New Bedford’s Samantha Irvin Shares Ring With Her WWE Idol
When she was growing up in New Bedford, Samantha Johnson dreamed of someday becoming the next Lilian Garcia, the legendary ring announcer for World Wrestling Entertainment.
Now, years later, Johnson – now known by her stage name, Samantha Irvin – has not only become this generation’s Garcia, but she got to share the ring with her idol on Monday night.
During this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW on USA, Irvin welcomed the ageless Garcia to join her in the ring and then asked for her help in announcing the next match, a “King of the Ring” quarterfinal match between Kofi Kingston and Gunther.
“Absolutely. That would be amazing. You guys are amazing,” Garcia said, gesturing to the audience before turning to look directly at Irvin.
“You’re amazing,” she told Irvin. “You’re doing an incredible, incredible job. I am so proud of you.”
The two then hugged to the delight of the crowd.
“Oh what a night!!!” Garcia later commented on Instagram. “Thx for the love last night on Raw @wwe universe!!! So great to be connected with you once again!! And LOVED being able to celebrate @samanthairvinwwe and how she has embraced her job!”
Irvin also posted a photo of the two of them to Instagram, with the caption “Forgot to post my Mother’s Day photo yesterday.”
Garcia first became a ring announcer in WWE (then WWF) in 1999, and was the voice of Monday Night RAW for a decade before retiring in 2009. She later came back as the Smackdown announcer from 2011-2015, stepping away again to care for her father, who was suffering from cancer. She has made occasional appearances in the WWE since then.
Irvin has made no secret about the fact that she grew up idolizing Garcia.
“Lilian of course, of course, of course is such a huge inspiration to me,” Irvin told Ryan Satin on “Out of Character” last August.
“She was the first person that made me realize, oh, there can be singing in wrestling," Irvin said. "She just got up and sang the national anthem acapella on live tv, and I was in seventh grade, and i was like, oh my gosh, I was mind blown.”
“I used to joke with my friends, you know one day I’m going to be Lilian Garcia,” she said.
Now, Irvin has joined her inspiration and is herself inspiring the next generation of young women to follow their own dream.
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