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Brian Costello says he did not get along with John Laurinaitis during the former WWE executive's days as an in-ring competitor.
Costello is best remembered for his appearances in WWE between 1986 and 1996. In 1994, he crossed paths with Laurinaitis, aka Johnny Ace, in the Japanese promotion AJPW. The two men strongly disliked each other, so much so that Abdullah the Butcher and Stan Hansen once intervened to stop them from fighting.
On the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast, Costello discussed his heated confrontation with Vince McMahon's former right-hand man:
"Let's just say there was an incident between me and Johnny Ace. We didn't get along, and it got heated and to a point where at one point Stan and Abdullah had to step in and break it up and whatever and all that when we were on tour there." [8:46 – 9:10]
Laurinaitis wrestled more than 1,000 matches between 1987 and 2000. The majority of his in-ring encounters occurred in AJPW, where he held the World Tag Team Championship four times.
Dr. Death questioned Brian Costello after the John Laurinaitis incident
On January 20, 1994, Dr. Death Steve Williams teamed up with Johnny Gunn and Richard Slinger to defeat Brian Costello, John Nord, and Stan Hansen. The AJPW match took place shortly after Costello's fight with John Laurinaitis.
Costello recalled how Dr. Death wanted assurances from him that he would not do something to sabotage the finish of the match:
"He was like, 'Are we gonna have a problem, son?' and I go, 'Not at all, Doc!' It was a great match, easy match, but he had caught wind of whatever the incident with me and Ace and whatever, and I don't know if he thought, 'This kid might be a problem.'" [9:11 – 10:17]
In 2022, Laurinaitis' 21-year run as a WWE executive ended amid misconduct allegations.
What are your thoughts on John Laurinaitis? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
