"That's unprofessional" - John Laurinaitis' reaction after ex-WWE star complained about co-worker attacking him

Paul London recently recalled how John Laurinaitis handled the infamous incident between Bob Holly and Rene Dupree in WWE.

On November 21, 2004, Dupree required hospital treatment after Holly allegedly beat him up during a live event match. The animosity between the two men began when Dupree received a speeding ticket while driving in a rental car. As the car was registered in Holly’s name, the veteran superstar had to go to court.

London, a WWE star between 2003 and 2008, spoke on Dupree’s Cafe de Rene podcast about Laurinaitis’ reaction to the situation:

“I remember specifically in the airport you speaking to Johnny Ace [John Laurinaitis] on the phone and him saying, ‘Don’t worry about anything. I don’t want you to feel threatened at work. That’s unprofessional, that’s not the way it should be. Nobody should have to come to work feeling in danger for their life or their safety. I’m gonna put a stop to this right now, and you don’t have anything to worry about,'" London recalled. [3:05-3:34]

In 2008, Dupree told Powerslam Magazine UK [H/T Reddit] that Holly left him in charge of the car because he had to fly home early. The former La Resistance member was unaware he picked up a speeding ticket and only found out when Holly checked his mail two months later.

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Rene Dupree's unusual booking before his conversation with John Laurinaitis

The match in question saw Bob Holly and Charlie Haas unsuccessfully challenge Kenzo Suzuki and Rene Dupree for the WWE Tag Team Championship. The untelevised encounter had a Hardcore stipulation despite WWE moving away from that match type two years earlier.

Paul London suggested that the timing of the Hardcore stipulation was probably not a coincidence.

“It turned out that he [Laurinaitis] in turn called not only Bob but he called the office while we were flying,” London said. “They hadn’t had a Hardcore match in the company since Raven had been there, which would have been, I don’t know, four or five years prior.” [3:35-4:02]

Dupree apologized to Holly and paid him back for the speeding charge. The same teams faced each other the following night at another live event. On that occasion, the Hardcore stipulation was not in place for the match.

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Please credit Cafe de Rene and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.