"We had a lot of issues" - Major AEW star claims John Laurinaitis enjoyed firing him from WWE

A popular AEW star has claimed that former Senior Vice President of Talent Relations for WWE, John Laurinaitis, enjoyed firing him from the Stamford-based company.

Back in 2005, Matt Hardy was released by WWE due to improper conduct online after the former Tag Team Champion discovered that his then-girlfriend Lita had been cheating on him with fellow roster member Edge.

The relationship developed while Lita and Edge traveled the road together as Hardy was rehabbing a serious knee injury at the time. Matt was brought back to the company later that summer to start a feud with Edge, which culminated in October with a "Loser Leaves Raw" ladder match.

Speaking on his podcast, "The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy," the AEW star recalled butting heads with John Laurinaitis over the years and that when it came time to tell Matt he'd been fired, the former Johnny Ace probably took some enjoyment out of it.

“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.” (H/T EWrestlingNews)

Hardy went on to say that Johnny Ace was the bearer of bad news in WWE as Vince McMahon was always too busy before stating that he and Laurinaitis had settled their differences.

"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." (H/T EWrestlingNews)

Matt Hardy will be in action this Friday on AEW Rampage

The past six months have been tough for Matt Hardy as he and Private Party have been part of The Firm against their will. Their contracts were acquired by Stokely Hathaway, and since then, it's been a case of when will Matt, Isiah Kassidy, and Marq Quen be free again.

After a long scheme to get out of their contracts, Matt and Private Party are almost free to do whatever they want again, but there is still one more piece of business everyone needs to take care of: The Firm Deletion.

This Friday on AEW Rampage, Matt and Isiah will be joined by Jeff Hardy and FTW Champion Hook as they take on The Firm in "The Firm Deletion" at the famed Hardy Compound in Cameron, North Carolina.

Jeff Hardy made his big return to AEW on the April 12th edition of Dynamite, with the upcoming match being his first bout since Double or Nothing 2022. With his brother's All Elite Wrestling contract hanging in the balance, this might be the most important match of his AEW career.

Will you be watching AEW Rampage this week? Let us know in the comments section below!