10 Reasons Why WWE SmackDown Is Better Than Raw
8. Mauro Ranallo
For years, people have been running down Michael Cole's commentary, and it's not entirely fair. While his heel run was incredibly annoying, when he's not playing that role he's still a capable play-by-play man. His main problems are that he's not Jim Ross, and that he's seen as the face of the sanitized, Vince-McMahon-in-your-headset commentary style of the 2000s.
Last December, though, fans were surprised to learn that Mauro Ranallo - a longtime MMA and wrestling announcer who had been working as the English play-by-play host for New Japan Pro Wrestling - would be joining the company. Though his role as SmackDown's lead announcer meant that he wasn't on the "A" show, fans who watched him still praised his work.
After the roster split, though, Ranallo became a whole lot more important to the company, as he was now the voice of a brand. Even with JBL beside him, he's still managed to call the action in a unique and inimitable way, giving SmackDown its own identity and giving fans sick of WWE-style commentary something totally different.