Mauro Ranallo came to the WWE as a huge professional wrestling fan and with years of MMA announcing experience as well as some minor wrestling work, he quickly became one of the top announcers in the WWE. However, he missed a couple of "SmackDown Live" tapings before "Wrestlemania 33" and has not been back since. The allegations of JBL bullying Mauro leading to his departure have been refuted by JBL and now Mauro has chimed in as well.
Mauro Ranallo admits he has left WWE
Mauro Ranallo had hinted that he was finished with the WWE on his social media accounts.
At the start, he said that his doctors advised him to stay off social media and it turned out he was suffering from depression and bipolar disorder, two afflictions that Ranallo has always been open about with his fans. However, Mauro finally came out and admitted in an email to Newsweek that he and the WWE agreed to mutually part ways. He also said it had nothing to do with JBL. The WWE also confirmed that they had agreed to part ways with Ranallo but he remained under contract until August 12.
What this means for Mauro Ranallo
It is interesting that Mauro Ranallo said he was leaving the WWE and said that it had nothing to do with JBL. One of Ranallo's close friends, former UFC Champion Bas Rutten made some comments about dealing with JBL face-to-face when this all started.
Mauro even posted a video of JBL getting beaten up and said that he enjoyed it more than he used to. However, Ranallo recently worked an MMA show as an announcer and there is the idea that the WWE agreed to let him leave and allowed him to work the MMA shows in exchange for Ranallo not making any comments disparaging the WWE or any of their employees.
It should also be noted that Mauro will not be allowed to work any wrestling shows while under WWE contract and probably has the same non-compete clause for a period of time after Aug. 12 as well.
Will there be a fallout for the WWE?
Mauro Ranallo has come out and said that he respects the wrestlers in the WWE and wants to do nothing that could hurt them.
It is expected that Ranallo won't bury the WWE with comments, even after his contract is expired. When it comes to JBL, the WWE hasn't seemed to care about the allegations. JBL has denied bullying anyone and he continues to appear on "SmackDown Live" as normal. When it comes to replacing Mauro Ranallo, there is also the chance that the WWE heads after former UFC announcer Mike Goldberg, someone they originally wanted to replace Jim Ross over a decade ago.