Matt Hardy Says John Laurinaitis Had a ‘Thankless Job’ as Vince McMahon’s ‘Bad Guy’

– During a recent edition of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, former WWE Superstar Matt Hardy discussed his past experiences working with John Laurinaitis, the former disgraced VP of Talent Relations for WWE. Below are some highlights (via WrestlingInc.com):

Matt Hardy on John Laurinaitis: “John Laurinaitis and I, we had a lot of issues. I felt like whenever he called to release me in 2005, I felt like he was getting a little bit of enjoyment out of it because he’s like, ‘this guy clashed with me and he questioned my judgment.”

On having respect for Laurinaitis: “He was ultimately the bad guy for Vince McMahon. Vince McMahon doesn’t need to give people the bad news. […] That’s John Laurinaitis’ job. So that’s a tough job. It’s a very thankless job in many ways, too. So at the end of the day, I’ve had my issues with John Laurinaitis, but I’m okay with John Lauriniatis now, and I’m fine with him. I have respect for him.”

Laurinaitis was fired by WWE last summer. The former wrestler and WWE executive was named in an expose by The Wall Street Journal for being involved in an alleged sexual relationship with a former WWE employee, who McMahon allegedly paid $3 million as hush money.