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87-607: The cutter was innovated by Johnny Ace , who called it the Ace Crusher . It was later popularized by Diamond Dallas Page , who called it the Diamond Cutter , which is where the move got its name. The most famous of all the cutters is the RKO , the finishing move of Randy Orton. The cutter also formed the base for the later development of another professional wrestling move known as the stunner . The attacking wrestler gets

174-490: A 3 ⁄ 4 facelock and fall backwards, dropping the opponent face-first into the mat. It is used by Penelope Ford , Fénix and Jay Lethal , the latter of whom calls it Lethal Injection . This variation sees the attacking wrestler execute an inverted suplex lift on the opponent before bringing them down face first with the cutter. Also known as the Osaka Street Cutter . This cutter variation sees

261-598: A King of the Ring qualifying match on November 22 as a result. The following week, Riley interfered in the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the WWE Championship between Jerry Lawler and The Miz, who had won the championship the week prior. Riley stopped Lawler from winning twice, before Lawler put him through a table. He helped The Miz to retain the championship again at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in

348-461: A Tables match , during which he was put through a table by Randy Orton . On the February 28 episode of Raw , John Cena challenged Riley to a match which, if Cena won, Riley would no longer be The Miz's apprentice. The Miz accepted the match on Riley's behalf, and later that night, Cena and Riley faced off in a steel cage match . Riley lost the match despite interference from The Miz. The angle

435-478: A World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank qualifying match against Dolph Ziggler, in a losing effort. Riley ended his singles losing streak on August 6 episode of Raw by defeating Ziggler with a roll-up after a distraction from Chris Jericho on commentary. On September 21, Riley announced that he was undergoing elbow and knee surgery. In January 2013, Riley teamed up with Derrick Bateman to take part in

522-522: A corporate stooge during the main event of the Money in the Bank pay-per-view the following month. At the climax of the WWE Championship match, under McMahon's orders, Laurinaitis tried to duplicate the Montreal Screwjob , but defending WWE Champion John Cena then proceeded to knock Laurinaitis out, not wanting to win the match that way. This interference allowed CM Punk to win the match and

609-647: A text message to the returning Kevin Nash telling him to attack CM Punk after his victory at SummerSlam, causing him to lose the WWE Championship to Alberto Del Rio who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract immediately afterwards. On the August 15 episode of Raw , Laurinaitis asked Nash for a private meeting in his office, and on the September 5 episode of Raw , after Triple H fired Nash, Laurinaitis

696-600: A triple threat match to win the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship. After his title win he called out Barrett and paid him for his services as a hired help. At the July 22 FCW tapings, Riley lost the title to Mason Ryan in a triple threat match, also involving Johnny Curtis. At the television tapings on September 22, Riley faced Ryan in a rematch, but lost by submission . On June 1, 2010, The Miz announced that he would mentor Riley for

783-476: A 14-match losing streak, losing to the likes of Brodus Clay , Lord Tensai and Heath Slater . Riley entered the 2012 Royal Rumble as the second entrant, and was eliminated first by The Miz. Riley claimed a rare victory on the May 2 episode of NXT when he teamed with Tyson Kidd to beat JTG and Johnny Curtis . After several months absence from television, he made his return on the July 3 episode of SmackDown in

870-465: A 3-on-1 Handicap Match , teaming up with Big Show and David Otunga against Cena. During the match, both Big Show and Otunga walked out on Laurinaitis, which allowed Cena to hit Laurinaitis with three Attitude Adjustment s before making him submit to the STF . Following his tenure as an on-screen performer in 2012, Laurinaitis was relieved of his backstage executive duties and returned to his original role as

957-597: A Spinebuster and a People's Elbow. Laurinaitis appeared at Survivor Series , alongside Los Matadores , R-Truth, Santino Marella and Fandango , and at the 2013 Slammy Awards , presenting the Rookie of the Year award to The Shield . On SmackDown's 15th Anniversary Special on October 10, 2014, Laurinaitis formed a team to face Teddy Long's team to be determined as the greatest general manager in SmackDown history. The match

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1044-503: A fatal four-way match for the United States Championship which also involved Ziggler, Swagger and John Morrison , in which Ziggler retained his title. In October, Riley suffered a legitimate hip injury that left him inactive for several weeks. For the remainder of 2011 after his return, Riley was largely relegated to appearing on Superstars , defeating the likes of Drew McIntyre and JTG . In 2012, Riley had

