Maura Ranallo says calling Omega vs. Swann at Rebellion reignited his passion for pro wrestling

Mauro Ranallo is one of combat sports most well-known announcers, and he’s done a lot of pro wrestling work over his legendary career. His most high profile wrestling gig was a bit of a roller coaster, to put it mildly.

It probably wouldn’t have surprised anyone if the Bi-Polar Rock ‘n’ Roller stuck to MMA and boxing work for the foreseeable future after his time with WWE. But he was lured back to pro graps by his friend Scott D’Amore. Ranallo called the main event of last Sunday’s Impact Rebellion PPV, which saw AEW World champ Kenny Omega beat Rich Swann to add the Impact title to his collection (Omega is also AAA Mega champ).

The show was well reviewed and has reportedly been very successful in terms of PPV buys. It also was successful in bring Mauro back into the wrestling fold. At least according to the man himself on his Maurologue podcast:

“I had a blast working with D-Lo Brown and Matt Striker and what a match between AEW Champion Kenny Omega and Unified Impact Wrestling beltholder Rich Swann in a title-for-title mega main event... A big thank you to Scott D’Amore and everyone at Impact Wrestling for making me feel so welcome. It reminded me, honestly, of when I started my career at 16. Yeah, last night reignited my passion for professional wrestling. Very chill, relaxed atmosphere – a lot of support, a lot of respect, and a lot of hungry and determined roster comprising some decorated vets and some very talented up-and-comers...

“I thought everyone delivered and from what I understand, the pay-per-view is getting rave reviews, and even more importantly, the pay-per-view buyrate should be one of the best that Impact Wrestling has done in some time. And yeah, it was great to see so many familiar faces and I do hope to get to do it again.”

Ranallo’s play-by-play can be an acquired taste. During his tenure in NXT, I loved his enthusiasm as much as I sometimes grew weary of his references. Swooping in to work big matches for Impact (and maybe their partners at AEW, New Japan, or AAA) could be the ideal spot for him - and really make main events for Impact feel like a really big deal.

No matter, it’s good to hear Mauro energized about a pastime we all love around here.