Over the past month we’ve seen a mass exodus of talent from WWE, the indefinite suspension of Adam Rose, Ryback out of action due to a contract dispute and more releases rumored to be taking place before the month is up. One name that keeps popping up is veteran ring announcer Lilian Garcia, who missed several recent WWE TV appearances. Lilian checked in on Twitter last week stating that she was out of action dealing with a family emergency, but there appears to be more to the situation than that.
Former WWE writer Court Bauer noted on MLW Radio that Lilian was quietly let go last week. When told by his co-host about Lilian’s tweets stating she’ll be back on RAW this coming Monday, Bauer said he confirmed Lilian’s release with someone in WWE right before he began recording that podcast. Bauer clarified that it’s possible WWE simply informed her they would not be renewing her contract, but either way he stated she’s on her way out.
Adding further credence to the story, Dave Meltzer noted in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE had confirmed Christian’s departure, but had not yet publicly acknowledge the release of “Garcia.”
After a successful run with WWE during the Attitude Era, Lilian returned to the company back in 2011.
Sorry 4 my silence but have been dealing w a family emergency which is why I wasn't @ Payback & #Raw. Hope 2 be bk nxt Mon. Thks 4 tweets?
– There has been speculation and rumors over Lilian Garcia’s status in WWE after not appearing on television the past two weeks. She indicated this morning that she will be back on Raw next Monday.
TY all 4 prayers concerning my sick family member. Prayers have worked & they r doing much better! I look forward 2 being bk w u nxt Mon ?
– Speaking to CultOfWhatever.com, Luke Gallows discusses his original stint in WWE, getting the opportunity to work with childhood heroes Sting and Hulk Hogan in TNA, being a member of the Bullet Club, and more.
On his original stint with WWE (2006-2010):
My first gig in WWE was being imposter Kane, then Festus before my buddy CM Punk and I created the Straight Edge Society. The Festus character was the brainchild of Vince McMahon, he came up with it and I did it to the best of my ability.
During the time of the Straight Edge Society, CM Punk was really starting to become one of the top stars on television and they really began to trust him and would give him creative freedom to go out there. Just watching and learning from a guy like that was an awesome experience.
The way Punk could control peoples emotions and captivate a whole crowd, he is just a fantastic performer, he always was but that is when he was really stepping up and it was a really fun time for me.
On how he would describe Vince McMahon as a boss:
Vince has never been bad to me, I’ve heard people say things but he’s never been bad to me directly. I’ve not had a tonne of interaction with him, maybe I’ve been in his office two or three times. He kind-of directed us on some of the Straight Edge Society stuff as well as the Jessie and Festus stuff. Vince is a larger than life personality; you cannot but admire what he has done for our industry.
– WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash got a lot of heat on Twitter yesterday with this photo showing support for United States Presidential candidate Donald Trump:
As seen tonight on Raw, Jimmy and Jey Uso were erroneously introduced by Lilian Garcia as the Grammy Award-winning Tag Team of the Year (as opposed to the Slammy Award-winning Tag Team of The Year) prior to their match against Curtis Axel and Adam Rose. Raw immediately went to a commercial break, with her announcing flub replayed when the show returned to the air. It was then repeatedly mentioned by JBL throughout the night.
Lilian quickly acknowledged her error on Twitter.
Music side of me came out in that match!! ? #TheUsos#Raw
– Late Sunday night on Twitter, two-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion and former WWE Superstar Vader appeared to teased himself as an inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame by tweeting its logo.
– Lilian Garcia will be handling ring announcing duties for tonight’s Raw in San Antonio, Texas after missing last week’s show due to losing her voice.
She tweeted Sunday night, “Thks 4 all well wishes! After nursing my Bronchitis all wk w meds & rest, I’m happy 2 report I will be back tomro 4 the 1st #Raw of 2016!”
Thks 4 all well wishes! After nursing my Bronchitis all wk w meds & rest, I'm happy 2 report I will be back tomro 4 the 1st #Raw of 2016!?
– WWE posted the following photos of Vince McMahon’s mug shot after the arrest angle that took place as part of the wild opening segment that saw McMahon leave in handcuffs for losing his cool with one of the police officers in the ring.
– Speaking of the arrest angle that kicked off the final RAW show of the year, one of the “officers” that took part in the segment was independent wrestling star Drew Gulak, who as noted recently, is rumored to be a WWE prospect.
