Raw & SmackDown Ring Announcers Quietly Switch Brands During WWE Draft
Samantha Irvin heads to Raw and Mike Rome is on his way to SmackDown
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May 2, 2023
It was not announced on any of WWE's televised programming but it has been quietly revealed on WWE.com that the Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown ring announcers have swapped brands.
Samantha Irvin will now be the ring announcer on Raw, while Mike Rome will be the ring announcer on SmackDown. The switch will take effect, along with all draft selections, following the Backlash pay-per-view on Saturday, May 6.
Why WWE decided to swap the ring announcers is unknown but it is likely related to Ricochet and Braun Strowman being drafted to Monday Night Raw. WWE have tended to keep real-life couples together in recent years and Irvin is engaged to Ricochet.
Irvin has been a part of WWE since 2021 and she became the ring announcer for SmackDown in January 2022. She has proven popular with fans due to her introductions for Roman Reigns and Imperium.
Mike Rome has been with WWE since 2016. He has been the ring announcer on Monday Night Raw since 2018.
Check out the updated Raw and SmackDown rosters here.
