Lilian Garcia is celebrating a milestone anniversary in her skilled profession.
August 23, 2024 will mark 25 years since Garcia made her debut in WWE. The long-time ring announcer lately spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Invoice Pritchard about what she’s been as much as since leaving WWE, her anniversary countdown, and a few of her favourite recollections alongside the best way.
Garcia went by way of a interval of loss in 2021, as her mom handed away and he or she received a divorce. She wanted to course of that grief and put a number of issues on maintain, together with her well-liked Chasing Glory podcast. Garcia discovered faith and a brand new profession path by way of motivational talking, and loves with the ability to proceed to journey and encourage those that want some course.
“I began singing on the worship crew, which was nice, and it crammed me. And I received rebaptized final 12 months, in 2023. Then, that led me to going to my mother and father home in South Carolina, leaving California,” she defined. “I went there and dealt with their home for eight months. My sister would come once in a while from Nashville. Sot that emptied out, put it up available on the market, after which that led me to Georgia, which is the place I’m at now.
“I’ve been right here working with [Next Level Speakers Academy], and I’m doing extra talking, which is nice,” she continued. “I received a style of it at WWE. We’d go to colleges and we’d go to charity occasions or prisons. I received to talk to numerous these individuals and simply pour the data and inspiration that I knew that’s simply so in me. I really like inspiring individuals. And so now I’m engaged on doing that full-time between that and singing. So I’ve additionally recorded new music, so that may come out quickly. I’m excited.”
Lilian Garcia on how WWE helped along with her new profession path
Garcia stated all the tales she has from WWE actually helped her in public talking as a result of she will be able to flip them into teachable moments. She cited one from a Tribute To The Troops journey about how overthinking a second can have an effect on you, explaining she loves instructing individuals about constructing the arrogance to deal with these conditions.
“Proper earlier than we do the present, we’re there for like 5 days. So we’re going from base to base to base as we’re separated, we’re stepping into Black Hawk helicopters,” Garcia defined. “My group received out of the helicopter after which hastily, we hear the sirens. Then we hear a soldier yell out like, ‘Helmets on, run to the shelter!’ And we’re like, ‘Wait, what?’ The soldier pulled me into the shelter and a bomb got here in, and fortunately it was a small bomb, however nonetheless, we have been rattled. I used to be positively rattled. And so I discuss overthinking, in your life how one can be overthinking. And in that second, I used to be positively overthinking. Like, ‘Wait, ought to I be right here? Did I join the correct factor?’ I actually was in my head.
Area-level confidence
“Then they took us to the autograph signing, which I couldn’t even imagine that we nonetheless did an autograph signing after that. Proper at the start of the autograph signing, one of many troopers, he arms me a chunk of the bomb prefer it was a present. I’m this and I’m like, ‘Whoa,’ then I received perspective,” she famous. “It ended up being a present as a result of I remembered how the troopers dealt with that scenario. They didn’t overthink, they only stepped into motion. They stepped into the mission.
“And that’s what I really like instructing individuals from these tales about how cease overthinking, proper? Step into the mission. Bombs go off in our lives on a regular basis. They’re not the bodily bomb,” she continued, “however in our funds and our well being and our household woes and our marriages. How will we deal with it? Can we overthink this stuff, or will we step into the mission of what’s it that we will do subsequent? Issues like that’s what I really like. WWE gave me the platform to have that confidence to develop into it. And that’s what I really like to show individuals is arena-level confidence.”
Lilian Garcia on her WWE RAW cameo
Lilian Garcia stepped away from her full-time position in WWE in 2016. She has made sporadic appearances since then, together with a one-night on Might 13, 2024, the place she co-announced a match with Samantha Irvin.
Garcia defined the way it got here collectively, and the way she noticed it as a ‘passing the torch’ second.
“I hadn’t been again shortly, I believe it was 5 years [since her last appearance at RAW Reunion in 2019]. So I used to be in South Carolina at my mother and father’ home dealing with all of that. Then I heard that they have been in Greenville, so I simply wished to come back by and say hello as a result of I missed all people,” Garcia defined. “I simply wished to the touch base with everybody once more. So I reached out to them saying, ‘Hey, can I come by and say hi there?’ They’re like, ‘Oh my God, are you able to come by? Completely.’
Lilian Garcia on Samantha Irvin
Garcia stated it was really Triple H who pitched her look with Irvin, calling it a spontaneous and transferring second.
“I don’t know what came visiting me after I was within the ring, then I put her over within the ring. That wasn’t deliberate, however I really like simply talking from the center,” Garcia added. “I genuinely thought she was doing a terrific job, so I wished to say it in entrance of everybody. Then individuals have been like, ‘Oh my gosh, it was like passing of the torch.’ I used to be like, wow. I by no means even checked out it that approach, however I assume after I look again, I’m like, oh yeah, it did appear to be that.
“What a cool place for me to be in to consider that, me passing the torch to somebody. Generally I’ve to pinch myself,” she continued. “I’ve to pinch myself for the profession that I used to be capable of have there. And numerous it was A, the corporate proper, conserving me there. After which B, the followers conserving me there and embracing me that the best way they did, and simply seeing that I genuinely beloved being there. I used to be a fan first. I used to look at it with my dad, so coming to work was so thrilling and it was at all times completely different. That’s what I really like, I really like spontaneity.”
Watch our full interview with Lilian Garcia beneath:
