Josh Barnett Discusses Mauro Ranallo’s Decision To Return To WWE

Josh Barnett is not a fan of bullying, but trusts former broadcast partner Mauro Ranallo’s judgment in coming back to the company that has been under fire for alleged bullying by BL.

In the conference call for NJPW’s G1 Special this weekend, Barnett said he thinks that bullying within a company is counter-intuitive to the overall goal, which in WWE’s case is to have the best wrestling product in the world. Barnett believes the only reason Ranallo has come back to WWE is because the offer given to Ranallo was worth it.

“If he’s coming back, he must feel that it is worthwhile to do so,” Barnett said. “I don’t know all of the details of everything that was going on between him and WWE, but people bullying him, that’s bullshit and completely unnecessary. I know that sometimes happens, but that doesn’t make it right. At the end of the day, your commentators, your wrestlers, the entirety of the company is working towards the same goal in making the best product possible. If you’re antagonizing one of those sections, how are you making that any better in terms of creating a great product. I’m definitely not on board for that, but if he thinks that being at WWE is what’s best for him and he sees the chance to continue to apply his trade there, then I have to trust his judgment. I’m glad whatever was needed was worked out.”

Before Jim Ross started announcing New Japan Pro Wrestling on AXS TV, Ranallo did the play-by-play while Barnett was serving as color commentator. Ranallo left NJPW and AXS TV for WWE late last year, serving as the play-by-play commentator for SmackDown, but left in early spring due to alleged bullying by JBL. Ranallo recently returned to WWE, this time now serving as a commentator for NXT.

The full conference call can be viewed in the video above. Fightful will have full coverage of this weekend's G1 Special.