Ring Announcer Samantha Irvin Leaves WWE
Popular presence on WWE programming departs, AEW-bound? Former announcer returns on Raw.
Samantha Irvin, the popular and highly regarded ring announcer who put her own indelible stamp on WWE programming during the past few years, has left the company.
Irvin announced her departure Monday afternoon on X, stating, "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."
Advertisement— Samantha Irvin (@SamanthaTheBomb) October 21, 2024
According to Fightful Select, the news came as a surprise to several in WWE, with one noting that she was a "presence that made the work day better." Irvin was universally praised by those in WWE, both before and after she announced her departure.
Irvin joined WWE in 2021, first serving as the ring announcer for 205 Live before transitioning to NXT. She made her debut on SmackDown in January 2022 and moved over to Raw in early 2023, where she remained until her exit. At WrestleMania 40, Samantha garnered huge praise for announcing all 14 matches across both nights.
During her tenure, Irvin's unique, energetic, and powerful style became synonymous with several wrestlers, most notably Chelsea Green (whose entrance music now includes Samantha's introduction), as well as members of Imperium, the Bloodline, Rhea Ripley, Maxxine Dupri, and others.
Irvin's departure leaves a huge void for WWE, and the company filled it with a familiar voice: Lilian Garcia, the longtime ring announcer whose career with WWE stretches back to 1999. This marks Garcia's third run with the company, having left in 2009 and returning for a five-year run from 2011-16.
While Irvin did not divulge the next steps in her career, the obvious speculation would center on her joining All Elite Wrestling, where her fiancé Ricochet currently wrestles, having left WWE himself a few months earlier. Fightful spoke to several sources in WWE and AEW who said they "would be shocked" if AEW didn't attempt to bring Irvin into the fold.