Ranallo blames weekly travel as reason he quit Smackdown

During an interview with Ariel Helwani for The MMA Hour, NXT commentator Mauro Ranallo joined in the studio to discuss a variety of subjects including his departure from the Smackdown commentary team last year. Ranallo pretty much quit the WWE in March just a month before WrestleMania. Rumors starting popping up that Ranallo had enough of the verbal abuse from John “Bradshaw” Layfield and the bullying scandal was a PR nightmare for the company. A month later in April, both Ranallo and WWE confirmed that the two parties have mutually agreed to go separate ways but Ranallo refused to blame JBL and the bullying that goes on behind the scenes. Talking with Helwani, Ranallo blamed his departure on the weekly travel which he said destroyed him mentally. “I had a breakdown in the Chicago O’Hare airport on my way to Pittsburgh to do SmackDown Live,” Ranallo said. “I had to phone them and I said ‘I’m done. I cannot do this anymore. It’s going to kill me.’ And I thought I was done with the entire company.” He eventually returned in late June as the new NXT lead commentator and has been part of NXT ever since. Ranallo, who suffers from bipolar disorder, also called the Mayweather vs McGregor boxing match last year for Showtime. Showtime will be premiering a documentary chronicling his lifelong battle with mental illness on Friday, May 25 at 9PM EST to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Month.