Lilian Garcia on new WWE role: ‘I love it’

Lilian Garcia loves being back with WWE, even if she’s no longer working as a full-time ring announcer on weekly television.

Garcia made her return to WWE in October 2024 after Samantha Irvin departed the company. Her return has included stints on both Raw and SmackDown, but Garcia revealed earlier this month that her role has changed and she’ll no longer be ring announcing weekly. Instead, she’ll be the ring announcer for Saturday Night’s Main Event, singing at special events, and working with WWE on other new projects.

While appearing on a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Garcia discussed how much being back with WWE means to her. Before she got the call to return, she only had one month of income left and didn’t know what her next move would be. Garcia thought her time in wrestling had come to an end but is now back home in WWE.

“I knew, when they offered it to me to come back, they did tell me, ‘Hey, this isn’t like for permanent announcing for Raw or SmackDown. We just really need you right now. You know, this is a new era. We want to be completely upfront with you.’ Which I really appreciated,” Garcia said. “And I said, ‘Look, whatever you guys need.’ Like, I never thought I was going to be back. And whatever you need. I love this business, I love the people I work with. And so I’m like, I’m excited.

“So when they brought me back, I knew that Raw was going to be until the changeover in January 6 for Netflix, that I knew. And they were like, ‘Ok, now we’re going to put you on SmackDown, but we don’t know how long.’ And every week that went by they were like, ‘I’m so sorry we need you another week, is that ok?’ 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 going to be the full-time SmackDown announcer anymore, they said, ‘You know what, we love having you part of this. Like, we want to extend, we want you to do Saturday Night’s Main Event. We think you’re a perfect fit for that.’ And I love it.”

In addition to working on Saturday Night’s Main Event, Garcia said WWE has mentioned they have other new shows in development that she could potentially be part of.

“Getting to be part of that — and then they’re like, ‘Look, we’ve got a lot of other shows that we know that we, you know, we’re in talks with right now on what we can do.’ So I’m like, ‘Whatever you guys need.’ Again, whatever you need,” she said. “Just, ‘Put me in, coach.’ I’m here.”

This is Garcia’s third run with WWE. Her prior stint ended in 2016 when she left to care for her father when he was dying. After the loss of both of her parents, Garcia feels like WWE truly is family.

“Amazing,” Garcia said about being back with the company. “The fans have been incredible — and 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 going to miss you on a weekly basis.’ They know I’m not gone-gone, but they’re like, ‘We’re going to 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.”

The next episode of Saturday Night’s Main Event will take place in Tampa, Florida on May 24. Airing as a quarterly special, SNME is simulcast live on both NBC and Peacock.