NXT announcer Mauro Ranallo recently spoke with Scott Fishman of TV Insider to promote his new Showtime documentary, BIPOLAR ROCK ‘N’ ROLLER, which premieres on Showtime on May 25th at 9pm ET/PT. Featured below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On his extremely busy schedule: “First of all, I love it. For me, to be behind the microphone and having the headset in that stressful environment that should maybe trigger a meltdown or breakdown. For me, that’s when I’m most alive. That has always kept me alive. It’s not a juggling act. The only thing that has been a casualty of my condition is because I call Showtime Championship Boxing, Bellator MMA and some of the other events, I couldn’t be on the road 52 weeks a year with WWE like I was for the one year for SmackDown Live on USA Network. I will always be thankful to WWE for letting me be the voice of SmackDown Live and bring it to the USA Network.
“I don’t need to address whatever rumors or rumblings there may have been. At the end of the day, the reason I’m no longer on SmackDown Live is because it was taking too much of a toll on my mental health.”
On WWE bringing him back to become a NXT announcer: “People can say what they want about WWE. Paul Levesque, Vince McMahon, Michael Cole, they all gave me another life by bringing me back to call NXT. That’s where I should have been in the beginning. I’ve never been happier as a professional wrestling announcer than I am right now calling what has been the best brand in sports entertainment in NXT. So, all of that has turned out for the best. The fact WWE has allowed footage to be used in the doc and has openly supported me with this is another sign that we are going in the right direction. All of us are coming together to raise awareness and eliminating the stigma of mental health issues.”
Check out the complete Mauro Ranallo interview at TVInsider.com.