1131-708: A lawsuit was filed by Janel Grant, who had been employed at WWE headquarters between 2019 and 2022. Grant alleged that Vince McMahon had coerced her into a sexual relationship, and along with John Laurinaitis sexually trafficked her and repeatedly sexually assaulted her during 2020–2021. On February 1, 2024, Laurinaitis responded by releasing a statement through his attorney that accused McMahon of sexual misconduct, where he accused McMahon of holding "Power, [and] control" over him and of making "dictatorial sexual demands with repercussions if not met." Alex Riley Kevin Robert Kiley Jr. (born April 28, 1981)

1218-674: A losing effort to Shawn Osbourne under his real name Kevin Kiley, and later faced off with wrestlers like Sebastian Slater and Jack Gabriel . In September 2008, he changed his ring name to Carson Oakley . As Oakley, he began teaming with Scotty Goldman , and the pairing unsuccessfully challenged TJ Wilson and DH Smith for the Florida Tag Team Championship in November. In early December, he underwent another name change, calling himself Alex Riley and developing

1305-545: A permanent foreign fixture on the roster. In AJPW, he found a lot of success, teaming with Kenta Kobashi , "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Bart Gunn . Laurinaitis enjoyed significant championship success and acclaim during his tenure, becoming a two-time All Asia Tag Team Champion , a four-time World Tag Team Champion , and the winner of the New Year's Heavyweight Battle Royal on January 2, 1991, at Korakuen Hall . Two of his matches received 5 Stars from Dave Meltzer, he won

1392-621: A road agent. It was later stated in a 2022 Wall Street Journal investigative report into hush money payments made by Vince McMahon that his demotion occurred around the time the company reached a $ 1.5 million non-disclosure agreement to a woman who alleged misconduct against Laurinaitis for having an affair with her and then demoting her after their affair ended. On the March 29, 2013 episode of SmackDown , Laurinaitis offered The Rock his services as manager for his match at WrestleMania 29 against John Cena. Rock responded by giving Laurinaitis

1479-617: A singles match. Laurinaitis continued his feud with Long until WrestleMania XXVIII , where both Long and Laurinaitis chose a team of six wrestlers to represent them, with the winning team earning general manager control over both brands. Team Johnny defeated Team Teddy, resulting in Long losing his position as General Manager of SmackDown . On the April 6, 2012 edition of SmackDown, Laurinaitis forced Long to become his new assistant after threatening to discontinue Long's grandchildren's trust fund. On

1566-501: A tag team with Shane Douglas called "The Dynamic Dudes". They were managed by Jim Cornette until Cornette turned on them for Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane 's version of The Midnight Express . In his last televised WCW match, Ace lost to Mean Mark Callous, later known as The Undertaker , at Capital Combat on May 19, 1990. As All Japan Pro Wrestling was cutting its ties with the NWA in 1990, Laurinaitis chose to stay in it, thus becoming

1653-556: A title shot. The following week on Raw SuperShow , Laurinaitis distracted Punk once again, causing him to be counted-out in his title match against Ziggler, thus retaining the championship. Laurinaitis then scheduled a WWE Championship match between Punk and Ziggler at the Royal Rumble , in which he named himself guest referee . Laurinaitis continued to cause Punk to lose to Ziggler throughout January which ultimately led to Punk attacking Laurinaitis in retaliation, claiming that he

1740-496: A triple threat match including Reks and Johnny Curtis . In mid-2009, he competed in several dark matches prior to Raw and SmackDown , wrestling against Jamie Noble , Montel Vontavious Porter and Jimmy Wang Yang , and also appeared at house shows . On the August 30 episode of FCW , Riley dropped Mullins as his manager, calling her "dead weight". On March 18, 2010, Riley defeated Justin Gabriel and Wade Barrett in

1827-466: A verbal confrontation. Riley and Ziggler faced off the following week, with Riley winning by disqualification after Vickie Guerrero , Ziggler's manager, slapped him. On the August 15 episode of Raw , Riley lost to Jack Swagger due to interference by Guerrero, who also managed Swagger. Riley defeated Swagger in a rematch the following week after Swagger was distracted by Guerrero and Ziggler arguing at ringside. At Night of Champions , Riley competed in

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1914-439: Is also a springboard version in which the wrestler dives from the ropes in a backflip position and delivers a cutter to the standing opponent. Chris Bey uses this move, calling it The Art of Finesse . With an opponent placed on an elevated surface, a wrestler applies a 3 ⁄ 4 facelock and then draws the opponent away, leaving only the opponent's feet over the elevated surface. The wrestler then falls backwards so that

2001-602: Is also the uncle of James Laurinaitis , former linebacker for the St. Louis Rams and New Orleans Saints . On September 3, 2015, Laurinaitis became engaged to Kathy Colace, who is the mother of The Bella Twins and the mother-in-law of former WWE champion Bryan Danielson . The two were married in a private ceremony on March 24, 2016. On the October 16th, 2024 episode of "The Nikki & Brie Show" Podcast, Colace confirmed that she and Laurinaitis were now divorced. In January 2024,

2088-468: Is an American former professional wrestler and commentator . He is best known for his tenure in WWE , under the ring name Alex Riley , where he was a participant in the second season of NXT . In 2007, Kiley signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) and was assigned to their developmental territory , Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). On October 30, 2007, he debuted in

2175-437: Is an American retired professional wrestler and business executive. He has wrestled for such promotions as World Championship Wrestling (WCW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and WWE . He is the brother of Joe (Road Warrior Animal; one half of the former wrestling tag team The Road Warriors ) and Marcus , and is also the uncle of former National Football League player James Laurinaitis . In WWE, Laurinaitis worked in

2262-733: Is another elevated cutter variation in which the opponent is first raised over the shoulders of a wrestler in the fireman's carry position. From here, the attacking wrestler twists the opposite way and quickly switches back, throwing the opponent's legs out backwards and drops down to the mat while taking hold of the opponent's head to force them to fall into a high impact cutter. Nikki Bella used this move, calling it Rack Attack 2.0 . Scorpio Sky and Sanada use this move, calling it TKO . WWE wrestler Austin Theory used to use this move, calling it ATL and later A-Town Down . Karl Anderson also uses this move, naming it Swivel Gun Stun . This move

2349-509: Is of Lithuanian ancestry. John Laurinaitis started wrestling in 1986 as Johnny Ace. At first, while wrestling in NWA 's Florida Championship Wrestling , Ace frequently teamed with his brother The Terminator . He was also a flag-bearer for The Sheepherders and followed them to another NWA territory, Jim Crockett Promotions . Later, after JCP had been bought out by Turner Broadcasting Systems and become World Championship Wrestling , he formed

2436-521: Is used by Tama Tonga as the Tongan Twist . WWE wrestler Bo Dallas used this move, calling it Rollin' the Dice . This variation occurs when the wrestler runs up to the distracted/stunned opponent, applies a 3 ⁄ 4 facelock while parallel to the ground, and then slams the opponent's face to the mat in a cutter. This variation of the cutter occurs when the wrestler puts the opponent in

2523-458: The 3 ⁄ 4 facelock , then usually runs towards the ropes, then jumps onto the second or third rope to bounce off it, turning in the air to land the cutter. This move was popularized by Spike Dudley , originally calling it the Acid Drop , and later Dudley Dog in WWE . David Finlay uses this move as the Acid Drop. Another variation of this cutter, called Sliced Bread Number 2 ,

2610-657: The Ace Crusher . He created the move while training with Barry Windham in 1987 and began using it a year later in All Japan Pro Wrestling. Later practitioners of the cutter include Diamond Dallas Page (who called it the Diamond Cutter ) and Randy Orton (who called it the RKO ). Laurinaitis' brothers Joe , who was Animal of The Road Warriors , and Marcus were also professional wrestlers. He

2697-951: The Boston College Eagles football team, initially as a quarterback , before becoming a linebacker during the 2001 season. He also tried out for the Canadian Football League 's Montreal Alouettes . Riley once had a job selling medical equipment. He is Catholic and has a tattoo of a Celtic cross on his back. He was arrested for DUI in Florida in November 2010, yet the charges were dismissed in July 2011 after Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Dick Greco Jr. ruled that law enforcement did not have probable cause to stop Riley's vehicle and thus violated his fourth amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. Riley has stated that his career in WWE took

Cutter (professional wrestling) - Misplaced Pages Continue

2784-538: The Gun Stun and Matt Riddle has used the RKO since he started teaming with Randy Orton. Also known as a powerslam cutter, this variation sees the wrestler lifting the opponent onto their shoulders as in a front powerslam . Then, as the opponent is on the shoulder, the wrestler holds the head of the opponent and jumps and slams the opponent face-first to the mat in a cutter. The facebuster variation also exists. Also known as an Yokosuka Cutter. In this variation,

