Mauro Ranallo Opens Up About His Decision To Leave WWE

In August, WWE and Mauro Ranallo parted ways. Ranallo had been the lead play-by-play announcer for NXT since June 2017, but the pandemic forced changes as Ranallo began recording commentary from his home.

It was also reported by the Wrestling Observer that Mauro had returned to British Columbia to take care of his mom.

At the time of his departure, Ranallo wrote on Facebook, “Now I want to direct my focus and devote my time to my other projects and to my mental health charitable activities and the well-being of my mother and myself.”

Ranallo has continued to do work with Showtime and boxing, most notably calling the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. pay-per-view in November.

Speaking to John Pollock of POST Wrestling, Ranallo opened up about his decision to leave WWE.

“WWE is one of the most mentally grueling places — and that’s not necessarily a criticism by any means — there’s a reason Vince McMahon has built a multi-billion dollar empire. Is it perfect? Not by any means, but neither am I. I chose to go to WWE and it was a dream come true. I wanted to work with WWE because I thought it would be an affirmation of my achievements as a broadcaster, but because of the connection I had with pro wrestling. I thought Jerry Lawler and Byron Saxton and I had instant chemistry, but they made the changes they felt they had to make. I’ve proven I can work with almost anyone as a broadcaster, but there were many times I was like, ‘what is going on here?’ Four-man booth, an eight-man booth. I get it, but that’s not what I want as a commentator. I get the stressful situations and the changes on the fly and the system, but for my mental health, even moving to NXT — when we were live, it was the best experience I could ask for, and that’s a testament to what Triple H and everyone in NXT has done. I just felt, for my own mental health, even doing the show from home, it was to the point where I would have a panic attack in the morning of the recordings in the last few months. All respect, I didn’t like what was happening and who was involved. All respect to all announcers, I believe in chemistry. Maybe I was the problem. On show day, I’m not a great guy to be around because I’m focused. I’m prepared and I expect everyone else to be the same. I’m a play-by-play announcer, and I think I’m one of the best in business, I need to be left alone at times,” he said.

Ranallo went on to thank WWE for improving his standing in the announcing world and said his journey in the company was filled with highs and lows. He also said that he was thankful to work with Vince McMahon, even if they didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but that he needed to be comfortable, which is why he’s continued his relationship with Showtime.

He also noted that Triple H sent him a very nice text message after the Tyson-Jones Jr. fight.

The NXT announce team now consists of Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett and Beth Phoenix.

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