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With the new year comes a new lineup for the WWE broadcast team, including the voices behind Superstar entrances.
According to PWInsider, current WWE SmackDown ring announcer Alicia Taylor will be handling her duties at the Netflix premiere of WWE Raw scheduled for January 6th. Looking ahead, Taylor is expected to remain on WWE’s red brand for the foreseeable future, with veteran ring announcer Lilian Garcia taking over ring announcing duties for ‘SmackDown’ starting tomorrow’s episode from Footprint Center It is reported that this is planned. Phoenix, Arizona.
Garcia returned to WWE television in October 2024, specifically following the departure of Samatha Irvin. Previous reports indicated that Garcia would remain in the ring for an “extended” period and be in an announcing position, but it was unclear whether she would be Irvin’s permanent replacement in the long term. Garcia served as WWE’s full-time ring announcer from 1999 to 2009 and from 2011 to 2016. He continued to appear occasionally, and last May he made a one-night stand with Irvin.
Elsewhere, Taylor, a former ‘WWE NXT’ voice actor, was officially called up to WWE’s main roster as part of the ‘SmackDown’ brand in May 2024. In doing so, Mike Roma transferred to ‘NXT’ to handle the same duties.
The January 3rd episode of “SmackDown” will be the first WWE event of 2025, with two matches confirmed so far. First, Nia Jax will defend the WWE Women’s Championship against Naomi. Meanwhile, U.S. champion Shinsuke Nakamura will face Andrade in a non-title match.
