WWE fans getting blindsided by sudden talent departures became commonplace just a few years ago, but we haven't seen any such unexpected exits in a while. However, hours before the latest Monday Night Raw, ringside announcer Samantha Irvin was revealed to be exiting the company, despite absolutely crushing it throughout the 2024 TV schedule and beyond. Now that we know she won't be around for upcoming WWE events, Irvin spent time on X alongside her pro wrestler fiancé Ricochet to clear up some misconceptions about the exit.
Pro wrestling insiders scrambled to find reasons for Samantha Irvin's exit, which is the kind of thing that can lead to mistakes happening when sources aren't so reliable. Fortunately, Irvin and her beau were able to quickly clear up any confusion, and prevented the rumor mill from spiraling out of control.
Samantha Irvin Dispels Rumors About Timing Of Her Exit
As someone who appreciated Samantha Irvin's passion for pro wrestling, as well as how she kept fans entertained during downtime when I took my child to Monday Night Raw, I was shocked to hear reports claiming she'd walked out on the WWE just hours before the show started. It turns out that rumor wasn't true at all, though, at least according to the former ringside announcer herself, who spoke on the actual timeline involving when she told the company she was leaving:
Months* before Raw https://t.co/XpIhsYeH1IOctober 22, 2024
While wrestling fans themselves didn't find out until hours before Monday Night Raw, Samantha Irvin says her exit has been in the works for quite a while. That's more aligned with what I would expect, especially after reading her message to fans, which thanked Triple H and other employees quite heavily. Had her departure been more sudden, I wouldn't have expected such a warm goodbye to those in upper management.
Ricochet Clarifies Speculation Samantha Irvin Is Joining AEW
As soon as news broke that Samantha Irvin was leaving, the fans started speculating that she would now be joining rival company AEW. Considering Ricochet did that this year, I can see the logic in assuming she'd join to spend more time with him and continue her career for a rival who may offer a more competitive price. It seems Ricochet assumed people would think that as well and went ahead and squashed that rumor pretty quickly:
Haha, she's not coming to AEW. You can all rest easy. 😂October 21, 2024
As for the possible reason behind the exit, Wrestling Observer Radio reported that Samantha Irvin wanted to further pursue her singing career, but couldn't juggle that with her obligations in the WWE (via Inside The Ropes). That's interesting to hear, considering how flexible the company is reportedly being regarding Pat McAfee stepping away to host College Gameday. In any case, I'm disappointed to see it didn't work out, though I hope Irvin is happy with her decision.
Who Is Replacing Samantha Irvin?
For the time being, the WWE has called on former WWE employee and ringside announcer Lilian Garcia to take Samantha Irvin's spot on Monday Night Raw. Garcia served as a ringside announcer for the company from 1999 to 2009, and then again in 2011 to 2016. After her first night back on the show in quite some time, Garcia took to Instagram to talk to fans about it:
Look up some matches she's been ringside for with a Peacock Premium subscription, and anyone unfamiliar will see Lilian Garcia is up for the job. Still, I can't help but wonder why the WWE did not decide to promote another person from the in-house commentary team to the role, as there's no shortage of people to choose from. In any case, I'm happy that Garcia seems thrilled to be back in the role, and I think she'll do a terrific job as she gets back into the swing of things.
Monday Night Raw continues over on USA on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET. It won't be long now before the show makes the big jump over to Netflix, and it'll be interesting to see what else could change with the show before that big first episode in 2025.
