“We need to treat people with mental illness like people.”
“Not talking about mental illness is killing people. We need that to stop.”
“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.”
“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 believe every one of us has a gift, I believe every one of us human beings has a path in this life, and it is up to each of us, through circumstance, through knowledge, through awareness, through luck – and luck does play a huge part – to hopefully achieve that path and walk the path and realize the gift.”
“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.”
“Some of the brightest, most creative minds have been touched by mental illness.”
“My job, live television, broadcasting, there’s mania involved in there, too, but it’s the good stuff.”
“I’ve always been an advocate for mental health.”
“I’ve learned about myself that I’m much stronger than I ever had any idea about myself.”
“I’ve always loved kickboxing.”
“My 20s were gone, my 30s were recovery, my 40s is where I am self-sufficient.”
“I’ve received enough blessings for a lifetime in terms of my employment.”
“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’m obsessed with broadcasting.”
“I will always be thankful to WWE for letting me be the voice of SmackDown Live and bring it to the USA Network.”
“I know my energy level is unlike others. I know that my capacity to really think fast is unlike others, but I also know the price that comes with it.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Joining WWE has always been a lifelong dream of mine.”
“I am bipolar, and I am a full manifestation of it in terms of my speech, in terms of my energy.”
“I don’t care about me being vulnerable or embarrassing situations.”
“There is a beauty and a special quality in being what I am. I know it, and I’ve learned how to use it.”
“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.”
“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 a perfectionist and my own worst critic.”
“I grew up on camera. I started at 16.”
“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.”
“I believe the biggest stigma right now, with mental health, is that a lot of men are not talking about it.”
“It’s a daily struggle for me to stay alive. I don’t mean to be melodramatic, hyperbolic, or go into my broadcast mode. But even that, my career is bipolar.”
“I’m trying to show people that you can have any kind of life you want.”
“When I’m talking or performing, I’m alive. That’s why I work so much.”
“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.”
“WWE, in the back of my mind, was always the dream job, and most people don’t get their dream jobs.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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 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.”
“There would be no Mauro Ranallo in MMA, or maybe even period, to be truly honest with you… without Bas Rutten’s friendship, mentorship, and just belief in my talents.”
“I go into calling any match, any fight – I don’t care if it’s the main event or the opener – that these guys have put in their work: they’re here for a reason, and there’s a reason I’m calling this fight, so I do want to give it as much attention and respect and energy as I would the main event or a championship fight.”
“Everything is WrestleMania to me.”
“I love working with Byron Saxton and Jerry Lawler, and I hope I continue to do so.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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 wouldn’t be in WWE without Michael Cole.”
“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.”
“I want to make it so that it’s OK to not be OK.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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 have a curious mind.”
“I love to consume information of all kinds, and I think that also hopefully helps with my broadcasting, that I always try to bring up a fact that maybe will connect to a person who’s not a big fan, or maybe a pop culture reference.”
“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.”
“I’m blessed to have a great support network.”
“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.”
“There are people with much bigger profiles than mine who are talking about mental illness. I am going to try to use whatever platform I have, whatever voice I have to help eliminate the stigma.”
“Mental illness affects everyone.”
“Vince McMahon is an intimidating individual because of the amount of respect he commands because of what he’s done for entertainment, turning the business into a billion dollar success story. He rarely sleeps. He’s a workaholic. He’s passionate. He loves what he does.”
“All combat sports are connected.”
“As much as I love to watch movies, nothing beats being ringside for a championship fight in boxing.”
“I would say Chael Sonnen would be a natural for professional wrestling.”
“I’ve always been a TV junkie.”
“One of my first heroes was Jim Robson, the hall-of-fame broadcaster with the Canucks and Hockey Night in Canada, and Jim Ross with the WWE and Howard Cosell was a big influence on me.”
“As an announcer, I have nothing but respect for the fighters, and I want to make sure I do my job to let the people know who these courageous warriors are, because they are putting their lives on the line for our entertainment, and there’s something to be said about that.”
“I knew at five years old what I wanted to do for a living. I started reading newspapers and books out loud at a very young age. I was very focused on English and building my vocabulary.”
“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 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.”
“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.’”
“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.”
“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 am a bit of a dynamic personality and have the ability to use my vocabulary in some creative ways.”
“I’m a huge sports fan, and I’m a huge entertainment fan.”
“I wouldn’t be alive without my work.”
“I need to stay busy. Otherwise, I am like so many people, alone with my thoughts, and I can be my own worst enemy.”
“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 was as much at first probably against Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather as anyone else but… as soon as I turned off the purity of the combat sports thing, this is a business. Guys, we’re all trying to make a living, we’re all trying to entertain people and guess what, it’s the second-biggest PPV in history regardless of how you feel about it.”
“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.”
“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’m living the dream.”
“I’m a highly intelligent, highly articulate, very empathetic, down-to-earth person. But man, my thoughts are incredibly dark. Incredibly dark.”
“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 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.”
“Mental illness, unfortunately, is an invisible disease: it’s not seen or heard. For whatever reason, because of that, society has decided that if we can’t see it, maybe it doesn’t exist, so they want to just sweep it under the carpet or say, ‘Snap out of it,’ or that you’re looking for attention.”
“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.”
“Anyone who is dealing with any issue or any illness whatsoever, without a support network, chances are the person will not survive.”
“There is so much to be celebrated about mental illness. I do believe that there is something to be said about the truly artistic, the truly brilliant, those of us who have been ‘touched by fire’ that should be celebrated, not stigmatized.”
“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.”
“There’s a constant struggle between my ears about who I am and what I mean to the world.”
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