As of late, Smackdown Live is having a four-man commentating team which is a bit much in the opinion of many people. Tom Phillips, a guy that has been the voice of NXT for the longest time now, has been added to WWE’s traditional three-man booth. He is there probably to be groomed as a lead commentator for one of the two main brands that the company has.
Last week, there was only a two-man team sitting at the table for the commentators of Smackdown Live. That hasn’t been seen on the WWE TV for a while now. Tom Phillips was the guy leading the way on Tuesday Night, with JBL being the color commentator. David Otunga was missing, just like the voice of the Smackdown for the past year and a half, Mauro Ranallo.
It was said that David Otunga had to film a movie which was the reason for his missing. On the other hand, Mauro Ranallo wasn’t there because of the snow as he couldn’t make it to the arena. But, is this the real reason for him missing?
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, at least half of that statement is true. David Otunga was at the movie taping and couldn’t make it. But, as far as Ranallo is concerned, his reasoning is probably not true. It’s likely that he wasn’t stopped by the snow. There have been reports in the past that Ranallo is on his way out of the company as his style of commentary is not something that WWE wants. He is not as scripted as the others are and WWE would like to have someone like Phillips, who is going to say everything that he is told. That is probably why they let Ranallo have an off night; this was a test for Tom Phillips.
