Mauro Ranallo Misses Second Straight SmackDown; WWE Claims He's "Sick"
Are his conspicuous absences cause for concern?
In the brief time he's been behind the commentary desk, Mauro Ranallo has already become a fan favorite, adding the kind of enthusiasm to the position rarely seen since the days of Jim Ross.
However, for the second week in a row now, Ranallo has been conspicuously missing from the program and the excuses are starting to sound a little suspect.
The veteran commentator - who has put in time on the mic for MMA, boxing, pro wrestling and more - warned fans on his Twitter that he might miss last week's show due to weather, so when the company echoed that during the broadcast, it gave no cause for concern.
It wasn't until Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer hinted that the stated excuse for Ranallo's absence wasn't true that it became clear that something might be up. Meltzer was characteristically vague with his comments, beyond saying it wasn't weather that caused the popular announcer to miss the show.
Mauro - an avid Twittter user who frequently engages fans via social media - has since gone radio silent, which in itself is remarkable.
This week's episode of SmackDown kicked off with Tom Phillips saying that he was once again absent, this time confirming that he's "out sick", offering no further details.
Could there be more to this situation that what's on the surface? Speculation has covered everything from internal heat on him from the WWE brass to UFC making a play for the former Pride and Strikeforce commentator to replace the recently released Mike Goldberg.
Regardless of the reason behind his absence, hopefully all is well with Ranallo and there's nothing to be worried about. Look out for further updates if and when any further news becomes available.