Samantha Irvin announces she’s leaving WWE, Lillian Garcia to reportedly return as ring announcer
Irvin had become a fixture on WWE programming
Popular WWE ring announcer Samantha Irvin announced Monday that she is leaving WWE. In a post on social media, she thanked, among others, Hall of Famers Brian “Road Dogg” James, Mark Henry and WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque for their support during her time with the company.
"WWE Universe, my time has come to an end as your Monday Night Raw Ring Announcer," read part of Irvin's statement. "I love you all tremendously and this does not mark the end of my art, I have a lifetime more to share. Thank you to every WWE fan who accepted me."
— Samantha Irvin (@SamanthaTheBomb) October 21, 2024
With her arena-filling voice and obvious passion for the business, Irvin became a mainstay and focal point of WWE television broadcasts over the past several years since joining the company in 2021. Perhaps her most memorable moment came at the end of the main event of WrestleMania 41, when Cody Rhodes dethroned Roman Reigns to win the WWE championship.
When Samantha Irvin announced Cody Rhodes as the new WWE Champion at WrestleMania
❤❤❤ pic.twitter.com/UPXsIJ9cUk— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) October 21, 2024
Irvin is married to former WWE superstar and current AEW wrestler Ricochet. The former WWE superstar left the promotion earlier this year to work in Tony Khan’s company and posted in support of Irvin on Monday.
Sean Ross-Sapp of Fightful Select reported Monday that former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia is returning to the company to replace Irvin as the ring announcer for Monday's edition of "WWE Raw."
Fightful Select has been told that Lilian Garcia is backstage at WWE Raw pic.twitter.com/BsyFhhbrca
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) October 21, 2024
"WWE Raw," the company's long-running flagship weekly series, currently airs on the USA Network, but will soon begin a new era, airing on Netflix beginning in January 2025.
