Backstage News On Vince McMahon Being Frustrated With Mauro Ranallo, Another Incident With JBL

Pic: WWE.COM

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

As noted, Mauro Ranallo and WWE have parted ways. While Mauro remains under WWE contract until August 12th, he will be able to commentate for other shows other than pro wrestling until then.

In the latest issue of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that when Mauro was hired last year, it was because they wanted him to be himself so that SmackDown could have a different feel from RAW. However, after a few months Vince McMahon wanted Mauro to be more like Michael Cole. It was noted that McMahon was reportedly frustrated by Mauro's style, and Tom Phillips being added to the SmackDown announce team was the first public sign of it.
Things continued to go sour from there, with Mauro being made the butt of jokes. Meltzer noted that Ranallo was basically seen as "weird" backstage and "the production room was filled with a lot of people who were emotionally still in high school."

As noted, JBL lashing out at Mauro on Bring It To The Table was the straw that broke the camel's back. The subject of Mauro being buried on the show was planned ahead of time, and there were discussions before the show regarding what should and shouldn't be said.

Another incident regarding JBL and a non-wrestler whose name was not mentioned was discussed. Apparently the person had a close family member dying and had to miss a couple of weeks of work due to a minor operation. JBL went off on the person for taking time off and harassed the person while noting that he didn't miss shows after he had hernia surgery. He kept going on until the person was in tears, even though the person noted that it wasn't the week to do this.

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