When Ricochet left WWE and signed with AEW earlier this year, there was a great deal of speculation among fans about whether his fianceé, RAW ring announcer Samantha Irvin, might also eventually leave the company.
Unfortunately, that's now been confirmed in a lengthy post from Irvin before RAW airs on the USA Network later this evening.
"WWE Universe, my time has come to an end as your Monday Night Raw Ring Announcer," Irvin said on her social media platforms earlier today. "I love you all tremendously and this does not mark the end of my art, I have a lifetime more to share. Thank you to every WWE fan who accepted me."
She later thanked WWE's Superstars past and present by saying, "There is no form of entertainment like this and not just any entertainer can be a WWE Superstar. The respect I have for you is more than I can express. Thank you for making it so easy to pour emotion and excitement into your introductions. You are the stars that the stars idolize. It doesn't get any bigger and I'm proud to have used my voice to let the world know it."
After personally expressing gratitude to specific backstage personalities like Michael Cole, Paul Heyman, and Triple H, Irvin concluded with, "To my fans, my entire career l've been waiting for you! We are meant to be and I can prove it. Stay tuned."
We have to believe she'll likely follow Ricochet to AEW after Tony Khan throws as much of his father's money at her as possible. If that also means she gets to go back on the road with her fiancé, then we're sure it will be a worthwhile change.
After being introduced to WWE by Mark Henry, Irvin tried out at the WWE Performance Center to be a wrestler before joining the company as a ring announcer for 205 Live. After working on NXT, she was promoted to SmackDown before making the leap to RAW last February.
Her work at this year's WrestleMania received widespread acclaim and the expectation was that she'd go down as one of WWE's all-time great ring announcers. While that may still happen, her time in the company looks to be shorter than any of us anticipated.
Ultimately, this is a huge loss to WWE and an even greater one for fans.
We wish Irvin all the best with whatever comes next for her and thank the former WWE ring announcer for creating so many special moments...including this one: