Mauro Ranallo Could Be Set For WWE Exit
SmackDown Live announcer's tenure may have reached its end.
Mauro Ranallo's WWE status continues to be a source of speculation, with latest developments suggesting his time in Stamford may be drawing to a close.
Over the past 24 hours, Ranallo's Twitter followers spotted that the SmackDown commentator no longer listed WWE as an employer in his bio, instead simply listing "SHOWTIME Boxing/@rutten_ranallo/COMBAT SPORTS CAROUSEL/Mental Health Advocate." Furthermore, tweets explaining his recent absence from the company have been deleted.
Whilst Ranallo's Twitter modifications are no confirmation of his departure - Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer reports his contract is not set to expire until 12 August - they're a tacit indication of the most probable outcome.
It's been a difficult few weeks for the broadcaster. Ranallo missed the 14 March SmackDown show, citing a snowstorm for his absence, but it quickly became clear all was not well when he again missed the following week's event, this time noting he was "out sick". A public sufferer of bi-polar disorder, rumours began to speculate that Ranallo had been beset by his illness, and this was later confirmed by friend Bas Rutten during a chat on Sirius XM.
Ranallo missed WrestleMania last weekend, sending out a tweet in support of his colleagues whilst simultaneously advocating mental health awareness. This tweet, as well as those describing his previous absences, are amongst the ones pulled from his feed.
The situation was further complicated by the release of former ring announcer Justin Roberts' warts 'n' all memoirs, which added credence to the rumours of Ranallo's co-host JBL being a backstage bully, his broadcasting colleague presumed to be one of his targets. Layfield immediately responded to nix to the accusations, wishing Ranallo well in the process.
Amid the Twitter purge, one remaining tweet was notable, a quote from Khalil Gibran: "Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars."
Obviously the most important aspect of this story is Ranallo's health. Whatever the reason for his sabbatical - and whether he returns to WWE or not - hopefully it has his best interests at heart, and will allow him time to recuperate.