2871-612: The NXT Tag Team Championship Tournament , and the two were defeated by Kassius Ohno and Leo Kruger in the first round. On the January 21, 2013 episode of Raw (the final episode before the Royal Rumble ), Riley made his first televised appearance in 5 months as part of a show-closing brawl. Riley next appeared on the April 17 episode of Main Event , competing in an 11-man battle royal to determine

2958-844: The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) at their Nuff Said event on February 11, 2023, in a losing effort to EC3 . Riley is a playable character in WWE '12 as well as appearing in WWE SuperCard . Riley's father, Kevin Kiley Sr. , is a sports reporter and commentator. His mother, Lauren (née Riley), is a former Miss Virginia . Riley attended Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax, VA, where he played both football and basketball . He then went to Boston College , where he majored in communications. He played for

3045-482: The gimmick of a university jock , complete with a letterman's jacket as a part of his attire. He gained Beverly Mullins as a manager , and to fit with his jock gimmick, Mullins adopted the gimmick of a prom queen . In 2009, he joined FCW General Manager Abraham Washington 's cabinet, being called Washington's "top draft pick", and as a result, was named the number one contender to Tyler Reks ' FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship in July. In August, he lost in

3132-515: The referee . As part of the 2011 Supplemental Draft on April 26, Riley was moved to the SmackDown brand , separating him from The Miz. Riley debuted on the April 29 episode of SmackDown by interrupting Randy Orton, but had an RKO performed on him before he could speak. Despite being drafted, Riley continued to appear on Raw alongside The Miz. On the May 2 episode of Raw , The Miz chastised Riley not being at ringside at Extreme Rules

3219-443: The special guest referee but were defeated as Cena couldn't trust him. On the same show, it was confirmed that Riley would face The Miz at Capitol Punishment . At Capitol Punishment, Riley defeated The Miz. The following night on Raw , Riley teamed with John Cena and Randy Orton to take on The Miz, R-Truth and Christian in a six-man tag team elimination match. Riley was the first person eliminated, but his team went on to win

3306-665: The "Match of the Year" award from the Wrestling Observer , and was ranked #77 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated ' s (PWI) top 500 wrestlers for 1997. On February 28, 1998, Laurinaitis would reach the highest point of his singles career as he challenged Mitsuharu Misawa for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship . It would be Laurinaitis' only shot at those three prestigious belts. Following his retirement in 2000, he

3393-554: The April 23, 2012 episode of Raw SuperShow , Laurinaitis appointed Eve Torres as Executive Administrator of Raw and SmackDown. On the April 30, 2012 episode of Raw SuperShow , Laurinaitis, with the aid of Tensai , attacked John Cena, before declaring himself as Cena's opponent at Over the Limit . On the May 14 episode of Raw SuperShow , Laurinaitis publicly humiliated and fired Big Show from WWE after Big Show disrespected him by constantly making fun of his voice. That same night,

3480-479: The Board of Directors sent Laurinaitis a letter stating that he would be fired if he lost the no disqualification match against Cena at Over the Limit. At Over the Limit, Laurinaitis defeated Cena despite taking a heavy beating after Big Show interfered and attacked Cena. The following night on Raw SuperShow , Laurinaitis, now using a power chair and crutches for mobility purposes, rehired Big Show after helping him win

3567-628: The March 11 edition of NXT , defeating CJ Parker . After the match, Owens called Riley "the dumbest man in NXT" for returning to the ring and threatened to destroy his career. On March 29 at WrestleMania 31 , Riley competed in the André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal but was eliminated by Damien Mizdow . Kevin Owens attacked Riley during an NXT taping on April 22, in which Owens kayfabe injured his knee. On May 1, it

Cutter (professional wrestling) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3654-586: The September 20 episode of Raw The Miz announced that he had signed Riley to a "personal services contract", allowing Riley to accompany The Miz to ringside and continue to appear on Raw . As The Miz's protégé, Riley interfered in his matches, including at the Bragging Rights pay-per-view , where Riley unsuccessfully attempted to help The Miz's team win. The Miz also used Riley as a replacement for himself in matches, which led to Riley facing and losing to John Cena on November 15 and Ezekiel Jackson in

3741-414: The WWE board began investigating nondisclosure agreements related to misconduct claims by women in the company against Laurinaitis and Vince McMahon. On June 21, Laurinaitis was removed from his post and replaced by Bruce Prichard . Laurinaitis was officially let go by WWE on August 8, ending his 21-year employment with the company. Laurinaitis is the innovator of the cutter maneuver, which he dubbed

