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Tag: Mauro Ranallo

  • WWE Cruiserweight Classic gets debut date, announcing team

    The Wednesday night wrestling block will get a bit more crowded this summer as WWE announced that the much-anticipated WWE Cruiserweight Classic will debut on the Network starting Wednesday, July 13th at 9 PM EST, airing for 10 weeks through a live two-hour finale on Wednesday, September 15th.

    Current Smackdown lead man Mauro Ranallo and former WWE Champion Daniel Bryan were announced as “hosts” for the Classic, but we confirmed they are indeed calling the action.

    Also announced was a preview special — CWC Bracketology — for Wednesday, July 6th at 9 PM EST where we should get the actual tournament brackets and all 16 first round match matchups.

    The Classic will feature 32 talents (some under WWE contract & some not) from around the world in a single-elimination tournament including Zack Sabre Jr., Gran Metalik, Noam Dar, Kota Ibushi, Rich Swann, Akira Tozawa, Johnny Gargano, Cedric Alexander, Tommaso Ciampa, and more. Here’s the full list of participants.

  • Wrestling Weekly: Mauro & Josh, Getting Started as a Wrestling Announcer, Mailbag

    Time for another fine edition of Wrestling Weekly where we’ll start with Les returning the favor from Smackdown this week and giving Mauro Ranallo a mention, including the story of how Les gave him some pointers early in Mauro’s career and didn’t realize it at the time!  We’ll also discuss the great interview Dave and Bryan did with Josh Barnett (6:23) on Wrestling Observer Radio regarding Josh’s views on both wrestling and his role as an analyst for New Japan on AXS.  That leads to the story of Les getting thrown into his first broadcasting experience with no training, no advice and barely any advance notice in the Maritimes (19:19), as well as a little bit on the Maritimes territory.  We’ll then open up the mailbag to answer questions about cable vs ropes for a ring (29:06), the biggest differences between wrestling today as opposed to 30 years ago (34:54), a look back at wrestler Bobby Shane (49:18), and older wrestlers who do shoot interviews where they blame everyone else for their problems except themselves (57:18).  Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!


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  • Why Mauro Ranallo wasn’t at Smackdown Tuesday

    Additional details/reporting from Dave Meltzer

    It hasn’t been two months and already, Mauro Ranallo has become a fan favorite for those tuning to WWE Smackdown every week. That’s why there was a lot of concern at Tuesday night’s Smackdown tapings in Ontario, California, when Michael Cole came out to announce with Jerry Lawler and Byron Saxton instead of everyone’s favorite Canadian wrestling personality (outside Lance Storm of course.)

    Fear not: the actual story is that the 46-year-old Ranallo came to the building, but was sick with the flu and the company made the decision to send him home rather than work the show. He’s still with the company, still on Smackdown, and all is still right with the world.

    Some of the concern was heightened because there were so many questions asked via Twitter that got no response from the social media-friendly and president of #RetweetCity.

    Ranallo signed with WWE in mid-December and debuted on Smackdown when the show moved to USA Network in early-January.

  • Adam & Mike Big Audio Nightmare: Nakamura, Bullet Club, NJPW, WWE, Mauro on Smackdown, more~!

    Not wanting to be liars (again), the original alternate has actually kept its word, and recorded a show for the second consecutive week in a row. And while we’re slowly getting our groove back, the world of puroresu has been speeding along on another level. So, naturally, the main topic this week was the situation with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Who can they push? What they can do? Who would you like to see in the 2017 Dome show main? All that stuff, and a little bit of other stuff too. It’s the Adam and Mike BIG AUDIO NIGHTMARE~! proudly here at F4WOnline.com.

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  • WWE hires Mauro Ranallo for Smackdown announcing role & more

    Photo: MauroRanallo.com

    As WWE was airing their final big event of the year with TLC, SI.com media critic and wrestling fan Richard Deitsch broke the news that longtime boxing, MMA, and New Japan Pro Wrestling play-by-play man Mauro Ranallo will be announced Monday as the new lead announcer on WWE Smackdown when the show moves to USA Network in January.

    Ranallo told SI that Michael Cole had reached out to him a month ago to ask if he had interest in working with WWE. Ranallo sent along some clips, including some commentary he did for a mock Floyd Mayweather vs. Warren Buffett fight for a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder conference. From the interview: “This was an opportunity I did not think I would get at this point of my career and I jumped on it,” Ranallo said. “I have been a lifelong fan of the product. Michael said that when Vince saw the Warren Buffet video, it seemed to cinch it. They believed I could sell the entertainment part.”

    Ranallo will continue to call both boxing for Showtime and GLORY kickboxing for ESPN, but will be a full-time employee of WWE, working backstage at RAW and other broadcasts in an unspecified capacity. While it wasn’t mentioned in the piece, it can be assumed Ranallo will no longer be calling NJPW on AXS TV. It’s also uncertain who his broadcast partners will be.

    The 45-year-old Ranallo got his start in combat sports in the pro wrestling business at just 16 years old for Vancouver, Canada,’s All-Star Wrestling. He has always been a fan and advocate for wrestling, slipping in plenty of references during many a fight he’s called cage/ringside.