– Lilian Garcia has released a song she wrote paying tribute to Eddie Guerrero after he passed away 10 years ago. It is called “Live On.”
“10 years ago we not only lost a great wrestler but an amazing man — Eddie Guerrero,” Garcia states. “He inspired me to write a song about him and his life. It’s called “Live On” and it has never been released…until now. It’s a tribute to show how his spirit continues to truly live on….”
– Early 1990s WWE tag team The Beverly Brothers reunited on Saturday at The Big Event IX at the LaGuardia Plaza Hotel in East Elmhurst, New York. Here is a photo of former WWE ring announcer Justin Roberts with Beau Beverly (Wayne Bloom) and Blake Beverly (Mike Enos).
– Fans can preview the recently released Undertaker book, Undertaker: 25 Years of Destruction, at undertaker25yearsofdestruction.com. The synopsis of the book reads: “See The Deadman like you’ve never seen him before! With stunning visuals and in-depth commentary, Undertaker: 25 Years of Destruction takes the reader deep into the darkness, where few dare to tread! Learn everything you need to know about sports-entertainment’s mysterious grim reaper of justice with this massive hardcover tome.”
– As noted, the deal to bring Alberto Del Rio back to WWE was done a few weeks prior to his return appearance at the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view. Del Rio’s new deal was not known to most in the company, but many knew something was brewing and expected Del Rio back in the company no later than next year’s WrestleMania 32 event in Texas.
– WWE Network announced the following additions for November:
Relive Brock Lesnar’s destructive introduction and rise to the top of WWE, spanning March 2002 to March 2004, with the addition of more than 170 hours of Raw and SmackDown episodes to the award-winning WWE Network. Watch The Beast Incarnate’s first appearance on Raw, WWE Championship reign on SmackDown and much more anytime, anywhere on demand.”
– Lilian Garcia will not be doing the announcing for tonight’s WWE RAW due to the European tour, as she will be handling those duties for the SmackDown shows. Eden will instead handle the ring announcing for tonight’s RAW. Garcia tweeted the following:
– Fed up with some WWE fans on social media, Renee Young posted the following rant on her Instagram account this afternoon.
“So I deleted my last post, due to an insane amount of wild comments, so here’s all I have to say.
“I really wish people could focus on more important things in their own lives rather than stay up way past your bedtimes on a school night and try and tear down other people. It’s exhausting and it’s stupid and it’s so sad.
“I understand that most of these comments come from teenagers that compare high school stories to real life, but grow up. And if you are an adult, you should be ashamed of yourselves for behaving like a maniac because you “think you know who these people are”.
“You make social media a horrible time, and turn into a forum for a roast. TV is not real life. Period.”
A photo posted by Renee Young (@reneeyoungwwe) on Sep 20, 2015 at 9:51am PDT
– According to Lilian Garcia’s official website, the WWE Diva will be singing the national anthem next Sunday at MetLife Stadium when the New York Jets play the Philadelphia Eagles. She has sung “The Star-Spangled Banner” for the Jets on ten previous occasions, including the past three seasons.
– This week’s edition of WWE Total Divas, which featured Paige’s engagement, drew just 804,000 viewers, down quite a bit from the 1.143 million viewers who tuned into last week’s episode.
– The following matches were taped on Tuesday night in Little Rock, Arkansas for tonight’s edition of WWE SmackDown:
* Paige and Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks and Naomi
* Kofi Kingston vs. D-Von Dudley
* Big Show vs. Cesaro
* Dolph Ziggler vs. Kevin Owens
* Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins and Sheamus
– Longtime WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia and her band are going to the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California this week to sing for Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month, as well as the Connor’s Cure charity. The group will be performing 2-4pm on Friday. Lilian Garcia tweeted the following to promote the appearance:
– As reported this afternoon, Rosa Mendes announced in an interview with WWE.com that she is pregnant and expecting a girl in February. On Instagram, the WWE Diva revealed the father as her boyfriend, Bobby Schubenski.
The first significant footage from WWE 2K16 was released this week and Garcia was shown as the ring announcer. She appeared in last year’s game, but only for the “Rivalries” mode focusing on famous WWE rivalries.
– WWE.com has published a photo gallery of WWE Superstars and Divas competing in Brisbane, Australia tour today.
“After the news yesterday I needed someone to cheer me up. Thanks Mike much love,” Hogan wrote.
