we had a nice little 10-15 minute chat. And, of course, John lives in Phoenix. And so I’m kind of glad that we got that out of the way because it’s just better to live your life without that additional stress and angst. It’s just a negative thing. And I didn’t want to mire myself into negativity. This doesn’t make any sense. I’m too God damn old. You know, I’m more concerned about my health and my job and travel and all the things that go along with it. My wound Dr. God. So anyhow, that’s kind of what that was. That was a surprise. It was a surprising meeting and he was very sincere. And he was very upfront and very honest. And so I thought I’d share that with our folks here on the podcast. I haven’t talked about it at all. So this is breaking news. So anyway, it was good. It was surprisingly good. And I’m glad he stepped up and we had a nice clean talk conversation and cleared the air, so to speak. You know, I don’t know that we’ll be on each other’s Christmas card list. But nonetheless, I kind of admired what he said to me and him making the first move, because like I said, I forgot he was even coming. And I didn’t see him standing at the bar with Dean, and all everybody else that was there.
Ross speculated that Laurinaitis may be looking for a job In AEW. Ross said, “He didn’t tell me this, Laurinaitis, but he may be looking for work. I don’t know. I didn’t ask him. His wife’s been sick and she’s surviving well, it seems like and I like her a lot. Really nice lady. Moving forward, it was kind of cool. But it was a nice thing.”
Ross talked about not trying to live with “angst and anger” and trying to get past things. He went on to say that he admired what Laurinaitis did last week.
“I admire what he did. It was a nice conversation. He was prepared for it, I can tell you that. He knew what he wanted to say. And he just got caught in a crossfire there seems to me like, made some bad decisions, apparently. I don’t know. We didn’t delve into his situation very deeply. But I was glad that we got at least got a chance to chat. Conrad, I’m 71 years old. I don’t know, I’m hoping I’m gonna be around a long time as I’m knocking on wood. But you never know. Right? We got no guarantees here. Tomorrow’s are not guaranteed. Tomorrow’s are not guaranteed. So it was an interesting conversation. Glad it happened and I wish him well.”
Conrad Thompson said that usually when someone shows up to a wrestling show they don’t work for, they are there to hang out with friends or to try to get hired. Thompson asked JR what he thought Laurinaitis was looking to do last week.
Ross said, “I don’t know. I’m guessing that his original intent was to visit his friends, especially some of those guys he worked with in WCW and WWE like Dean Malenko, and others. So I kind of think that was his primary motivation for coming down the hotel and having a pop seeing his friends. He didn’t mention to me about working for AEW. It shouldn’t be a shocker if he wanted a job. One of the hardest jobs in wrestling is the talent relations job, especially now. It’s doubly challenging. Talents are always looking for more information. They’re looking for honesty. They’re looking for you to be upfront with them. He may be interested in a talent relations role. I don’t know. But he didn’t tell me that….There could be some smoke, some fire where the smoke is, but I don’t know that. He didn’t tell me that he was here looking for work…I hope he lands on his feet and does whatever he wants to do. But I’m not mad at him anymore. And I feel better about not being mad at him anymore. I don’t want to be mad at anybody. We’re in the late innings here. I’m just not interested in all the drama, and all that stuff. So an interesting meetup, to say the least. And you’re getting all that information first right here on Grilling JR.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit AdFreeShows.com with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
