10 Reasons Why 2016 Has Been A Great Year For WWE (So Far)
4. Mauro Ranallo On Commentary
Commentary in WWE has been in an abysmal state for years, arguably since Jim Ross retired from the announcer's table in 2013. The commentary on Raw with Michael Cole, JBL, and Byron Saxton, while better than it was a few years ago, is still unbearable to listen to at times. But at least WWE knew their commentary teams desperately needed a shake-up, so they hired New Japan Pro Wrestling's Mauro Ranallo late last year.
Ranallo was brought in to add to the buzz of SmackDown moving to the USA Network at the onset of 2016, and he is as big a part of the reason behind the show's success as anything else. Ratings-wise, not much has changed, but the blue brand is at times easier to watch than Raw because of its renewed focus on wrestling. Ranallo calls the action with such passion that it makes the two hour experience an enjoyable one.
It wouldn't be a stretch to say he is far and away the best announcer WWE has at their disposal at the moment, and relegating him to Thursday nights isn't such a bad thing. He'll undoubtedly surpass Michael Cole as the voice of WWE someday, but in the meantime, he is a valuable asset to SmackDown as it prepares to go live this summer.