Report: WWE ring announcers changing brands
It looks like Alicia Taylor will be WWE Raw’s ring announcer for the show’s new era.
Raw debuts on Netflix with its premiere episode taking place from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California next Monday (January 6). PWInsider reports that Taylor — who had been the SmackDown ring announcer — will be moving to Raw starting with the Netflix premiere. The report says Lilian Garcia will be the SmackDown ring announcer this Friday night and will presumably remain in that role going forward.
Returning home to WWE, Garcia took over the ring announcing duties on Raw in October following Samantha Irvin’s departure from the company. Garcia previously had stints with WWE from 1999-2009 and 2011-2016, along with making occasional appearances after that.
Taylor (real name Alicia Warrington) joined WWE as an NXT ring announcer in 2018 and was called up to SmackDown in May 2024. She is an accomplished drummer/musician in addition to the work she does for WWE.
SmackDown moves to three hours beginning with this Friday’s episode from the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.