Samantha Irvin’s exit from WWE was revealed on Monday when the popular ring announcer informed her audience she was stepping away after three years at the company.
Irvin (real name Samantha Johnson) posted to X that she was leaving WWE while thanking the performers, crew members, and various personnel behind the scenes while emphasizing, “This does not mark the end of my art, I have a lifetime more to share.”
While many fans began speculating about a potential move to AEW, Irvin’s fiancé Ricochet (Trevor Mann), denied she is heading to the promotion where he recently made his debut.
Further reporting came from Dave Meltzer at the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, who said that Irvin had been contemplating leaving over the past year and with outside projects she wants to pursue, and she could not come to terms with WWE.
Irvin also stated that she informed WWE that she was leaving months ago.
Hours after Irvin’s statement about her departure, Lilian Garcia returned to her previous role during the live broadcast of Raw from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Garcia previously worked for the company from 1999 until 2009 and returned for another stint from 2011 until 2016.
Garcia posted about her return and indicated she is back full-time in the role of ring announcer:
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