news

Samantha Irvin announces she is leaving WWE Raw, and Lillian Garcia will reportedly return as ring announcer

Vaseline October 21, 2024

Musician and WWE ring announcer Samantha Irvin performs the national anthem before an NFL football game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

Popular WWE ring announcer Samantha Irvin announced Monday that she is leaving WWE’s “Monday Night Raw.” In a social media post, she thanked Hall of Famers Brian “Road Dogg” James, Mark Henry and WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, among others, for their support during her time with the company.

“WWE Universe, my time as your Monday Night Raw Ring Announcer has come to an end,” read part of Irvin’s statement. “I love you guys so much and this doesn’t mean the end of my art. I still have a lifetime to share. Thank you to every WWE fan who has accepted me.”

With her arena-filling voice and clear passion for the company, Irvin became a mainstay and focal point of WWE television broadcasts in recent 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.

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 stepped up to support Irvin on Monday.

Fightful Select’s Sean Ross-Sapp reported Monday that former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia is returning to the company to replace Irvin as ring announcer for Monday’s edition of “WWE Raw.”

WWE’s long-running weekly flagship series currently airs on the USA Network, but will soon begin a new era and air on Netflix starting in January 2025.