Update On Mauro Ranallo's Condition
Bas Rutten says Mauro is "doing okay," and could "be back very soon."
Mauro Ranallo has been missing from his seat in the WWE SmackDown announce booth for two weeks now. His first absence (March 14th) was blamed on adverse weather conditions in north-eastern America, and on March 21st, it was noted that Ranallo was unable to attend due to sickness.
Last week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter revealed that Mauro has actually been suffering from depression, a condition he has fought since his teenage years. Ranallo, who is known for being extremely active on Twitter, broke an 11-day social media silence with the following Tweet on Friday morning:-
Now, his friend, former broadcast partner, and podcast co-host Bas Rutten has commented on Mauro's status. Appearing on SiriusXM's Luke Thomas Show, Rutten said the following:-
He’s doing okay. As everybody knows – he’s very vocal about it – Mauro is bipolar. Sometimes, a couple of times a year, things are going too fast and he needs to just simply slow down. But he’s doing good. I talked to him, he’s sending me funny video clips, he just sent me something - I didn’t take a look at it... but a happy thing - it’s all in good spirits. I think he will be back to normal very soon.
Mauro has never hidden his mental health struggles, and depression previously forced him to miss an MMA show he was supposed to commentate prior to joining WWE. Rutten's words will provide cause for optimism not just for Ranallo's comeback, but also his general well-being.
It remains to be seen when Ranallo will return to WWE television, but it definitely sounds like he's doing better. Here's hoping he makes a speedy recovery and is soon able to resume his position as SmackDown's lead announcer.