As Mauro Ranallo has mentioned himself, he was first contacted by Michael Cole by email to see if there was any interest on his part to join the company in an announcer’s role.
Cole contacted him in September, and Ranallo then ended up signing his contract in October, with Triple H finalizing the deal that will see him as Smackdown’s lead announcer when the show moves to USA Network in 2016.
It’s believed that key WWE officials knew of Ranallo’s pro wrestling commentary experience, and heard him call the Floyd Mayweather / Manny Pacquiao fight, so it made sense to reach out to him. WWE is allowing Ranallo to continue commentating different MMA, boxing and kickboxing events, but the plan is for him to be full-time with WWE, working all Smackdown and WWE pay-per-view broadcasts.