3828-401: The championship. The next night on Raw , Laurinaitis appeared alongside McMahon as McMahon announced an 8-man tournament to decide a new WWE Champion following Punk's departure from the company. On the August 1 episode of Raw , Laurinaitis interrupted Triple H, telling him to strip Cena of his WWE Championship, which led Cena to interrupt him and threaten to hit him again before Laurinaitis fled

3915-546: The facelock, twisting them into the cutter position. This move has two major variants. The first is an inward rolling cutter, in which the attacking wrestler rolls under the opponent while using their free arm to grab the opponent's nearest free arm or strikes their back in an upward motion to power the move, is widely referred to as the Roll of the Dice and was popularized in North America by Reno and Christopher Daniels ,

4002-632: The latter of whom calls it the Last Rites . Chris Hero also popularized the move as his finisher, called the Hero's Welcome . Most famously, WWE wrestler Cody Rhodes uses this variation as a finisher, calling it Cross Rhodes . During his time as Stardust, the move was known as the Queen's Crossbow . Damian Priest used this move as his finisher, calling it The Reckoning , prior to Rhodes returning to WWE in 2022. A modified version which involves hoisting

4089-602: The launch of the WWE Network , Riley became known as "The Analyst" Alex Riley and adopted a persona similar to a sports commentator or agent. Riley was a regular member of the expert panel on both the Raw and SmackDown pre-shows on the WWE Network, and also made several appearances on pay-per-view in this role. In 2013 and 2014, Riley made occasional in-ring appearances at WWE live events , picking up untelevised wins over

4176-458: The likes of Tyson Kidd , Curt Hawkins and Heath Slater . Throughout late 2014 and early 2015, Riley started a Twitter campaign with the hashtag #FreeRiley, apparently in an attempt to get management to notice him and book him as an in-ring competitor, given that his last televised match was in 2013. After a storyline which involved him being harassed on commentary by NXT Champion Kevin Owens , Riley returned to televised competition on

4263-447: The main event in an attempt to have Triple H removed from power but was stopped by The Miz and R-Truth , who attacked both Triple H and CM Punk, believing there to be a conspiracy . Nash also interfered in the match after Laurinaitis sent a text at ringside. On the October 10 edition of Raw SuperShow , following a kayfabe strike by members of the WWE roster as a result of Triple H's management, Vince McMahon introduced Laurinaitis as

4350-461: The mat. A stunner variation is also possible. This move was innovated by Jason Kincaid , calling it Grave of the Fireflies . Jillian Hall used this move at one point. WWE wrestler Charlotte Flair uses this move as her finisher, calling it Natural Selection . During his tenure as Stardust, Cody Rhodes used this move as a signature move. This cutter variation sees the wrestler first lock

4437-675: The match against Cena. On the June 11, 2012 episode of Raw SuperShow , Vince McMahon gave Laurinaitis a job evaluation. Before McMahon could fire Laurinaitis, Big Show hit the WMD on McMahon by accident. At No Way Out , Cena defeated Big Show in a Steel Cage match . After the match, McMahon fired Laurinaitis, followed by Cena hitting the Attitude Adjustment on Laurinaitis through a broadcast table. The next night on Raw SuperShow , in his final show in charge, Laurinaitis booked himself in

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4524-503: The match. At Money in the Bank , Riley competed in a Money in the Bank ladder match which was won by Alberto Del Rio . The following night on Raw , Riley was one of the eight men placed in the WWE Championship tournament but lost to The Miz in the first round, ending their feud. On the August 1 episode of Raw , Riley began a feud with the United States Champion Dolph Ziggler , beginning with

4611-443: The new Interim General Manager of Raw . That same night, Laurinaitis fired Jim Ross and reinstated The Miz and R-Truth, who had been suspended following repeated attacks. After a few weeks of impartiality during which he pledged that he would listen to the WWE fans using his slogan of "People Power", Laurinaitis began showing bias against WWE Champion CM Punk, who had repeatedly criticized Laurinaitis and questioned his integrity over

4698-554: The number 1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship and surviving until the final four when he was eliminated by Primo . Following his lack of in-ring success, Riley transitioned to a color commentary role. At the June 24 Raw taping, Riley debuted as the new color commentator of Superstars . Riley became a regular commentator for NXT starting at the July 11 tapings. He also frequently served as color commentator on Main Event . Following

