Legendary WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia recently appeared on “INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet” and detailed the sequence of events that led to her unexpected return to the company, a journey that began with a casual visit and evolved into a new role.
Garcia explained that the initial reconnection happened purely by chance in mid-2024 when she realized Monday Night Raw was taking place near her South Carolina house. “I find out they’re going to be in Greenville so I’m like, oh that’s only an hour and a half (away). I hadn’t seen them in forever. Let me go down there,” she recounted. “So I reach out to him (Triple H) and I’m like, ‘Hey, can I come by?’… He’s like, ‘Of course, we haven’t seen you forever. Come on back.'”
That simple visit led to an impromptu on-screen moment. “He was like, ‘Hey, do you want to be on the show tonight? I’d love for you to co-announce with Samantha [Irvin],'” Garcia recalled. The segment, particularly an unscripted moment where Garcia praised Irvin, resonated deeply. “Sam was so excited… When I stopped in the middle of the ring and started complimenting her, that wasn’t part of it… It just became such a moment that it just went everywhere, viral… like the passing of the torch…”
Despite the viral moment, a return wasn’t immediate. Garcia attended the WWE Bad Blood Premium Live Event in Atlanta in October 2024 merely as a fan. “I go to Bad Blood, I’m in the audience… Then I get the call two weeks later, ‘Hey, can you come back?'” she said. WWE management was upfront about the nature of the initial return. “They did tell me, ‘Hey, this isn’t permanent announcing for Raw or SmackDown. We just really need you right now, but this is a new era…'” Garcia readily agreed: “I said, ‘Look, whatever you guys need… I love this business.'”
Her initial run covered Raw leading up to the major programming shift to Netflix on January 6th, 2025. Afterward, she moved to SmackDown on a week-to-week basis. “They were like, Okay, now we’re gonna put you on SmackDown but we don’t know how long. Every week that went by they were like, ‘I’m so sorry we need you another week, is that okay?’ And I’m like, ‘Of course it is… I am loving this…'” This temporary arrangement eventually solidified into a different, ongoing role. “…they said, ‘You know what, we love having you part of this, we want to extend, we want you to do Saturday Night’s Main Event. We think you’re a perfect fit for that.’ I love it. I get to wear gowns for that.” Garcia’s journey back highlights a blend of serendipity, mutual respect, and adaptability leading to her current position.
The next Saturday Night’s Main Event is scheduled for May 25 at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
