What’s the news?
If you’ve watched SmackDown LIVE or 205 LIVE over the past few weeks, the shows have sounded different from their usual format. That’s because Mauro Ranallo has been absent from WWE for the past few weeks due to personal issues. Based on a report from All Wrestling News, the conspicuous absence of the former MMA play-by-play man may continue through WrestleMania.
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Ranallo has been the voice of Smackdown since January 7, 2016, when the show moved to the USA Network. Mauro was also the play-by-play announcer for the WWE Cruiserweight Classic which took place in the Summer of 2016.
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Sportskeeda previously reported about Mauro’s absence here, due to his struggles with mental health issues. According to our previous report, Ranallo has been dealing with issues of mental health since he was 19 years old, when he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Ranallo is a massive advocate for mental health issues and regularly promotes mental health care and awareness on his podcast with Bas Rutten.
The heart of the matter
”The Voice of Smackdown,” took to Twitter today and it seems as though he’ll be missing out on WrestleMania this year.
What’s next?
It is currently unknown when Mauro Ranallo will return to the commentary desk.
Author’s Take
Bipolar disorder and depression can be crippling, depending on the person dealing with those issues. Yes, WrestleMania is a marquee event and this likely would have been Mauro’s first chance to do commentary on the main broadcast of the show – he did commentary for the pre-show matches for WrestleMania 32.
However, issues with mental health are a very delicate situation. It would be in everyone’s best interests for Mauro to take as much time as he needs to deal with his depression. Mauro’s tweet states that he’s feeling stronger and that’s a great step in the right direction. It would probably be better for him to stay away for too long than to come back too soon and have to deal with another bout of depression.
Stay tuned for further updates on this situation as they become available.
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