4785-498: The opponent in a front facelock or an inverted front facelock. The wrestler then pivots 180° and catches the opponent in a 3 ⁄ 4 facelock with their free arm before falling down into the cutter. This move is commonly known as the Twist of Fate and is associated with Matt and Jeff Hardy , as well as their former teammate, Lita . The wrestler performs a handspring and, as they jump backwards, they grab their opponent in

4872-538: The opponent in the Argentine backbreaker position as to execute the Argentine Backbreaker drop. The attacking wrestler then pushes the opponent's legs so that they flip horizontally 180 degrees. As the opponent's weight is being shifted to one side, the attacking wrestler applies the 3 ⁄ 4 facelock and drops the opponent. Also known as a Piggyback cutter, in this elevated cutter variation,

4959-488: The opponent is first raised up in a piggy-back position. From here, the attacking wrestler pushes both the opponent's legs backwards with enough strength to force them into a near horizontal position. The wrestler applies a 3 ⁄ 4 facelock and drops down back first while still holding the opponent's head to force them to fall into the cutter. Diamond Dallas Page used this version against Billy Kidman in an August 16th, 1999 episode of Nitro . This variation sees

5046-454: The opponent is forced to dive forward onto the top of their head due to the angle at which they are dropped. The elevated cutter can also be performed as a double team maneuver, including several variations such as the doomsday-style elevated cutter and the 3D . It is used by Danny Burch and Nigel McGuinness . Also known as the TKO (short for Total Knock Out), and innovated by Marc Mero . It

5133-523: The opponent off their feet before beginning the spin has also been used by other wrestlers. Hero also uses this lifting version called the Super Hero's Welcome . The second major variation, which is known as an outward rolling cutter and referred to as a Whirling Dervish in Japan, sees the wrestler spin in the opposite direction while holding onto the opponent's free arm while twisting for leverage. This

5220-515: The opponent up in a crucifix hold before rotating them into the cutter. Another variation involves the opponent lifted in a reverse crucifix and dropped into the cutter. This particular version was innovated and popularized in America by Tommy Dreamer , who called it the TommyHawk . In this version, a wrestler dives from the top rope and nails a cutter to a standing opponent from the front. There

5307-580: The past few months. On the December 26 edition of Raw SuperShow , Laurinaitis placed Punk in a gauntlet match against three opponents; whoever pinned Punk would earn a shot at the WWE Championship the following week on Raw SuperShow . Punk agreed to the match under the condition that if he beat all three, then he would receive a match against Laurinaitis himself afterwards. During the match, Laurinaitis distracted Punk, allowing Dolph Ziggler to pin Punk and earn

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5394-542: The previous night when The Miz had lost the WWE Championship to Cena. Riley appeared alongside The Miz at the Over the Limit pay-per-view and attempted to help The Miz win his "I Quit" match against Cena, but The Miz was unsuccessful and failed to regain the WWE Championship. The following night on the May 23 episode of Raw , The Miz's request for another WWE Championship match was immediately denied and The Miz blamed him. Riley proceeded to attack The Miz, and turning face in

5481-563: The process. The following week, Michael Cole announced that Riley had been rehired by the Anonymous Raw General Manager and he returned to Raw, as in storyline he had not been eligible to be drafted as he was under contract to The Miz, not WWE. Following an argument Riley attacked Cole, before chasing away The Miz who had tried to attack him from behind. On the June 6 episode of Raw , Riley teamed with John Cena to face R-Truth and The Miz, with Steve Austin as

5568-539: The promotion when wrestlers OVW were using at the time were going to be called up to the main roster or when wrestlers from the main roster were set to appear for OVW but never did. Eventually WWE would end their relationship with OVW. On the June 27, 2011 episode of Raw , Laurinaitis was described by CM Punk during his infamous 'pipe bomb' promo as a "glad-handing, nonsensical, douchebag yes-man" who would "tell Vince McMahon everything he wants to hear". Laurinaitis subsequently made an appearance alongside McMahon as

5655-482: The reins to her husband, Paul Levesque ("Triple H") , Laurinaitis moved down from his executive duties to being senior vice president of talent operations. Laurinaitis's tenure in this role has received criticism from those who have worked for him, including Jim Cornette who, in his interviews with Kayfabe Commentaries, described how Laurinaitis failed to work in the same capacity with Ohio Valley Wrestling (WWE's developmental territory) as Ross did, often failing to warn

