For the second week in a row, Mauro Ranallo, is absent from the Smackdown broadcast table. The Blue Brand’s signature voice was noticeably absent from last week’s broadcast after allegedly missing the show due to a blizzard that affected his travel.
Considering the weather, it seemed like a fairly common reason to miss work, but on a recent episode of Wrestling Observer radio, Dave Meltzer said there was more to Mauro’s absence than inclement weather, but wouldn’t provide additional details.
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Tonight on Smackdown, Tom Phillips and JBL announced that Ranallo was missing again due to being “out sick.”
Adding to the speculation, Ranallo has since gone completely silent on his social media and no news has come out regarding what’s going on with him.
Former Smackdown announcer, Taz, also discussed the situation on his radio 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.
Is Mauro’s time with the WWE prematurely coming to an end?
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