Sports and wrestling commentator Mauro Ranallo announced that he officially parted ways with WWE. Ranallo, who worked as a blow-by-blow announcer for SmackDown since last year, cleared in an interview with Newsweek.com that his commentator’s booth partner John Bradshaw Layfield aka JBL has nothing to do with his decision despite the latter’s rumored bullying.
The 47-year old Ranallo stressed that he and WWE mutually agreed to move in different directions and left the company on good terms. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported JBL's backstage bullying largely triggers the commentator's disappearance from SmackDown commentating booth.
Layfield, a former wrestler notorious for alleged hazing of WWE wrestlers and staffs, admitted in his statement that he was involved in ‘locker room pranks’ in the past but stressed that he had no involvement whatsoever in Ranallo’s sudden exit.
“Admittedly, I took part in locker room pranks that existed within the industry years ago,” Layfield told Newsweek. “WWE addressed my behavior, and I responded accordingly, yet my past is being brought up because of recent unfounded rumors. I apologize if anything I said playing ‘the bad guy’ on a TV show was misconstrued.”
Guerrero - backstabbing victim
Vickie Guerrero, the widow of WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero, claimed that she was a victim of backstage bullying herself during her time in the WWE.
In a podcast session on “Medusa's Full Throttle Podcast,” Guerrero spoke of five individuals who were backstabbing her while working in the company. The former SmackDown general manager also felt the current crop of female wrestlers is struggling to cut a good promo.
“I look at some of the girls and they can’t do a promo and it just amazes me.
Some are very talented, don’t get me wrong. Some girls can do a great promo, but when I was there I do believe that I was the only one that could do a promo,” Guerrero said.
Triple H’s insecurity
Former WWE commentator Justin Roberts, who claimed to be another victim of JBL’s backstage pranks, called WWE COO Triple H the most insecure person he has ever met.
Roberts also accused the former De-Generation X and Evolution founder of power-tripping and burying talents, particularly at the time when he’s booked to wrestle Undertaker at Wrestlemania 27.
“So here is a guy in charge of building talent saying that no talent is up to his level and that is why he got to fight the Undertaker at WrestleMania again,” Roberts said in an interview with the Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast,
