What’s the story?
Mauro Ranallo has sent out a Tweet in which he confirmed to the WWE Universe that he will not be at WrestleMania 33, and congratulated Jim Ross for being able to deal with the loss of his wife and possibly calling a match at WrestleMania 33.
The background
Mauro Ranallo has not been present for his usual play-by-play commentator role on SmackDown LIVE for the past three weeks, as he has taken time off to deal with depression.
While there has been no confirmation, rumours have surfaced that this is due to Ranallo not having the best personal relationship with co-commentator John Bradshaw Layfield, and JBL being a supposedly dominant co-worker.
However, regardless of the cause, Ranallo has been providing updates about his condition on Twitter and it appears that he’s doing well.
The heart of the matter
Here is the Tweet by Mauro Ranallo:
While Ranallo is making progress on his road to recovery, it is unfortunate that the road stretches beyond WrestleMania 33.
It is still unclear as to when Ranallo will be back, but what is clear is he will not be commentating at the Ultimate Thrill Ride. Ranallo also congratulated JR in his Tweet, who has been strongly rumoured to be commentating on one match at the event.
What’s next?
Although Ranallo will not be commentating at WrestleMania, WWE has more than enough commentators to compensate.
Ranallo has been replaced, for the time being, by Tom Phillips, and it is likely that WWE will have Phillips call the SmackDown brand matches along with the regular commentary team.
Author’s take
The reason for Ranallo’s absence from WWE television hasn’t been very clear because WWE themselves have been quite silent about it.
Perhaps this is because it is WrestleMania season and there are bigger things to worry about, but a story like this is not one which would do well for WWE’s public relations. JBL’s involvement in the situation has not been made fact, but there have been reports of poor backstage behaviour in the past, so it cannot be ruled out.
Unlike most illnesses, depression cannot be diagnosed with a time check as to when one will be recovered, and so it cannot be clear when Ranallo will return to WWE television.
In any case, it is a terrible mental condition and it is a good sign that Ranallo has been looking up lately. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back – and hopefully happy – on the SmackDown Live commentary table soon.
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