Former WWE Star Gabbi Tuft Opens Up About Seeing 'Both Sides' Of John Laurinaitis

Even over a year and a half since he was released by WWE, John Laurinaitis remains a controversial figure in pro wrestling. While some have recalled fond experiences dealing with Laurinaitis when he was WWE's head of talent relations, there have been just as many horror stories, in addition to the black cloud surrounding Laurinaitis due to his connection to the scandal that briefly forced Vince McMahon out of power.

Having worked for WWE from 2008 to 2012, Gabbi Tuft had plenty of run-ins while working under Laurinaitis. And in an interview with "WrestlingNewsCo," Tuft revealed that Laurinaitis largely was respectful towards her, and once helped her out in a big way.

"Johnny was always cool to me," Tuft said. "When my daughter was about to be born, I was in Europe on a 'SmackDown' tour on the due date. And I'm freaking out, freaking out, and Johnny was like 'Get through this one thing, we'll send you home.' I'm like 'Okay.' So I did...I didn't finish the whole tour, but I was freaking out. I'm like 'I've got to go home.' He was like 'Go, go, go.' 

"And not only did he send me home, after Mia was born, he was like 'Take two weeks off.' I'm like 'What? Nobody gets that.' He said 'Take two weeks off.' And he gave me two weeks off to be with my wife and my new daughter, so he was pretty cool to me."

Despite those positive interactions, Tuft admitted the two had bad interactions as well, including once specific incident on a plane.

"I've seen both sides," Tuft said. "I've been on the bad side too. I've been on the receiving end...When his little airplane [incident] in Wisconsin [happened], he was not nice to me."

If you use quotes in this article, please credit WrestlingNewsCo and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription