WWE's Mauro Ranallo Suffering From Depression
Rough times for SmackDown's lead announcer.
Mauro Ranallo's continued absence from WWE programming has been a source of much speculation over the past two weeks. The popular play-by-play announcer missed March 14th's SmackDown Live due to "travel issues," according to the company, and when he skipped this week's show (March 21st), WWE gave illness as the result.
Today's Wrestling Observer Newsletter sheds some new light on the situation, and according to Dave Meltzer's report, Ranallo has been suffering from a crippling bout of depression. The commentator has a long history with the condition, dating all the way back to his teenage years, and it once caused him to miss commentating on an Invicta Fighting Championships event prior to joining WWE.
Ranallo is known for being extremely active on Twitter, but hasn't Tweeted since March 13th. He has reportedly been out of contact with his friends since the same date, but the report states that two of his closest friends have stated Mauro is fine, and resting at home.
Mauro has never been shy of hiding his depression, and his spoken openly about it with publications like Fighting Spirit magazine. Here's hoping he makes a speedy recovery, and can soon resume his role as SmackDown's lead announcer.