Lilian Garcia explains why she left WWE in 2016

Former WWE ring announcer was interviewed on Chris Van Vliet’s show/podcast this week. She talked about The Rock and The “People’s Strudel,” advice from Vince McMahon, her podcast getting a slot on the WWE Network and more.

Here are some highlights:

Lilian Garcia explained what happened on what was supposed to be her WWE debut: “My very first orientation, they hired me, I’m in the Dominican Republic. They wanted me to start at SummerSlam which would have been the 22nd of August. I was in the Dominican Republic. I told them I can’t come. We (Lilian and WWE) were doing contracts while I was in the Dominican Republic. I was running to the front desk getting the fax and sending it to my attorney.  They would not let me get on that plane until all the contracts were signed. I was trying to handle all of this with Montezuma’s revenge (diarrhea) I lost so much weight and it took five weeks because I had a parasite that went in. I had chills. I was in bed. I could scuba dive in the morning and while in the water, I was ok. When I got done, I ran to the room and then I was in bed with chills. I came home on Sunday.  They gave me a shot to get on the plane to be able to make it home. It was a special shot they have there because a lot of people come down with this. I got on the plane. I was so sick. Then I got home to New York. I got on a plane the next morning to go to Iowa State University.  I got the tour there and then I was told at 3:30 PM that afternoon that I was replacing Howard Finkel that night with Montezuma’s revenge.”

Garcia on coming back to WWE in 2011: “They had SummerSlam in 2011. They invited me to the Summerslam party which was on the roof of one of the hotels. It was beautiful. I got to see everybody. Kevin Dunn was there and he said, ‘Are you ready to come back yet?’ I got married in 2009. I found out in 2010 that we couldn’t have kids so that plan went out the door. I said you guys are like my family and I really miss you. At that point, I said no, not yet. He left the door open. In November of that year, I was really getting sad not to be part of that. I felt I still had more to offer. I reached out to him and asked if he was serious about this.  He said, ‘Your timing couldn’t be more perfect. We have Tribute to the Troops coming up and we want you to sing.’ I signed the contracts and I was back. It happened quickly.”

Garcia on leaving in 2016: “That was so hard. I was not intending to leave the company. At this point, I had put 15 years in but I still was ok with staying. I loved it. Then he (her dad) got really sick and we were told he had two weeks to three months to live and the decision was made. It was ok because I took care of him and during that time, he said, ‘Lil, I don’t want you to just sit here and watch me die. What can you be doing next? I feel bad you are not there anymore.’  I said I have had this idea since 2004 for a show that I thought would be cool to talk to the Superstars. It started with the females. I was so enamored with their stories they were sharing as we were in the locker room getting close with one another. I pitched it to WWE in 2004 but the timing wasn’t there. Podcasts were not a thing yet. But I thought I am going to do this and I started a podcast in November 2016 and now it will be available on the WWE Network.”

Check out the full interview below.

If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription