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What's the story?
John Bradshaw Layfield recently announced he was stepping away from his commentating duties on SmackDown Live. But it turns out WWE has known about this for a while, therefore they're probably more than prepared for the next phase for the blue brand's announce team.
In case you didn't know...
Mauro Ranallo was the voice of SmackDown Live and he was doing a wonderful job. Not only was he receiving praise from fans but was also given an award for commentating by The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Ranallo was very proud of his award and used social media to share his amazing accomplishment.
John Bradshaw Layfield made some snide remarks towards Ranallo and later kind of buried him on 'Bring It To The Table' by mocking Ranallo's social media activity. A couple weeks later, Mauro was off the air and it was later announced he wouldn't be back due to some backstage hazing he might have been the victim of.
Mauro Ranallo has been very outspoken about his mental health issues and became a spokesperson for understanding. JBL received a lot of backlash due to the Ranallo situation and WWE eventually released Mauro Ranallo from his contract.
JBL carried on as usual on SmackDown Live although his usual heel persona had somewhat softened. Mauro Ranallo was still doing great working with Bellator and Showtime Boxing.
The heart of the matter
JBL might have announced he was leaving SmackDown Live on September 1st, but Pro Wrestling Sheet reports WWE has known about his departure since May.
Although it hasn't been confirmed that his departure from the company had anything to do with the Mauro Ranallo situation, notifying WWE in May that he wouldn't re-sign under the same terms when his current deal expired would match up with the timeline, because May was following the ordeal with Mauro.
What's next?
Since WWE reportedly knew JBL wouldn't be their announcer for much longer they had ample opportunity to find a replacement. Whether they go with Renee Young or someone like Jerry "The King" Lawler is uncertain at this time.
For all we know, Mauro Ranallo could come back to the SmackDown Live announce team (although he seems very happy in NXT).
Then again, WWE could always have a smaller announce team on Tuesday Nights following JBL's departure. We'll just have to wait and see. But JBL said it's not over between him and WWE because he will still be a part of marquee events and Tribute To The Troops which is a very special deal to him.
Author's take
JBL was an amazing heel announcer and brought a great attitude to the product. Bradshaw will be missed but this is just another transition in the SmackDown announce team.
After all, it's not like we haven't seen commentary get a shake-up before. There might be some transitional time to iron out all the bumps, but WWE's Tuesday Night show will be just fine in the end.