– Lilian Garcia, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor, appeared at a rally in Newport Beach, California on Wednesday to encourage registration for Komen’s annual Orange Race for the Cure, scheduled for Sept. 27. The Orange County Register has published photos and a story from the event.
– NXT Diva Dana Brooke could be making her first wrestling appearance inside a WWE ring tonight as she has tweeted photos of herself with fans in Hidalgo, Texas, where WWE is holding a holding live event at 7:30 p.m.
– Paige made her WWE TV return last night on RAW after being out of action for several weeks filming a WWE Studios movie with The Miz. She attacked Nikki Bella after her match with Naomi.
– Dean Ambrose’s win over Luke Harper in the Chicago Street Fight at Extreme Rules was Ambrose’s first PPV win since The Shield broke up last year. This was Ambrose’s first singles victory on PPV since defending the United States Title against Dolph Ziggler at Night of Champions 2013.
– Last night’s ring announcing duties at Extreme Rules were handled by Eden and JoJo, since Lilian Garcia is still out recovering form surgery. This was JoJo’s pay-per-view debut. Lilian spent the night live-tweeting the show from home.
– The Rock was in attendance for last night’s Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers NBA playoff game from Boston’s TD Garden. Here he is with a Bronze Star Marine who the Celtics honored as their “Hero Among Us” for the night:
Lilian Garcia, who underwent surgery on April 10 to repair a torn meniscus in her right knee, estimates that it’ll be five weeks before she’s able to resume her ring announcing duties for WWE.
The longtime ring announcer of Monday Night Raw sustained the injury last November while on tour with WWE overseas.
“It was one of those crazy things where I was just packing, I got up and I felt the knee [go],” Garcia told WWE.com in an article published on Friday. “I felt it right away, I told [WWE officials] about it and [they] said, ‘Let’s keep an eye on it.’”
Rather than risk further injury, Garcia skipped WWE’s current tour of Europe and underwent surgery at the advice of WWE physician Dr. Chris Amann.
“Surgery went great,” Garcia said. “I am actually kind of ahead of schedule, which is great.”
Garcia has been keeping fans up to date on her recovery through Twitter, which includes two to three sessions per week with a physical therapist, as well as additional exercises at home. She released her latest update on Thursday.
– WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is the latest to endorse WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil in the “EverythingForDads.com Awards.” McMahon tweeted the following this week:
– After teasing that there would be “surprises” at Monday’s taped edition of WWE RAW at the O2 Arena in London, England, WWE agent Michael Hayes took to Twitter to defend the criticism he received from fans who called him out for the lack of the surprises he promised. Hayes tweeted the following shortly after the show.
Wow, I never said HUGE surprises, Rock and/or SCSA will b there. I said surprises, and to me there were some surprises, to each his own
– WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia continues to rehab her surgically repaired knee. The longtime WWE employee tweeted the following photos on Thursday.
– With Monday’s edition of WWE RAW being a taped show from the O2 Arena in London, England, WWE did a lot of edits in post-production before the show went on the air. One of the more blatant edits was when a graphic was shown on the big screen for the Cesaro vs. Randy Orton match. In the building, Cesaro’s picture for a huge reaction but on the televised version of the show, Orton was the one who got the big pop while Cesaro barely got any reaction.
– Mark and Chris Bell are the guests on the latest edition of WWE Hall Of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s podcast. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– Lilian Garcia noted on social media that she is rehabbing hard to return from the knee operation she recently underwent. The longtime WWE ring announcer tweeted the following photo of her knee getting worked on in rehab.
WWE put on a six-man tag-team match as the non-televised post-show dark match after taping RAW at the O2 Arena in London, England on Monday afternoon.
The match saw WWE Intercontinental Champion Daniel Bryan team up with Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler to take on the trio of Big Show, Sheamus and Luke Harper. The fans at the O2 Arena were said to be as loud and enthusiastic for this match as much as any other on the card.
The finish of the match saw the babyface team pick up the win after Bryan forced Harper to tap out to the “Yes! Lock.”
In a related note, with Lilian Garcia on the sidelines recovering from surgery, NXT Diva Eden handled the ring announcing for RAW this week. Garcia noted on Twitter that she will be live-tweeting with fans when the show airs in its’ regular time slot tonight.
For complete RAW spoilers for tonight, click here.
– With Lilian Garcia on the sidelines with a torn meniscus, NXT Diva Jo Jo is handling some of the ring announcing on part of the current main roster WWE live events. Eden is doing the ring announcing for the other half of the tour.