5742-589: The ring. The following week on Raw , Laurinaitis helped Triple H officiate the contract signing between CM Punk and John Cena for their match at SummerSlam . After signing the contract, Cena flipped the table over and moved to go face to face with Punk, but was stopped by Laurinaitis. As Laurinaitis talked to Cena, Punk kicked Laurinaitis in the back of the head, causing Cena to accidentally hit Triple H instead of Punk. Following SummerSlam, Laurinaitis began to make regular appearances on WWE programming as part of an angle in which Triple H attempted to find out who had sent

5829-424: The rookies appeared in a six-man tag team match on Raw , in which Riley teamed with Husky Harris and Michael McGillicutty to defeat Lucky Cannon , Kaval and Percy Watson . The following night however, Riley's team lost a rematch, and he slipped to fifth place in the poll, narrowly avoiding elimination. Riley was eliminated from NXT in the season finale on August 31, ending up in third place overall. After Kaval

5916-672: The ropes and bounces back. As they fall, they catch the opponent into a 3 ⁄ 4 facelock and drop them in the cutter. This variation is popularized by Cody Rhodes and is called the Cody Cutter , as well as Will Ospreay , who calls it the OsCutter . It is used by Sol Ruca which is called the Sol Snatcher . John Laurinaitis This is an accepted version of this page John Hodger Laurinaitis (born July 31, 1962), also known by his former ring name Johnny Ace ,

6003-481: The second season of NXT . He made his NXT debut on the June 8 episode, but did not compete in a match. He made his in-ring debut on the following edition of NXT , defeating Kaval . Kaval returned the favor two weeks later, by pinning Riley in a six-man tag team match . Later that night, Riley was ranked fourth in the first poll. In the second poll on the July 27 episode of NXT , Riley moved up to third place, behind Michael McGillicutty and Kaval. On August 9

6090-508: The talent relations office for eight years, and as occasional professional wrestler from 2011 until 2012. After his on screen firing, he stepped down from his corporate backstage role to being a producer. He was promoted again to Head of Talent Relations in 2021 until his release in 2022. Prior to joining WWE, Laurinaitis worked as an executive for WCW. John Hodger Laurinaitis was born on July 31, 1962 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . He

6177-472: The wrestler first lifts the opponent so that they are lying face up across one of the wrestler's shoulders, as in a Canadian backbreaker rack , before flipping the opponent over into the cutter. It is common for the wrestler to not properly apply the 3 ⁄ 4 facelock and the move to end up more in a DDT position. The move was innovated by Susumu Yokosuka and has since been used by several other wrestlers like Bobby Lashley and Buddy Matthews . This

6264-468: The wrestler jumping towards the opponent and grabbing the opponent's head in a 3 ⁄ 4 facelock while parallel to the ground, and then slamming the opponent's face to the mat in a cutter. This move was innovated by Johnny Ace as the Ace Crusher, popularized by Diamond Dallas Page as the Diamond Cutter and made even more popular by Randy Orton as his finishing move the RKO . Karl Anderson and Tama Tonga also use this variation, calling it

6351-410: The wrestler lift an opponent from behind as with a belly to back suplex . Then, instead of falling backwards, the wrestler pushes the opponent's legs so that the opponent turns over in mid-air, so that they are now face-down and parallel to the ground. As the opponent falls, the wrestler reaches back and seizes the opponent's head in order to perform the cutter. In this version, the wrestler first lifts

6438-472: Was abusing his power. Laurinaitis began to declare himself as the soon to be permanent General Manager. In response to this, the Board of Directors ordered that his position as Interim General Manager would be taken under review by Chief Operating Officer Triple H. At the Royal Rumble, Laurinaitis brought in another official and Punk defeated Ziggler. On January 30 edition of Raw SuperShow , Laurinaitis

6525-399: Was also the finisher of former WCW and WWE Wrestler Chuck Palumbo as Full Throttle . The wrestler first pops the opponent up and then applies the 3 ⁄ 4 facelock and drops them into the cutter. It is used by Sanada which is also called TKO . This version of a cutter sees the wrestler place an opponent in an inverted facelock , then spinning under the opponent while holding

6612-485: Was also used by former FCW/NXT/WWE superstar Alex Riley calling this move You're Dismissed . Samoa Joe used a jumping version of the this move while pushing the opponent backwards. A standing variation of the Diamond Dust in which the attacking wrestler jumps forward into a somersault over a seated or kneeling opponent while applying an inverted facelock , landing back-first with the opponent's face driven into

6699-468: Was announced as the winner, Riley and the other eliminated rookies attacked him. He appeared on the September 6 episode of Raw , when he tried to help his mentor The Miz, who had been placed in the LeBell Lock submission hold by Daniel Bryan , but ended up being placed in the hold himself. He appeared again the following week, replacing The Miz in a submission match against Bryan, but lost. On

