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Originally Posted by Post Wrestling
I wanted to speak a bit more about the Mauro Ranallo story but also look at the larger issue of our attitude toward mental health issues. While the overwhelming response to this week’s issue has been a sympathetic one towards Ranallo, who has been open about being bipolar and his struggles, there is still a notable reaction of either indifference or criticizing Ranallo.
For transparency, those that are unaware, I worked with Ranallo from 2006-2009 and have seen him at both his highs and lows, so obviously I am looking at this situation in a different light. But there is also a documentary that Showtime put out that should provide a grasp of his struggles and place into context why this issue was more than just a harmless tweet directed his way.
Had Ranallo missed the Survivor Series because he fell ill or suffered an injury over the weekend, it would be completely accepted as to why he would miss the show. Granted, in pro wrestling, even physical injury and illness are going to be met with the ‘suck it up and work’ mentality but that is lessening. The point is, these are issues we can comprehend – we have all been sick, unable to work and been in situations where our body has shut down and is telling us to slow down and recover so we can return to work in an efficient manner. With mental health, it isn’t detectable on sight, nor do we have all share in the same experiences of what someone suffering is dealing with. This is not a case of someone that needs to ‘get over it’ or is too sensitive or can’t handle the job. We need to get past this concept that ignoring the pain and repressing emotion is somehow ‘soft’. Mauro is hurt, he is damaged, and he is getting himself better and that should not be a debated point. Again, I’m speaking to the minority, but that sentiment is out there, and it’s dated.
It was an unprofessional tweet in a public forum towards someone whose mental state is a daily battle that is full of both good and bad days. He was going to work as he battled these issues, including an increased travel schedule since NXT went to a weekly format and gets criticized daily from fans and showed up to work and did his job.
Not everyone will love Ranallo’s style of commentary, but he was specifically hired by the company because of who he was what his style was.
I am not going to belabor the point on Corey Graves, I am sure he didn’t envision causing this harm to a co-worker. He has been annihilated online, a lot of which was brought on by himself and there is no need to pile on and attack. It negates the larger issue and that is correcting this situation and understanding the effects this has had on someone. It’s the second time this has happened with Ranallo in WWE and it’s in his court to decide if this work environment is conducive for his health. Since returning in 2017, there have not been any known issues while he has been in NXT where it seems he has a lot of support and has been contacted by numerous people there in support of him.
In closing, I would recommend people watch the documentary for better insight:
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