– On the latest edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, “The Walking Dead” star Josh McDermitt is the guest. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.
– Goldust debuted new face paint at the WWE live event in Sheffield, England on Friday night. Goldust lost to Stardust in singles action on the show. Below is his new face paint design.
– WWE.com has issued a poll asking fans which NXT Diva should move to the main roster following AJ Lee’s retirement. The options are Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Bayley, Alex Bliss, Becky Lynch and Carmella. Charlotte is currently leading the poll with 41% of the vote.
Raw ring announcer Lilian Garcia announced on Twitter through a video that she tore the meniscus in her right knee and will be undergoing surgery today.
– Daniel Bryan reveals in an interview with Fighting Spirit Magazine that WWE’s creative department would prefer that fans forgot about his marriage to Brie Bella.
When asked whether WWE has plans for them to team up inside the ring, he said, “I would love that, but WWE has gotten away from doing the mixed tag team matches. Doing something with Brie would be a lot of fun, and I think the fans would really enjoy it, but our characters right now are at different places. I’ve heard that creative wants people to forget that we’re actually married.”
With Bryan’s marriage to Brie often showcased on Total Divas, he believes his recurring appearances on the E! reality program have helped his career.
“I know for a fact that Total Divas has helped me in a way that I get recognized more by people who would never recognize me before. Now, like, people will recognize me when I’m out to dinner or something. They’ll be like, “Hey, you’re Bryan!” And that’s how I know they recognize from Total Divas. People who watch Total Divas don’t necessarily watch WWE, but now they’re starting to. People get to see me for who I am. Some fans don’t like that, and will actually boo for how I appear on Total Divas!”
– Lilian Garcia appeared at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California last week for a Susan G. Komen event where she talked about the importance of breast cancer awareness in this video interview.
Meanwhile, Lilian Garcia has been promoting the release of her new single, “Stung,” which is available for free. Visit liliangarcia.fanbridge.com to sign up for Lilian’s e-mail list and as a thank you, she will send a link to download “Stung” for free. The e-mail list keeps you up to date on Lilian’s latest events, exclusive offers, giveaways and meet-and-greet opportunities.
– WWE.com issued this poll asking fans who they’d prefer as their “BFF”: AJ Lee or Paige. AJ is currently leading the poll by a small margin.
WWE Diva, Raw ring announcer and songstress Lilian Garcia has released a new single, “Stung,” which is available for free. If you sign up for her e-mail list, which will feature info on her latest events, exclusive offers, giveaways, meet and greet opportunities, you will receive an e-mail with a download link to the song.
Garcia tweeted the following about the song today.
As of late, Garcia has been writing and recording new music with Chris Garcia, who’s worked with number of top recording artists.
“He’s not related, but he’s awesome. He’s worked with Demi Lovato, Kesha, Chrissie Hynde, Nicole Scherzinger, even Celine Dion,” Garcia stated in an interview with WWE.com. “The guy’s got a rap sheet, and he’s phenomenal to work with. It’s a process, it really is.”
– Roman Reigns and AJ Lee are scheduled for an autograph signing on Friday, Mar. 27 at Barnes & Noble in San Jose, California (located at 3600 Stevens Creek Blvd) from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
According to BarnesandNoble.com, 400 wristbands will be available on a first come, first serve basis, starting on Thursday, Mar. 26 at 9:00 a.m. Fans are required to purchase the “WWE Ultimate Superstar Guide” to get a wristband. Reigns and Lee will sign one additional item per person, and photos are allowed.
– After WWE RAW went off the air, trainers checked on Seth Rollins after Randy Orton put him through the announcers table. They put a neck brace on Rollins and loaded him on to a stretcher as Orton walked to the back. Rollins was then stretchered out of the arena.
Backstage, John Cena spoke to Byron Saxton. Cena said Stephanie McMahon made a valid point that performing at WrestleMania is a privilege. He said it will be satisfying to hand Rusev his first defeat at WrestleMania and bring the United States championship back to the United States.
– Last night on RAW, Lilian Garcia botched the announcement of Big Show’s entrance, stating that he’s 4 feet tall. A fan asked about it on Twitter and she joked:
Yep…just adding 2 my blooper reel…LOL ?? RT @HikingJosie: Did @LilianGarcia just say the Big Show was 4 feet tall? #RAW
