WWE is making a considerable change, and ring announcers Lilian Garcia and Alicia Taylor are ready for their brand swap on Raw and SmackDown.
Lilian is a fan of Alicia and loves seeing announcers used in unexpected ways. She felt glad to see women continuing to strengthen their voices in a male-dominated industry.
Highlights
- Lilian Garcia and Alicia Taylor are ready for their brand swap on Raw and SmackDown before the Raw on Netflix premiere on January 6.
- This will be Lilian’s third stint, as she joined in 1999 and again in 2011.
- Alicia is a drummer, and Lilian is a singer, surpassing Franklin for most WrestleMania musical performances.
World Wrestling Federation (WWF) hired Lilian Garcia in 1999. She debuted in the Raw is War episode in Ames, Iowa, on August 23, 1999.
She participated in her first major Diva publication, the Divas 2005 swimsuit magazine release, and the related DVD Viva Las Divas of the WWE.
She was the first female to announce at WrestleMania and performed the national anthem regularly before the show.
On the other hand, Alicia Taylor signed up with WWE in December 2018 and began working as the host of the NXT brand post-show.
On April 25, 2019, she replaced Kayla Braxton as the ring announcer, a position she held until May 7, 2024.
Later, she switched roles with Mike Rome and appeared as the SmackDown ring announcer. In WWE, she has been praised for her engaging presence and professionalism.
Lilian Garcia And Alicia Taylor Set For WWE Brand Swap
The Latest WWE news confirms that Lilian Garcia and Alicia Taylor, announcers for Raw and SmackDown, are reportedly switching brands on Friday.
Wrestling Entertainment planned to radically change the organization’s structure before the Raw on Netflix premiere on January 6.
WWE's ring announcers are reportedly set to switch brands, with Alicia Taylor taking over on WWE Raw beginning on Monday's Netflix premiere.
— WrestleTalk (@WrestleTalk_TV) January 2, 2025
Lilian Garcia is set for SmackDown tomorrow night, where she is presumed to remain going forward.
(PWInsider) pic.twitter.com/W4pDmaHXCv
Lilian will be handling the ring announcing duties for the first three-hour SmackDown at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
She is expected to stay on the same WWE brand, joining Joe Tessitore, Wade Barrett, and Corey Graves.
On the contrary, Alicia Taylor will be a part of Raw as the new ring announcer for WWE’s flagship show. Her retweets of several congratulatory posts confirmed its authenticity.
She will be joining the new commentary team of Michael Cole and Pat McAfee on Raw.
Moreover, Lilian was one of the company’s lead ring announcers from 1999-2009 and again from 2011-2019. It will be her third stint on the WWE.
She left WWE to take care of her father’s illness, who was diagnosed with bladder cancer. Sadly, she announced his father’s tragic demise on Christmas Day in 2016.
Lilian returned as a full-time ring announcer when Samantha Irvin announced she would leave to pursue other interests in late 2024.
She loved that today’s ring announcers still get a chance to be involved in storylines, like her feuds with Jillian Hall and Howard Finkel. Similarly, she was involved in an on-screen romance with Viscera.
To have Alicia [Taylor] on SmackDown, I think she’s doing a great job. It reminded me [that] Brandi [Rhodes] and I got to do that. Brandi was on SmackDown, I was on Raw. We actually got to announce a WrestleMania together. So I love that [WWE] have given women such an opportunity to be the voices of the evening, hosting the show. I think it’s awesome, I really love the team of Alicia and Samantha. I think it’s really cool.
Lilian Garcia
Alicia Taylor Is A Drummer, And Lilian Garcia Is A Singer
Alicia Taylor wanted to be a musician or a professional wrestler.
She grew up with her single mother, who took her to wrestling matches when she was four. While other kids wished for the circus, she wanted to attend wrestling matches.
Happy Birthday to Alicia Taylor! @AliciaTaylorNXT #AliciaTaylor #AliciaWarrington #DrumLife #WWE #NXT #WWEUniverse #ECW #NWA #WCW #IMPACTWrestling #ROH #AEW #MLW #WWENetwork #LuchaLibreAAA #CMLL #NJPW #AJPW #UWA #PWG #CZW #WSUWrestling #Shimmer #ShineWrestling #WOWSuperheroes pic.twitter.com/qrchZvGrhX
— Chupacabra (@Chupacabra_01) August 30, 2019
Alicia loves music and grew up listening to all genres, from En Vogue to Lamb of God. At age 11, she taught herself how to play the drums by watching other drummers.
As a teen in Michigan, she performed in metal and punk bands and began touring at age 15. After attending college for two years, she relocated to Los Angeles.
In 2002, she replaced Kelly Osbourne’s drummer on MTV’s hit reality show The Osbournes. Later, she performed at numerous award shows and television programs with Osbourne and started her band, Dohrn, in 2015.
Ludwig Drums, Paiste Cymbals, Aquarian Drumheads, Vic Firth Sticks, and daBeat endorsed her.
Similarly, Lilian Garcia began singing as a child and participated in contests at five. As a teen, she performed with bands at clubs and appeared as a singer in Modern Love.
She announced and regularly sang the US national anthem before Monday Night Raw shows until her departure on August 1, 2016.
Moreover, she surpassed Franklin for most musical performances at WrestleMania. In October 2002, her first single, “Shout,” debuted at No. 69 on the Billboard Hot 100.
When my single came out years ago, and it was just a single, I remember the very first week it charted No. 69, and I was screaming as I grabbed Billboard, running down the streets of New York, holding it up and screaming, ‘I made Billboard! I made Billboard!’ I’m dreaming for that moment again.
Lilian Garcia
Her other credits include WWE Anthology, WWE Originals, ¡Quiero Vivir!, 2008 Año de Exitos Pop, and My Time.
Additional Information
- 58-year-old Lilian Garcia was born on August 19, 1966, in Panama Canal Zone, United States.
- She moved to Spain with her family when she was three months old and lived there for eight years before returning to the States.
- She graduated from Irmo High School in Columbia, South Carolina, and attended the University of South Carolina, graduating cum laude.
