I was willing to walk away from my dream job, let's leave it at that. In order for me to do that, I had to be true to my convictions and what makes you a human being.
— Mauro Ranallo
I'm going to call WWE like I call everything. Yes, I'm going to be passionate. Yes, I'm going to be excited, but at the same time, I'm hoping to get better as a storyteller, and I'm hoping to complement the people I work with who have been doing this a lot longer than I have.
Jerry 'The King' Lawler might be the most talented man I've ever worked with. He comes in, he's cool as a cucumber, and then all of a sudden, as soon as the camera comes on, it was a dream. It was an absolute dream come true to spar and share the same airspace with a guy I've respected for a long, long time.
I know I'm not everyone's cup of tea, and not everyone is going to approve of me being in WWE, but I guarantee every Thursday on 'Smackdown' you're going to get the most prepared and the most passionate broadcast that I'm capable of giving you.
I go into calling any match, any fight - I don't care if it's the main event or the opener - that these guys have put in their work: they're here for a reason, and there's a reason I'm calling this fight, so I do want to give it as much attention and respect and energy as I would the main event or a championship fight.
For me, at a very young age, I knew I wanted to be in the entertainment industry; I wanted to be an announcer. I was very smitten at an early age with the voice I heard coming from a radio.
I have a lot of critics, and that's fine. I think it's better to be polarizing than to be vanilla. I also think people can't question the passion and sincerity that I bring because I truly am the luckiest guy in the world.
My job, live television, broadcasting, there's mania involved in there, too, but it's the good stuff.
I'm trying to show people that you can have any kind of life you want.
I've never been ashamed of being the ham or the provocateur, as it were, in my style of commentary or my style of showmanship.
I'm not a fan of my own work. People ask why I do it, but it's because I actually love what I'm doing in the moment. I live for it. It's a release.
We need to treat people with mental illness like people.
Joining WWE has always been a lifelong dream of mine.
I've always loved kickboxing.
I think the healthier Bellator can be, the better it is for the entire sport, especially the athletes who - let's face it - need to be paid more. They need the opportunity to negotiate and have an option. Bellator definitely presents that.
I wouldn't be in WWE without Michael Cole.
I've received enough blessings for a lifetime in terms of my employment.
I love working with Byron Saxton and Jerry Lawler, and I hope I continue to do so.
There would be no Mauro Ranallo in MMA, or maybe even period, to be truly honest with you... without Bas Rutten's friendship, mentorship, and just belief in my talents.
I believe every one of us has a gift, I believe every one of us human beings has a path in this life, and it is up to each of us, through circumstance, through knowledge, through awareness, through luck - and luck does play a huge part - to hopefully achieve that path and walk the path and realize the gift.
WWE, in the back of my mind, was always the dream job, and most people don't get their dream jobs.
When I'm talking or performing, I'm alive. That's why I work so much.
It's a daily struggle for me to stay alive. I don't mean to be melodramatic, hyperbolic, or go into my broadcast mode. But even that, my career is bipolar.
I grew up on camera. I started at 16.
I love the preparation before a fight. I love to research, and the process of finding little-known information to use when I'm calling a fight is incredible for me.
I don't care about me being vulnerable or embarrassing situations.
For me, being a part of the halcyon days of Pride Fighting Championships and then watching the explosion of the UFC following the 'Ultimate Fighter,' I've been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.
I want to make it so that it's OK to not be OK.
I know, to some, I am always a little over the top, but that's just who I am, and I'd rather be that way than monotone or less than scintillating in my presentation.
We all know the difference between sports entertainment and the combat sports that I call, but at the end of the day, they are all spawned from the same source, and there's a lot of mutual respect between the two bodies.
Everything is WrestleMania to me.
I was brought into the life of one Bas Rutten in 2001 at a grappling tournament that I was attending to support a friend of mine. I had never met Bas before but, of course, knew who he was: the King of Pancrase, UFC Heavyweight champion, and the commentator with Pride.
All I can say is that WWE and its entire machinery has been nothing but a joy to work with. I'm not just saying that because I'm paid to or that I'm a member of the company. I have criticized WWE in the past, but I am still a big fan of the product.
I've called all sports. I was a radio DJ, club DJ, talk show host, hockey, basketball, football; you name it, I've done it.
My 20s were gone, my 30s were recovery, my 40s is where I am self-sufficient.
I believe the biggest stigma right now, with mental health, is that a lot of men are not talking about it.
I'm a perfectionist and my own worst critic.
There is a beauty and a special quality in being what I am. I know it, and I've learned how to use it.
I am bipolar, and I am a full manifestation of it in terms of my speech, in terms of my energy.
There is danger involved in combat sports, but this is the purest form of competition. It's all about finding the truth. When you put someone in a cage or a ring, you're going to find out the truth - not only about your opponent but about yourself as well.
