Where is Mauro Ranallo on ‘SmackDown Live’? (WWE.com)
WWE commentator Mauro Ranallo was absent from SmackDown Live tonight for the second week in a row.
Last week on SmackDown, it was stated that Ranallo missed the show due to weather. This week, it was said that Ranallo is sick.
However, there is supposedly another reason for Ranallo’s absence that fans have not yet been made privy to. Last week, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter hinted at this but did not get into detail.
“What they said on the air was that the weather prevented Ranallo from coming and he’d be back next week and that Otunga was out filming a movie,” Meltzer said. “At least half of that was true, since Otunga was out filming a movie.”
Although it’s not yet clear if this is related to the reason he has been absent for two weeks, Mauro Ranallo suffers from bipolar disorder. He said in an interview with Sherdog that this is just a part of who he is and that he wants to battle the stigma surrounding bipolar disorder.
“I think mental health issues have to be more and more prominent; that’s who I am,” Ranallo said. “I know there is a stigma, and we’re still not comfortable talking about it in our society. You even asked me if I was OK talking about it for this story. I’ve been very open about this for many, many years. I firmly believe that’s who I am and we’re still not comfortable with talking about it in society, but I want to be an advocate. I want to make it easier for people to talk about. I hope that one day we’re still alive when people don’t have to ask and there is no stigma attached to mental illness.”
He also said that he is proof that a person can lead a functional life with bipolar disorder. Still, he said that he has had suicidal thoughts.
“I never attempted suicide, but I have had suicidal thoughts,” he said. “The biggest challenge is there are many days I feel like a fraud. I’ll be honest. Then I think I helped myself get to this point in my career. Everything I thought of came to fruition. What I’m doing now is what I always thought I would do as a child. I still can’t look at myself and see positives. I will say that I like myself more now than I ever have.”
Ranallo, who is usually quite active on Twitter, has not tweeted since March 14th, the day of the first SmackDown Live that he missed. In his most recent tweet, he said that he might miss the next show due to weather.
Stay tuned for updates about Mauro Ranallo and his future with SmackDown Live.