Jackie Redmond Reflects on Samantha Irvin’s Departure from WWE and Her Heartfelt Support

During an appearance on the Gabby AF podcast with Gabby LaSpisa, WWE personality Jackie Redmond shared her thoughts on ring announcer Samantha Irvin's decision to leave the company.

Redmond spoke highly of Irvin, emphasizing that her departure was driven by a pursuit of her true passion. "The thing about Sam that I think people need to realize, because I know since she left, there’s been a lot of fodder online — Sam right now is following her heart. I don’t understand how anyone could ever hate on someone for that, she’s following what she genuinely is passionate about and that’s singing and that’s music."

Redmond went on to highlight Irvin's impressive talent, explaining how her skills as an announcer were built on a deep understanding of her voice and how to convey emotion. "The reason she was able to be so legendary as an announcer is because she understands how to emote with her voice and she understands how to make her voice powerful, she knows all the ways to use it and to use it with conviction and convey certain things, even though all you’re doing is saying a name, which is crazy to think about. Her talent, she’s undeniable, she’s absolutely undeniable. As a person, she’s amazing."

Redmond also reflected on her own experience joining Raw, recalling how intimidating it felt at first. She described how, despite her initial shyness, Irvin immediately made her feel welcome. "I can be very intimidated and when I joined Raw backstage, I was really quiet, I was really shy and awkward and I’m sure people will tell you that I would confirm that. Everyone was great, everyone was playing, no one was mean to me. People are in their own world, they’re doing their own thing, they’re getting ready for their match, they’re figuring out their own stuff and you can feel a little bit alone at first when you don’t have anyone and you don’t have any relationships built."

She further recalled how Irvin, along with Ricochet, showed her kindness by offering to help her feel more comfortable. "Sam is someone that on day one that came up to me and made an effort to make sure that I was comfortable and if I needed anything. Her and Ricochet would drive me back to the hotel after the show, just little things that go a long way and you know I think that just speaks to her heart, I think she knew that I didn’t know anybody and I didn’t know how to sort of like break that life with a lot of people outside of doing the actual work. I think she saw that I was having a bit of a hard time with it and she and her soon to be husband were really great to me. That’s why I have so much love for Sam outside of the talent and everything else."