5 Things you didn't know about Mauro Ranallo

Before we get started, let's put aside all of the bullying rumours for now. This article hasn't been created in order to bash John Layfield, no matter how badly some of you may want to.

At the end of the day Mauro Ranallo is an extremely qualified and impressive commentator, and if he is indeed set to leave the WWE then it leaves a huge gap over on SmackDown Live.

Now, back to the man himself. As many fans are already aware, Mauro's vocal abilities have taken him all over the world during the last two decades. He's commentated on a range of different sports in a range of different settings, and it's that kind of versatility that makes him so invaluable to any promotion who are lucky enough to tie the guy down to a long term deal.

Have there been a few hiccups? Sure. But despite all that Ranallo has enjoyed a relatively successful WWE career up to this point, and regardless of what many may say, he's already managed to forge a legacy for himself as being one of the most popular voices at the commentary booth in many years.

With that being said, here are five things you didn't know about Mauro Ranallo.

#1 Wrestling background

Whilst Mauro's fandom in terms of professional wrestling is well known, having been a fan since the age of five, not many people are aware of the fact that he's actually been linked at the hip with the sport for a long time now. Starting back at the age of 16, Ranallo was offered a job as an announcer and a manager with All-Star Wrestling in Vancouver.

Following on from that Mauro also worked as a commentator for the highly regarded Stampede Wrestling in Calgary before going on to commentate for KVOS-TV's Top Ranked Wrestling. It's interesting to look back and see how much experience he really does have within the industry, with most people knowing him more for his work in mixed martial arts.

Now to something a little bit more unorthodox.