WWE Raw: Mauro Ranallo Should Be the Head Commentator
By Jay Sichler
After just two weeks on Smackdown, Mauro Ranallo has already proved he’s WWE best commentator.
Two weeks ago SmackDown moved to the USA network. The new channel move also provided us with a brand new play-by-play commentator. Mauro Ranallo now has become the brand new commentator for Smackdown. Ranallo previously has commentated for NJPW and MMA.
After just two weeks in WWE Ranallo has already showed that he is by far the best all around commentator that the company has. Alongside Byron Saxton and Jerry Lawler, the SmackDown announce team has been a far stronger team than the Raw announce team.
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Unlike Michael Cole, Ranallo has an ability to both call matches and promote whatever WWE needs him to do. A major issue that Michael Cole has always had is he has an inability to call matches and tell the viewers what moves are happening in the ring.
However, Ranallo does and can differentiate a headlock from an armbar, unlike Cole, who has been able to stay employed with WWE for nearly 20 years because he does what Vince McMahon wants him to do. Because of this though the crowd learns the names of all of WWE sponsors rather than the moves that are happening in the ring.
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Ranallo though has been able to both please Vince and actually call the match in the ring. Ranallo also has a great ability to tell stories and involve his partners in the conversation correctly. This has been a huge issue for Raw and the commentating team.
The Raw announce team has been a major issue for years and huge blame does go to Michael Cole.Since Cole took over Raw back in 2008, the announce team for the show whoever it’s been has been horrific. To be fair Michael Cole has been unfairly compared to what he has done to former Raw Commentator, Hall of Famer Jim Ross.
To me comparing Cole to Ross would be like comparing Tom Brady to JaMarcus Russell (Cole being Russell) it’s just not fair. However, Cole has had plenty of time to get better and really strengthen his style (nearly 20 years worth).
With Raw being the (A) Show, it only makes sense that they should provide the fans with the overall best commentating team. In my opinion, the best team for Raw would be Ranallo, Corey Graves, and JBL. This team would be a huge upgrade from the current team.
Corey Graves has become a really talented color guy and would add a fresh young face to the announce team. Though he has struggled lately, JBL has showed when he’s with the right Play by Play commentator (Jim Ross) he is an excellent color guy. With Ranallo’s experience, he could definitely bring out the best in JBL.
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Ranallo has shown in the past that he can make guys with little or no experience into good commentators. While doing NJPW for AXS, Ranallo helped create Josh Barnett into a very good color commentator. With JBL already having years of experience, giving him Ranallo to work with would really help make him a fantastic color guy.
As for the SmackDown team, I would have it be Rich Brennan, Jerry Lawler, and Byron Saxton. Brennan has been a great voice for NXT and he has been the head commentator for the blue brand in the past. His work has shown he capable of commentating SmackDown again.
Lawler has always been one of WWE’s most consistent commentators. Though his work has dipped in recent years his work still has him as one of the greatest color commentators of all time. When thinking up teams, I was close to having go to Raw with Ranallo. A reason to keep him on SmackDown is because of Byron Saxton.
Saxton is young and has struggled at times to get better, however, he is starting to get there. Leaving Jerry Lawler on SmackDown with him would give Saxton the ability to learn from one of the greatest color guys of all time. This could help WWE develop a future color commentator for Raw.
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As for Michael Cole, the best thing for him at this point in his career is to work as a backstage agent in NXT helping young commentators develop. This isn’t a knock on Cole, it’s actually a compliment. After 20 years Cole knows what WWE wants their commentators to be. Having him work down with the kids at Full Sail would be a great way to develop new commentators.
With Raw ratings in shambles, a major way to fix the declining ratings starts with fixing the commentating team. Adding Ranallo as the head commentator would help give the show a strong play-by-play commentator.
After seven years with a terrible commentating team led by Michael Cole, it is now time to change the show with adding Mauro Ranallo the best commentator in WWE as the new voice of Monday Night Raw.