Samantha Irvin has been a staple of WWE programming since 2021. The former America’s Got Talent contestant was discovered by WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry and encouraged to try out for WWE, which she initially did as a wrestler. Irvin was hired instead as a ring announcer, a duty that she began fulfilling for WWE shows like WWE 205 Live and WWE NXT. Less than one year after her debut, Irvin was promoted to WWE SmackDown, serving as the ring announcer for the FOX broadcast. Come 2023, Irvin migrated to WWE Monday Night Raw on the USA Network. Irvin began to catch fire in these years for her vocal power and unique tonal tricks for superstars like Chelsea Green and Ludwig Kaiser. WWE doubled down on that popularity by making Irvin the sole ring announcer for all 14 matches of WWE WrestleMania XL this past April.
Samantha Irvin Leaves WWE, Shocks Company
Samantha Irvin is leaving WWE.
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Taking to social media, the WWE Monday Night Raw ring announcer revealed that her time “has come to an end” within WWE.
“WWE Universe, my time has come to an end as your Monday Night Raw Ring Announcer,” Irvin wrote in a statement. “I love you all tremendously and this does not mark the end of my art, I have a lifetime more to share.”
Irvin went on to thank multiple people in the company including Brian “Road Dogg” James, Scott Armstrong, Gabe Sapolsky, George Carroll Jr., and Paul “Triple H” Levesque as well as teams like the women’s locker room, production crew, coaches, producers, medical, writers, talent relations, makeup, photography, social media, digital, travel, catering, merchandise, WWE 2K, referees, security, and the announce team.
Thank you to every WWE fan who accepted me,” Irvin continued. “To my fans, my entire career l’ve been waiting for you! We are meant to be and I can prove it. Stay tuned. All my love! And still… Samantha.”
As reported by insider account @WrestleVotes, Irvin’s departure has “genuinely shocked” numerous people backstage at WWE Monday Night Raw ahead of the show’s airing from Philadelphia tonight on USA Network.
Will Samantha Irvin Join AEW?
Based on her statement, it appears that Samantha Irvin already has her next career move planned out. While she references this exit “not [marking] the end of [her] art,” suggesting she could pivot into another artistic venture, there is reason to believe that her ring announcing will continue in an All Elite Wrestling ring.
As reported by Fightful Select, both WWE and AEW sources would “be shocked” if AEW does not make Irvin an offer to join the company. AEW has primarily used Justin Roberts as its ring announcer since its inception in 2019. AEW also utilizes Arkady Aura and Bobby Cruise on occasion.
Irvin’s fiancée, Ricochet, left WWE earlier this summer to take his talents to AEW. Ricochet made his AEW debut at AEW ALL IN: London and has pursued the AEW International Championship ever since, locking horns with longtime rival Will Ospreay in the process. Irvin and Ricochet have been together since 2021 and became engaged in 2023.
Irvin’s situation has parallels to a circumstance that Jon Moxley and Renee Paquette found themselves in a couple of years ago. Moxley and Paquette, then known as Dean Ambrose and Renee Young, met in WWE in the early 2010s and began dating in 2013. The two were married in 2017. Moxley would leave WWE in early 2019 and jump ship to AEW while Paquette remained part of the WWE broadcast team until late 2020. She would pursue some independent media ventures over the subsequent years before signing with AEW in October 2022, sharing a travel schedule with her husband again for the first time in three years.
Stay tuned to ComicBook for updates on Samantha Irvin’s next career moves.