Samantha Irvin is officially the new ring announcer for SmackDown on FOX, which means Mike Rome no longer has to pull double duty.
As you might recall, SmackDown's former ring announcer Greg Hamilton was released by WWE last October, so Raw's Mike Rome was brought in to serve as the blue brand's interim ring announcer. Rome can now take Fridays off, as 205 Live's ring announcer Samantha Irvin has been called up to fill the position on a (presumably) long-term basis.
"It’s a dream come true,” Irvin told her SmackDown broadcast colleague Megan Morant during a backstage interview shortly before this week's edition of SmackDown went live. “Literally, it is a dream come true. I’m over the moon, I can’t believe it.”
Irvin continued to express her excitement and gratitude and said that veteran WWE broadcaster Michael Cole has been very supportive.
“Michael Cole has been so supportive,” Irvin said. “Everyone’s been supportive, and they’ve made me feel like this is where I belong, and just to be myself, and to have fun, and do what I’ve always wanted to do, which is to announce here at the WWE for Friday Night SmackDown.”
Irvin was hired by WWE in April of last year and immediately reported for duty at the WWE Performance Center to serve as the ring announcer for 205 Live. Irvin (real name Samantha Johnson) performed as a singer on Season 10 of America's Got Talent. She was eliminated in the Semifinals in the Judges' Choice.
SmackDown has had eight full-time ring announcers since it premiered in 1999. The likes of Howard Finkel, Lillian Garcia, Tony Chimel, and Brandi Rhodes have held the position in the past, so Irvin has some pretty big shoes to fill ... but if her 205 Live work is any indication, she won't have anything to worry about.