Top 60 Mauro Ranallo Quotes

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 never been ashamed of being the ham or the provocateur, as it were, in my style of commentary or my style of showmanship.

There is a beauty and a special quality in being what I am. I know it, and I’ve learned how to use it.

My 20s were gone, my 30s were recovery, my 40s is where I am self-sufficient.

Anyone who is dealing with any issue or any illness whatsoever, without a support network, chances are the person will not survive.

We need to treat people with mental illness like people.

When I’m talking or performing, I’m alive. That’s why I work so much.

Some of the brightest, most creative minds have been touched by mental illness.

I’m trying to show people that you can have any kind of life you want.

I was discovered at 16, so all I’ve done is be a communicator and an entertainer all my life, and my energy is who I am in real life.

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.

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.

UFC is UFC, and God bless them, they have the largest roster and some amazing fighters, but there’s amazing fighters everywhere. That’s why I am impressed with what Bellator has attempted to do with the tournament or with Aaron Pico and some of the younger talent.

I wouldn’t be in WWE without Michael Cole.

I don’t think it’s been healthy what I’ve done in my life to get to where I am mentally and otherwise, but it is the path I’ve chose. I’m not married, no family, and my hobbies are my loves.

The titles aren’t merely props in New Japan. They’re actually the focus of the company, and that’s how it should be if you’re going to be in this world, this business. After all, it is professional wrestling. It is presented as an athletic competition, and the titles should mean something.

I love working with Byron Saxton and Jerry Lawler, and I hope I continue to do so.

I love pop culture. I love sports. I love entertainment. The fact that I get paid to be a part of this is like, ‘Woah.’

One thing that I’ve learned is that you don’t have to be a prima donna or think you are better than other people in order to succeed.

I believe the biggest stigma right now, with mental health, is that a lot of men are not talking about it.

I am bipolar, and I am a full manifestation of it in terms of my speech, in terms of my energy.

Not talking about mental illness is killing people. We need that to stop.

I’m a perfectionist and my own worst critic.

I get that there is no one quite like me, nor should there be anybody quite like anybody else in any field. I’ve always said, ‘Don’t be the next anyone; be the first you.’

I’ve learned about myself that I’m much stronger than I ever had any idea about myself.

I’ve received enough blessings for a lifetime in terms of my employment.

My first full-time radio job at 21, I was there for only a couple of months before I was hospitalized. I wrote a resignation letter. My dad wouldn’t give the letter to my boss at the time.

I will always be thankful to WWE for letting me be the voice of SmackDown Live and bring it to the USA Network.

All combat sports are connected.

Pride was a date night – the cool thing to do at the time – so people were dressed to the nines, and they got quite an experience, visually and otherwise. It was Cirque du Soleil meets the Super Bowl meets WrestleMania meets your favorite rock n’ roll concert.

No matter what job I’ve undertaken, whether it was Glory Kickboxing or Strikeforce or Pride Fighting Championships or Showtime Championship Boxing, you have to play by the rules of the company you work for.

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.

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.

I’m a huge sports fan, and I’m a huge entertainment fan.

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.

Joining WWE has always been a lifelong dream of mine.

I actually think I suck. I think I’m one of the worst announcers, one of the worst performers there is. It blows my mind that I keep getting hired. But when I’m doing it, yeah, I’ll admit: No one can do it like I can.

I don’t think there’s a good or wrong way of broadcasting. The more unique you are, the more opportunities you’re going to get.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I don’t care about me being vulnerable or embarrassing situations.

I was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder at 19, which I thought would derail my career. Thankfully, I was able to get help and continue the path, and I think, for me, the buzzword is perseverance.

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’m a fan first and foremost. I get caught up in the drama, the emotion of what is happening, whether it’s a boxing match, an MMA fight, a kickboxing contest, or a WWE matchup. I want to tell the story and paint more pictures.

It’s weird: I always feel like my career is about to end. Like someone is coming to get me. I don’t know. I guess I need to find a better balance, but without my work, I don’t think I would be alive. If I don’t work, I don’t live.

I gave myself the nickname ‘Bipolar Rock N’ Roller’ way back in the 1990s, when – as much as we don’t talk about mental health now – back then it was almost nonexistent. And if it was broached, it was done in a very pejorative way.

People can say what they want about WWE. Paul Levesque, Vince McMahon, Michael Cole – they all gave me another life by bringing me back to call NXT. That’s where I should have been in the beginning.

When I’m at my lowest, when I’m crying uncontrollably, and I can reach out to one of my many people in my support network, it helps. I feel better.

I would say Chael Sonnen would be a natural for professional wrestling.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Everything is WrestleMania to me.

In New Japan, it is kept very simple. It’s about proving to the other man or woman that you are the better person. And guess what? It’s about championships.

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 curious mind.