Lilian Garcia Opens Up About WWE Return & New Role Following SmackDown Exit

Earlier this month, Lilian Garcia took to Instagram to announce that her full-time role as the ring announcer for WWE SmackDown has officially come to an end. However, fans won’t be saying goodbye entirely—Garcia confirmed she will continue announcing for all WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event shows going forward.

Garcia made her WWE return in October 2024, initially stepping in as the Raw ring announcer, replacing Samantha Irvin. By January 2025, she transitioned to SmackDown, taking over the blue brand’s weekly duties.

While appearing on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Garcia reflected on her WWE return and her future with the company.

On returning to WWE full-time as an announcer:“So here’s the setup too. Because I went to the house in South Carolina, then I find out that Raw is going to be in Greenville, and that was in May, months before. 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. Just let me say hi to everybody. So I reach out to him and I’m like, ‘Hey, can I come by? I’m like an hour and a half away.’ He [Triple H] is like, ‘Of course, we haven’t seen you forever. Come on back.’ So I said hi to everybody, and then he was like, ‘Hey, do you want to be on the show tonight? I’d love for you to co-announce with Samantha.’ I’m like, Oh, that would be so much fun. Sam was so excited. She’s so excited. She was telling me she’d been watching me and I had inspired her because I sang, and so she felt like she wanted to sing on the show and all. So when we co-announce, when I stopped in the middle of the middle of the ring and started complimenting her, that wasn’t part of it. I just really felt like that came out of me, really complimenting her. It just became such a moment that it just went everywhere, viral, my gosh, it was like the passing of the torch and all that. It was just so exciting. Then I’m in Atlanta, I’m now living there, and Bad Blood is in Atlanta. I came back in October, so we didn’t know anything. I go to Bad Blood, I’m in the audience, I’m sitting next to Booker T. Then I get the call two weeks later, ‘Hey, can you come back?’ The thing is I knew when they offered it to me to come back, 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, we want to be completely upfront with you.’ Which I really appreciated. I said, Look, whatever you guys need, I never thought I was going to be back, and whatever you need, I love this business. I love the people I work with. I’m excited.”

On her current status:So when they brought me back, I knew that Raw was going to be until the changeover on January 6 for Netflix, that I knew. And 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. It’s fine. Do whatever you want. I am loving this, totally loving this.’ But what was so beautiful that has evolved from it is that even though I’m not gonna be the full-time SmackDown announcer anymore, 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.”

On being back in WWE:“Amazing, the fans have been incredible, just the love from that to the people I’m working with, to the new talent that’s there, the girls in the locker room, absolutely incredible. And they all reached out to me, or they’re like, we’re gonna miss you on a weekly basis. They know I’m not gone-gone, but they’re like,e we’re gonna miss you on a weekly basis. Working back with Triple H and seeing all of these people that I worked with for so many years, all the agents now that are the producers that are there. It’s my family. I don’t have my parents anymore, I didn’t have kids, and I’m not in a relationship, I’m in Atlanta by myself. So it is my family, and that’s what’s so beautiful, and the fact that they said, Look, we really want to work this out to keep you in some capacity here. Man, that’s music to my ears and just to my heart.”
Garcia’s presence in WWE continues to be a beloved one, and though she’s stepping away from full-time weekly programming, her ongoing role with Saturday Night’s Main Event ensures fans will still hear her iconic voice in the ring.