2024-10-22 08:35:03
New Bedford’s Samantha Irvin, the voice of “WWE Raw” on USA Network, announced Monday afternoon on the social media network X that she will no longer be the pro wrestling show’s ring announcer.
“I love you all tremendously and this does not mark the end of my art, I have a lifetime more to share,” Irvin wrote.
Irvin did not say why she was leaving the program.
However, she offered thanks to people across the WWE, including the company’s female roster, Raw’s behind-the-scenes crew, Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and the stable of WWE wrestlers.
“There is no form of entertainment like this and not just any entertainer can be a WWE Superstar,” she wrote. “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.”
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How Samantha Irvin got her start in pro wrestling at WWE
Irvin, whose real name is Samantha Johnson, was born in Dennis but grew up in New Bedford. She began her rise to fame with her exceptional vocal chords, performing locally and making it as a semi-finalist on Season 10 of the TV show “America’s Got Talent.”
Irvin also appeared on an episode of FOX’s “I Can See Your Voice,” where she showed off her impressive flute skills. Then she took to Las Vegas by storm performing in Cirque du Soleil, as well as “Vegas! The Show” as legendary singer Tina Turner.
In 2021, she landed her dream job as WWE’s newest ring announcer for “205Live” on Peacock. A pro wrestling enthusiast, Irvin said in a Standard-Times interview, “When I was young I would watch every single episode of WWE content, and record the matches in a notebook, writing my own commentary and descriptions of the action.”
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