10 Problems Nobody Wants To Admit About NXT
6. Mauro Ranallo
Hoo boy.
Corey Graves, in a nasty and unprofessional tweet, brought this moral dilemma to the surface (not the Table; his sh*tty Network show was cancelled). Is it insensitive or problematic to criticise Mauro Ranallo? Is this especially complex now, after the events of Survivor Series? It's debatable as to whether this caveat is needed, but I'd like to add it, for me: Mauro is a warrior deserving of profound respect.
He is also a detriment to the NXT product he is paid to put over. You might disagree with that, fiercely, but that's the point: he is too divisive for a commentator. He is so insistent on getting his own personality over that critiquing his personality becomes inevitable.
"Tommaso Ciampa likes to call the NXT Championship 'Goldie', and much like an Oscar-winning actress, he is Hawn-ing in on his opponent. Death will Become Finn Bálor, if he continues to go Overboard with that crutch!"
That isn't an actual Mauro Line, but it could be. He is beyond parody. He is paid to immerse the viewer in the action, and too often, his convoluted, crowbarred screaming achieves the opposite of that effect. His schtick is so relentless and so loud that to love NXT, one must also love Mauro Ranallo. He isn't so much the voice of NXT as the protagonist, almost.
The problem extends beyond the pop culture references.
Mauro is great, when he simmers down and plays it straight, but he leans far too heavily on that super combat sports voice of his. He's so on, much like a solar panel, Nigel, all of the f*cking time, that he betrays the build of too many matches by screaming himself hoarse well before the closing stretch should elicit the volume from him.