Former SmackDown announcer Mauro Ranallo and WWE have officially parted ways. Ranallo informed Newsweek that he is no longer with the company via email.
“WWE and I have mutually agreed to part ways. It has nothing to do with JBL.”
Ranallo has been rumored to have issues with SmackDown announcer JBL during his time with WWE. Ranallo tweeted out the results of him winning “Wrestling Observer Announcer of the Year” award for 2016. JBL then made fun of Ranallo for it during an episode of Bring It To The Table in March. Ranallo went on to miss SmackDown on March 14th and was replaced by Tom Phillips. Ranallo hasn’t been on WWE TV since then and is now officially done with WWE once his contract is up on August 12th, 2017.
WWE issued the following statement to Newsweek about the accusations towards JBL:
“As part of our commitment to creating an inclusive environment, in April 2011, WWE launched our anti-bullying campaign, Be a STAR, which encourages young people to treat each other with tolerance and respect.
“As a publicly traded company, that mantra carries forward in our corporate culture. As such, we fully investigate any allegations of inappropriate behavior including the recent alleged situation with John Layfield (aka JBL), despite no formal complaint having been submitted.”
JBL also issued a statement to Newsweek:
“Admittedly, I took part in locker room pranks that existed within the industry years ago,” Layfield told Newsweek in a statement. “WWE addressed my behavior and I responded accordingly, yet my past is being brought up because of recent unfounded rumors. I apologize if anything I said playing ‘the bad guy’ on a TV show was misconstrued.”
