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Former WWE referee Marty Elias leveled some major accusations at John Laurinaitis during an appearance on Dr. Chris Featherstone's Pancakes and Powerslams show.
Marty Elias, best remembered for refereeing The Undertaker's iconic WrestleMania 25 match against Shawn Michaels, was released from the WWE in 2009.
He recently opened up about his WWE departure, recalling how he received a phone call about his release from Head of Talent Relations at the time, John Laurinaitis.
The directive to fire Elias came from Kevin Dunn, and the former referee accused Laurinaitis of not having the courage to stand up against the order. Elias explained that as the Head of Talent Relations, Laurinaitis could have vouched for him and prevented the release from happening.
Elias added that good managers would have taken the initiative to sort out the issue instead of handing out pink slips. Here's what Elias had to say about Laurinaitis:
"Laurinaitis doesn't have a spine, and I'll say that right now. John, you have no spine, dude, because here's the thing, he could have told Kevin Dunn, 'Don't worry about it,' because I was under the impression that I was going to get suspended without pay, or I was just going to you know, get fined $5000.
"But unfortunately, that didn't happen. I got fired, and instead of John being the executive, the boss, who handles talent, he could have said, 'Kevin, he's my guy, I'll deal with it.' I'll take care of it. That's what great management people do. And, I can say that with a clear conscience because I have managed people my whole life.
"I have had lives before this. I have been a warehouse manager, distribution, I have done this whole, man. I have managed crews of up to 75 people. I know how to manage people and how you talk to people. So, John had no spine, and he probably still doesn't have a spine. You know, let's just be real," stated Elias.
He told me I was being let go because of budget cuts: Former WWE referee on his phone call with John Laurinaitis
Elias revealed that he began feeling like an outcast in the WWE in 2009, and it wasn't long until the company fired him. The former WWE employee was officially released from his contract on July 31st, 2009.
WWE cited budget cuts as the reason behind his release, but the outspoken referee was aware of backstage issues, primarily involving slander and hate from Mark Carrano.
Elias has been a long-time friend of Chris Jericho, and Y2J even went to Laurinaitis' office to inquire about the release. Johnny Ace told Jericho that Kevin Dunn didn't want liars in the WWE, and Elias needed to be shown the door.
"So, moving forward," Elias continued, "I started to feel a little bit of an outcast, and the reason I say that is because there was a lot of rumblings back in 2009 when a lot of stuff was happening backstage at WWE. And unfortunately, when I got let go, I was given the whole t-shirt explanation.
"Kevin Dunn was upset. Marty is an effin liar; WWE doesn't need effin liars. Okay? Look in the mirror, hello! So, alright, I was let go. I was let on July 31st, 2009. John Laurinaitis called me at 1:34. I still remember it. I was leaving the gym. I was going home to pack my bag because I was going to catch a flight and he called me. He told me that I was being let go because of budget.
"So, Jericho, who I called, and who I was driving with at the time, went into John's office on Monday, the following Monday, because he fired me on Friday. And, he asked Johnny what happened. He said, 'Well, Kevin Dunn said we don't need liars, so I needed to fire him."
Marty Elias revealed several other explosive details about his WWE release during an hour-long chat with Dr. Chris Featherstone, which you can view in its entirety above.
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