Mauro Ranallo left the WWE right before "WrestleMania 34" with no warning. The first week he missed, it was referred to as weather delays. The second week, the WWE said he was sick. Ranallo never returned until this past week. The news hit that the WWE had re-hired Mauro to work for the NXT brand instead of SmackDown Live and his first night back was Friday when he worked as the lead commentator for the next set of television tapings. With his return, a lot of news has been revealed about the surprise return of Ranallo.
Triple H welcomed him back to NXT
The big return for Mauro Ranallo was announced last week but Triple H made it official when he introduced him at Friday night's NXT television tapings. The team was Tom Phillips, Nigel McGuinness, and Percy Watson. However, McGuinness and Watson came out and took their seats without Phillips. At that time, Triple H came out and welcomed back the "Bipolar Rock and Roller" Mauro Ranallo.
The original rumor about the reason that Mauro left the WWE was bullying by JBL. Fans took sides in this ordeal despite the fact that Ranallo denied that it had anything to do with him leaving. However, that does not mean it is not true. Mauro suffers from clinical depression and bipolar disorder and his own friend, former UFC Champion Bas Rutten, basically called out JBL on Twitter.
Ranallo himself said that he left his dream job but that he had to remain true to his convictions. That made it sound a lot more important than he and the WWE later tried to pass off his leaving as.
Behind-the-scenes of Mauro Ranallo WWE return
Mauro Ranallo made his return but did not go back to SmackDown Live, where JBL is still the color commentator.
Instead, he went to NXT. According to professional wrestling insider Dave Meltzer, there was a very good reason for this. Sources indicate that WWE producers did not like Ranallo's form of commentary, despite the fans voting him the best announcer of 2016. Also, high-ups in the company take the side of JBL in situations like this.
The main WWE producers don't attend NXT shows, and Triple H runs them, which gives Mauro Ranallo the freedom to do what he does best - call matches without all the other BS that Vince McMahon forces main roster commentators to do. It also keeps Mauro and JBL apart and only has Ranallo working a part-time schedule since NXT pre-tapes their shows.
The return also included a new multi-year contract for Mauro Ranallo, who was set to end his last WWE contract in August. Other than his NXT duties, Ranallo is also still allowed to do his job with Bellator MMA, and he will also call the upcoming Showtime boxing match between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather.
