Is WWE’s Best Announcer’s Future In Doubt?

Smackdown was definitely lacking it’s usual zest this past week and it wasn’t just due to the ill-advised non title tag team main event that ended the show. The voice of the blue brand, Mauro Ranallo, was noticeably absent from the broadcast after allegedly missing the show due to a blizzard that affected his travel. While that seems like a fairly common reason to miss work, there may be more to the story. On a recent episode of Wrestling Observer radio however, Dave Meltzer said there’s more to Mauro’s absence than inclement weather, but wouldn’t provide additional details. Adding to the speculation is that Ranallo, an active social media user, has yet to send out a tweet since his absence.

Former SmackDown announcers, Taz, expressed disbelief with Mauro’s absence, saying you do whatever you have to do to make a show.

Taz also discussed the situation on his radio show:

“You can not miss a show. You can’t. You can’t miss a show. When you miss a show – in no order of preference – you get heat with the locker room, you get heat with your boss, you get heat with your broadcast colleagues. It’s just not a regular job. You are there once a week, and you are making a lot of money with a massive, massive platform. You’ve got to be there. You’ve got to make the shot. No matter what happens. Mauro is from Canada, okay, so he’s well-versed when it comes to weather and snow. People knew the storm was coming for days. You have to prepare yourself to get to that town early.”

Mauro’s current Smackdown partner, JBL responded to Taz’s post tweeting, “Great video” and told Mauro, “We could have talked about [Taz’s video] but you didn’t show up for work. Everyone else did.” That message was later deleted.

Since joining the WWE, the 47 year old Ranallo has become the best announcer in the business, bringing his experience from calling Mixed Martial Arts to give professional wrestling a much needed sense of big fight realism. His enthusiasm on the mic is contagious, and younger fans appreciate his uncanny ability to slip hip hop lyrics into the calling of his matches.

Hopefully, it was only snow that kept Ranallo away from Smackdown last week and we’ll see him back behind the announce table for years to come.

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