John Laurinaitis is no longer a defendant in the sex trafficking lawsuit filed by Janel Grant and has agreed to cooperate with Grant’s legal team by providing information against Vince McMahon and WWE. Dave Meltzer detailed this development and its potential ramifications on the May 29, 2025, edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.
According to Meltzer, the agreement signifies a notable shift in the case.
He made a deal with the attorneys—with his attorneys and the attorneys for Janel Grant—that they would take him out of the lawsuit and in exchange, he would help them and provide information on Vince McMahon to help them with their case against Vince McMahon and WWE.
Meltzer suggested that this decision likely indicates Laurinaitis’s legal counsel anticipates the lawsuit will proceed rather than be diverted to arbitration.
The fact that he’s doing this tells me that his lawyers had to believe that this case is going forward. Because there’s no reason to do it unless the case is going forward.
However, Meltzer raised concerns about Laurinaitis’s potential credibility.
He’s already flipped twice. Early on, when the lawsuit was filed, his lawyer said he was a victim too. Then he flipped to say nothing happened and backed Vince McMahon’s story. He’s going to have no credibility under oath.
Regarding the motivation behind Laurinaitis’s decision to provide information against McMahon, Meltzer offered his perspective:
Why would he turn on Vince? You know, I don’t think he’s someone who suddenly grew a conscience. I do not believe for one second that John Laurinaitis is that person who just wants to do the right thing.
A significant point raised by Meltzer involved a past non-disclosure agreement.
One of the NDAs that Vince signed and paid over $1 million for was for John Laurinaitis—not Vince. Vince didn’t pay to cover himself that time—he paid to keep quiet what Laurinaitis did. From a corporate standpoint, that’s a real red flag. He was put back in charge years later after this happened. But again, that’s how they operated in those days.
Concluding his analysis, Meltzer assessed the impact on McMahon.
It can’t make things better for Vince McMahon. They [Grant’s legal team] evidently think it makes things worse. And the timing, before the judge’s ruling, says a lot about what Laurinaitis’ team expects to happen.
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