Mauro Ranallo Signs With Bellator
Mama Mia!
Any chance of a WWE/Mauro Ranallo reunion seems to be over with, as the longtime combat sports announcer has signed on to call upcoming events for MMA promotion Bellator.
Joining Ranallo is former UFC announcer Mike Goldberg (who at one point was heavily considered to take over for Jim Ross on Raw years ago). The news was broken by Bellator in a press release:
Bellator has signed longstanding MMA commentators Mike Goldberg and Mauro Ranallo to multi-event broadcast agreements beginning with Bellator NYC: Sonnen vs. Silva and Bellator 180: Davis vs. Bader on Saturday, June 24. The move sees Goldberg return to SPIKE for the first time since 2011, while Ranallo reunites with Bellator President Scott Coker, having worked together through 2013.
What is interesting about this move is that Ranallo is still under WWE contract until August 12. Since he hasn't spoken out about what exactly caused his departure, it's quite possible they offered him a deal where he could pursue other options while under contract, as that is certainly something they haven't been open to in the past.
This may seem like the end of Ranallo announcing wrestling for now, but after he left SmackDown he was adamant that he would call the sport again. We'll just have to wait to see where and when that will be.