Report on John Laurinaitis being absent from WWE Smackdown in Minneapolis

As previously reported via wsj.com, WWE board members are “investigating a secret $3 million settlement that longtime chief executive Vince McMahon agreed to pay to a departing employee with whom he allegedly had an affair, according to documents and people familiar with the board inquiry.” In an e-mail, it was alleged that Vince “gave her like a toy” to head of talent relations John Laurinaitis.

Laurinaitis was not seen backstage at this week’s Smackdown and Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com said the following about his absence…

“John Laurinaitis was never scheduled to be in Minneapolis [for Smackdown]. So him not being there is not necessarily any kind of a story. I mean he wasn’t there, but there were some internet rumors that he was there. He was not there and not scheduled to be there. I believe he’s scheduled to be there on Monday, but I don’t know that 100%. But if he’s not there on Monday I would say then maybe there is a story. As far as he goes, it’s going to be tough for him just because of the position that he’s in for one. Vince is the boss and it’s harder to get rid of him obviously. But for John, it’s a bad look.” (quote courtesy of WrestlingNews.co)