What's the story?
Mauro Ranallo came back to the commentary table for WWE this week during the NXT tapings. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reports that WWE has been trying to get Ranallo back to the announce table since approximately April 20, 2017.
In case you didn't know
Mauro Ranallo had disappeared suddenly after calling the March 14th episode of SmackDown and he was missed even at WrestleMania 33. It was reported soon after that Mauro had been suffering from depression, allegedly owing to the bullying he had faced from co-commentator JBL.
Since then Mauro had been working at MMA shows; he joined MMA promotion Bellator recently and also calls play-by-play for Showtime Boxing.
The heart of the matter
WWE had been recently in talks with Mauro to have him return to the commentary table at WWE but it is clear that he refused to return for undisclosed reasons. When asked about his issues with former co-commentator JBL, Mauro only said:
"I was willing to walk away from my dream job. Let's leave it at that. In order for me to do that, I had to be true to my convictions and what makes you a human being."
Meltzer mentioned that WWE wanted Ranallo back at the company since the day he left, firstly since they didn't want him talking about internal issues outside the WWE and secondly since he's really good at what he does.
Mauro left the WWE with the split being mutual but is now back on a multi-year contract to call play-by-play for NXT. Meltzer notes that having him apart from the main shows and especially his former co-commentator JBL is the key to retaining him as a commentator and WWE has realised that.
What's next?
Ranallo will call the upcoming Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor fight in August and will continue to call matches at NXT for the time being. He is also employed by Bellator as mentioned previously and will be calling fights for them too.
Author's Take
Mauro Ranallo is one of the best sports commentators of our time and for WWE to lose his presence at their shows would have been a shame. NXT could really benefit from the talented commentator's voice being lent to the program and it even the fans will be happy to see him at the commentary table.
