Lillian Garcia Reveals The Rock’s Role in Her National Anthem Debut at WWE Shows

Lillian Garcia appeared on the latest episode of Insight With Chris Van Vliet, where she reflected on several key moments from her career, her return to WWE, and her experiences in the ring.

On returning to WWE, Lillian shared how her initial visit was a surprise. “I find out that Raw is going to be in Greenville, and that was in May, months before. I find out they’re going to be in Greenville so I’m like, oh that’s only an hour and a half [away]. I hadn’t seen them in forever. Let me go down there. Just let me go say hi to everybody. So I reach out to him [Triple H] and I’m like, ‘Hey, can I come by? I’m like an hour and a half away.’ He is like, ‘Of course, we haven’t seen you forever. Come on back.’”

She went on to explain how a casual visit turned into an unexpected opportunity. “So I said hi to everybody, and then he was like, ‘Hey, do you want to be on the show tonight? I’d love for you to co-announce with Samantha.’ I’m like, Oh, that would be so much fun. Sam was so excited. She was telling me she’d been watching me and I had inspired her because I sang, and so she felt like she wanted to sing on the show and all.”

Lillian reflected on the emotional connection that developed during the co-announcement with Samantha. “So when we co-announce, when I stopped in the middle of the ring and started complimenting her, that wasn’t part of it. I just really felt like that came out of me, really complimenting her. It just became such a moment that it just went everywhere, viral, my gosh, it was like the passing of the torch and all that. It was just so exciting.”

Following her return, she recalled a visit to Bad Blood in Atlanta. "I came back in October, so we didn’t know anything. I go to Bad Blood, I’m in the audience, I’m sitting next to Booker T. Then I get the call two weeks later, ‘Hey, can you come back?’ The thing is I knew when they offered it to me to come back, they did tell me, ‘Hey, this isn’t permanent announcing for Raw or SmackDown. We just really need you right now but this is a new era, we want to be completely upfront with you.’”

Lillian emphasized her gratitude for the opportunity. “I love this business. I love the people I work with. I’m excited. So when they brought me back, I knew that Raw was going to be until the changeover in January 6 for Netflix, that I knew. And they were like, Okay, now we’re gonna put you on SmackDown but we don’t know how long.”

Despite not being a permanent fixture on SmackDown, Lillian continued to receive support from WWE. “Every week that went by they were like, ‘I’m so sorry we need you another week, is that okay?’ And I’m like, ‘Of course it is. It’s fine. Do whatever you want. I am loving this, totally loving this.’ But what was so beautiful that has evolved from it is that even though I’m not gonna be the full-time SmackDown announcer anymore, they said, ‘You know what, we love having you part of this, we want to extend, we want you to do Saturday Night’s Main Event. We think you’re a perfect fit for that.’ I love it. I get to wear gowns for that.”

When asked about her infamous 3 Minute Warning attack, Lillian recounted the details of the brutal moment. “So okay, I get the job as the announcer, replacing the legend Howard Finkel. I don’t remember how long after that, but he kind of in the storyline had been wanting his job back and he screwed me in something. I remember popping up with Trish. I even had a match with him.”

The attack escalated when the 3 Minute Warning, made up of Jamal and Rosie, entered the ring. “They threw me into Jamal, which obviously we know later on was Umaga, but at the time he was Jamal, and they do the Samoan drop. He does the Samoan drop on me.”

Lillian recounted how she prepared for the dangerous spot. “We rehearsed in the afternoon and there was a mat. They brought this big mat and they’re like, Okay, what we need you to do is to be able to take this. We need you to wrap your arms here and wrap your arms there, they’re teaching me, and I’ve been athletic my whole life so I was like this is the best thing ever. This is so exciting.”

However, the impact in the ring was far more painful than she had anticipated. “When I hit the mat in the ring, the fall is way worse, and I don’t let my air out because I don’t think about it. Sure enough, I knocked the wind out of my lungs and I could hardly breathe. But I knew I had to stay still because I knew that I was about to take the frog splash. I knew I had to stay still and they say that even looked worse but I didn’t even feel that one at all.”

Despite the pain, she gained a deep respect for the wrestlers' physical toll. “I’m actually glad and excited that I was in the era that I took that, it was a lot of fun... I had so much respect from that moment right then. I had already respected the wrestlers, but I had so much more respect because I’m like, the fact that you guys do this 300-plus dates a year to your bodies is incredible.”

Lillian also recalled how The Rock played a crucial role in her opportunity to sing the national anthem at WWE events. “He’s the reason I got to sing the national anthem on the show. Because when we worked together so much backstage and doing all these segments, I remember they were setting up cameras or lighting. So we talk and he’s like so tell me a little bit about yourself, and he wanted to get to know me.”

The Rock encouraged Lillian to take the chance to sing the anthem at live events. “So I talked to the producers. They’re like, ‘Well come in that day in the afternoon, let’s rehearse it and see.’ So I did it, and they’re like, oh my gosh, we’d love for you to do it tonight. So I did it Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and then by Monday, all the producers told Vince McMahon, they’re like, ‘You got to see her do this. She knocked it out of the park. The crowd went crazy.’”

Vince McMahon was quick to give his approval, and Lillian went on to hold the record for the most national anthem performances at WrestleMania. “He’s like, I want you to do it at every event. I hold the record for the most times at WrestleMania, which is awesome.”