Mauro Ranallo scheduled to return to NXT Wednesday
After more than a week on the sidelines, Mauro Ranallo is scheduled to return to the NXT broadcast booth this Wednesday night.
Ranallo’s return was first reported by Pro Wrestling Sheet and confirmed independently by Dave Meltzer.
The 49-year-old was set to call some of the action at Survivor Series, but following a critical tweet by WWE color commentator Corey Graves, Ranallo did not work the event and deactivated his social media accounts. WWE said on the SS broadcast that Ranallo had blown out his voice at TakeOver and would be back that following Wednesday for NXT. Tom Phillips filled in for him instead.
Graves apologized on his WWE-produced podcast, claiming the now-deleted tweet was designed to play into the brand supremacy element of SS and that he was going to bring it up during the pay-per-view broadcast while the two were calling a match.
Ranallo, who has publicly battled bipolar disorder, missed time with WWE in 2017 and the two sides eventually parted ways. He re-signed with WWE a few months later, agreeing to call NXT TV and TakeOver events.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.