6786-455: Was announced that Riley would undergo surgery, to fix the legitimate degenerative arthritis in his knee. Riley made his return from injury on the January 27, 2016 episode of NXT after eight months of inactivity, sporting longer hair and beard, in a winning effort against Bull Dempsey , turning heel for the first time since 2011. In the next 3 weeks, he was defeated by Tye Dillinger in back-to-back matches. On March 31 episode of NXT , he

6873-452: Was defeated by Apollo Crews . On May 11 episode of NXT taping, Riley worked his last WWE match where he was defeated by Shinsuke Nakamura . Riley was released from his WWE contract along with several other wrestlers on May 6, 2016. After a six-year hiatus, Kiley, under his Alex Riley ring name, returned to wrestling at a Create A Pro Wrestling event on December 8, 2022, teaming with Tyrus . As "The Rare Breed" Kevin Kiley, he appeared for

6960-495: Was escorted off the stage by Shane McMahon . On January 22, 2018, Laurinaitis was one of the guests that appeared on stage during the 25th Anniversary episode of Raw . At Money in the Bank on May 10, 2020, Laurinaitis made a cameo appearance during the Men and Women's Money in the Bank match , which was filmed inside the WWE headquarters. In March 2021, Laurinaitis was re-hired by WWE as Head of Talent Relations. In April 2022,

7047-585: Was placed #203 in PWI's top 500 all time rankings. Laurinaitis retired from the ring in June 2000 after the split between All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah . He soon returned to World Championship Wrestling, where he replaced Vince Russo as head booker. Laurinaitis was responsible for booking the highly acclaimed one-night single elimination tournament held for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship that

7134-411: Was popularized by Brian Kendrick . In this cutter the opponent and the attacker are in the corner, the attacker puts the opponent in the 3 ⁄ 4 facelock then runs up the turnbuckle, becoming vertical, then turns in mid-air to land the cutter. The move is similar to the shiranui . There is a variation where both wrestlers faces the ropes or turnbuckle. The attacking wrestler runs and jumps on

7221-449: Was seen entering Nash's limo with him, leaving the arena. During this period Laurinaitis was also regularly shown sending text messages backstage and at ringside. After Nash claimed that he had sent the text message to himself, it was implied that Laurinaitis was working to try and undermine Triple H in his new role as chief operating officer , presumably because he wanted the job for himself. At Night of Champions , Laurinaitis interfered in

7308-792: Was set to have a performance review by Triple H. During the review, Triple H degraded Laurinaitis and his actions, but before the final decision he was interrupted by The Undertaker . The Board of Directors then decided on February 7, 2012, to retain Laurinaitis as Interim General Manager. Laurinaitis subsequently began a feud with SmackDown general manager Theodore Long . The respective General Managers of Raw and SmackDown swapped places for one night only with Laurinaitis in charge of SmackDown for March 9, 2012 and Long in charge of Raw for March 5, 2012. On that week's edition of SmackDown , Laurinaitis wrestled his first match in eleven years (as well as his first for WWE), losing to Theodore Long in

7395-629: Was used to write Riley off television as he was scheduled to be sent back to Florida Championship Wrestling to be repackaged. Despite this, Riley appeared on the March 14 episode of Raw , interfering in The Miz's match against The Great Khali . The following week, Riley announced that The Miz had re-hired him, this time as The Miz's VP of Corporate Communications. He accompanied The Miz to his match at WrestleMania XXVII against Cena where he interfered several times, throwing Cena into an exposed turnbuckle, attacking him with his briefcase, and distracting

7482-536: Was won by Teddy Long's team. He appeared at the Slammy Awards in December and, on March 28, 2015, he inducted The Bushwhackers into the WWE Hall of Fame . Preceding the return of the brand split , Laurinaitis was one of several former authority figures to unsuccessfully apply for the general manager positions of either Raw or SmackDown . He made his appearance during the June 20, 2016 episode of Raw but

7569-515: Was won by the debuting Lance Storm . Laurinaitis was hired in as a road agent after WWF's acquisition of certain assets of WCW in March 2001 and in June on the same year, Laurinaitis was promoted to director of talent relations. In June 2004, Laurinaitis replaced Jim Ross as vice president of talent relations, then being promoted to senior vice president in February 2007 and finally to executive vice president in March 2009. However, when Stephanie McMahon took over talent relations and handed over

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