RIPPA Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 While I am sure folks posted it elsewhere it gives me something to start the thread with 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Natural Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 A note since one of our readers didn't know, WWE no longer allows fans to bring cameras into the arena at their house shows. One reader said that last night in Lewiston, ME, many fans were upset about it. Credit: f4wonline.com This is news to me, you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxB Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Off the top of their head, can anyone think of a singles match where both opponents press slammed one another? Because generally guys who like to use Press Slams are a bit too lumpy and clumsy to go up for one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Doc vs Gordy seems logical. Not simgles, both roadies v powers of pain. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nature Boy Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 A note since one of our readers didn't know, WWE no longer allows fans to bring cameras into the arena at their house shows. One reader said that last night in Lewiston, ME, many fans were upset about it. Credit: f4wonline.com This is news to me, you? In the age of cell phones, I'm not sure that you can ban cameras from anything. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxB Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Edge and Christian's flash photography gimmick was right at the end of the 'people using cameras as their cameras' era and we never even knew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTTW Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 A note since one of our readers didn't know, WWE no longer allows fans to bring cameras into the arena at their house shows. One reader said that last night in Lewiston, ME, many fans were upset about it. Credit: f4wonline.com This is news to me, you? Due to the high quality of modern digital cameras, could they be worried about people selling unlicensed photos? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick B. Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 My final wrestling show count for 2015: DPW 15SICW 10HRW 6SLA 6MMWA 6WLW 5CHIKARA 5PWCS 5WIA 3PWE 3WPW 2OUTLAW 2ROH 1TOTAL 69 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 A note since one of our readers didn't know, WWE no longer allows fans to bring cameras into the arena at their house shows. One reader said that last night in Lewiston, ME, many fans were upset about it. Credit: f4wonline.com This is news to me, you? In the age of cell phones, I'm not sure that you can ban cameras from anything. Any sort of family court. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I am consistently annoyed by the lack of fancam matches we get in this day and age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonL21 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Over the weekend, all the Hawks and Philips Arena employees got forwarded a note from Vince McMahon thanking us for all we did during Survivor Series. It was such a crazy day behind the scenes, so it was pretty cool to have Vince acknowledge everyone's effort that day. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dewar Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 How many times did Bulldog, Luger and Warrior wrestle each other? Seems like a spot those guys would try to hit fairly often. How was Ryback the face at TLC? Interupts Lana and Rusev re-uniting, talks smack about them being a couple and injures Lana twice. If anything he comes across as the jealous jock who got butt hurt because he couldn't convince the hot cheerleader to go out with him. Also where is Ziggler in all this. Surely he has some feelings after he spent all the time trying to win Lana over? She's faking the injuries. That's what makes her and Rusev the heels. The less Ziggler I am forced to endure, the better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Mauro Ranallo getting hired and being the lead announcer on Smackdown is getting slept on by everyone. At least RIPPA noticed it. That's a HUGE improvement over what they have currently. Although, if they let Lawler stay in the booth it's going to be horrible. Ranallo, Brennan & Booker T would be nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infinit Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Why have Brennan when Ranallo is doing pbp? What about Ranallo, Booker and Graves? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Why have Graves when Booker is your color commentator? Why do we even need a 3 man booth on both shows anyway???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstout Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Thus begins the WWE's putting a fresh coat of paint on a rusty car and hoping the suckers coming over to buy it don't notice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infinit Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I added Graves to have face (Booker) and heel (Graves) color commentators, if WWE is committed to a 3man booth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Thus begins the WWE's putting a fresh coat of paint on a rusty car and hoping the suckers coming over to buy it don't notice. Seriously, what's the over/under on how long until Renallo is just another AnnounceBot 3000 spewing convoluted terms and #brand buzzwords from the Vince/Dunn Glossary? A bit of our souls will die the day Renallo mentions that wrestler x is FUN TO WATCH. WWE in a nutshell: cosmetic changes without fixing the underlying issues. "Oh you diarrhea'd your pants? Well here's a fresh pair of underwear." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 I'm willing to give it a chance until it's obvious Renallo is just going to be another WWE style announcer. I'm hoping they hired him because he brings something different to the table and they're trying to change the presentation of the product. Until I see a few episodes of Smackdown in 2016, I'm not going to go down the negativity road. EDIT: Also, who replaces him on the NJPW shows on AXS TV? It's weird to me that they're still letting him work with Showtime (owned by CBS, rival to NBC, who owns USA Network). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisM Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Mauro is awesome, and he deserves that spot. He carries those NJPW shows, because Josh Barnett is horrific. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peck Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Over the weekend, all the Hawks and Philips Arena employees got forwarded a note from Vince McMahon thanking us for all we did during Survivor Series. It was such a crazy day behind the scenes, so it was pretty cool to have Vince acknowledge everyone's effort that day. You know it came directly from Vince too because he referred to it as The Omni. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bustronaut Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 How was it such a crazy day behind the scenes? I love production stories! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 That was the event that was a supposed ISIS target, so it probably had to do with all the extra security and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumanChessgame Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Mauro Ranallo getting hired and being the lead announcer on Smackdown is getting slept on by everyone. At least RIPPA noticed it. That's a HUGE improvement over what they have currently. Although, if they let Lawler stay in the booth it's going to be horrible. Ranallo, Brennan & Booker T would be nice. I didn't comment on it because I'd never heard of the guy until this thread. The announcing on Raw/Smackdown has been garbage for the longest time, so I'm for anything that could potentially improve it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Also where is Ziggler in all this. Surely he has some feelings after he spent all the time trying to win Lana over? Busy being bisexual, acc. to Adam Rose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts