Backstage News On Ring Announcer Change At WWE Royal Rumble

One WWE personality ended up working a lot longer than anticipated at the Royal Rumble. 

WWE presented the latest edition of the Royal Rumble from Florida's Tropicana Field on January 27, with Cody Rhodes and Bayley ultimately winning their respective Rumble matches to earn a title shot at WrestleMania 40. 

Samantha Irvin was the ring announcer for all four matches at the Royal Rumble in a change from what typically happens at WWE pay-per-views where the Raw and SmackDown ring announcers often split duties for the night. 

Ricochet revealed to Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture that Irvin was only supposed to work one match but ended up doing the entire show. 

"It was actually a surprise. She was only supposed to do one match. Things happen in WWE and things change, unforeseen circumstances. She actually ended up doing the whole show," Ricochet said. 

Fightful Select reported that Mike Rome, the announcer on Smackdown, missed the Royal Rumble due to losing his voice.

Samantha Irvin has been a part of WWE since April 2021, initially working on NXT. She moved to the main roster in January 2022, first as the ring announcer for Friday Night SmackDown before she was traded to Monday Night Raw in the 2023 WWE Draft.