Samantha Johnson (born January 9, 1989) is an American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

ring announcer A ring announcer is an in-ring (and sometimes on-camera) employee or contractor for a boxing, professional wrestling or mixed martial arts event or promotion, who introduces the competitors to the audience. In boxing and mixed martial arts bouts, ...

and musician. As of February 2023, she is the ring announcer for the

Raw brand Raw is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestle ...

of the

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Samantha Irvin.

Early life

Johnson was born in Dennis, Massachusetts in 1989, the eldest of six siblings. At the age of four, she began studying

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

, going on to compete in classical flute at a national level. At the age of 12, her family moved to the North End neighborhood of

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...

, where she attended

Normandin Middle School New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...

. As a child, she was a fan of professional wrestling, and attended WrestleMania XIV in Boston, Massachusetts in 1998. She went on to attend

New Bedford High School New Bedford High School (NBHS) is a public high school located at 230 Hathaway Boulevard in the West End of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The school has approximately 2,000 students, and is one of the largest schools in the state. New Bedford is al ...

, where she starred as Dorothy Gale in a performance of '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and won a gold medal at the

International Association of Jazz Educators International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE), formerly a not-for-profit corporation based in Manhattan, Kansas, was a volunteer-run organization that, among other things, allocated student scholarships through its approved festivals program. ...

State

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

Finals as part of the New Bedford High School Jazz Choir. As a teenager in the mid-2000s, she twice auditioned for ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

''. After graduating in 2007, Johnson worked as the Drama Club director for Normandin Middle School and as a waitress. At the age of 20 she auditioned for ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...

''.

Musical career

From 2011 to 2015, Johnson performed as the lead female vocalist on the

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

tribute show ''

Thriller – Live ''Thriller Live'' is a two-and-a-half-hour concert revue celebrating the music of The Jackson 5 and the solo work and life of Michael Jackson. It had already been performed in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavia before ope ...

''. In 2015, she appeared on

season 10 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

of ''

'', auditioning with "

(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" is a 1967 single released by American soul singer Aretha Franklin on the Atlantic label. The words were written by Gerry Goffin from an idea by Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler, and the music was compo ...

" by

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

; she was eliminated in the semi-finals. Later that year, she starred in a show titled "Home" in the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center in New Bedford in which she sang, whistled, danced, told stories, and played the flute; her five siblings all appeared in the show. In 2016, she released an EP, ''27Underground'', including the debut single "Jump High"; her siblings provided backing vocals. In the same year, she portrayed

Betty Rizzo ''Grease'' is a musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Named after the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as greasers, the musical is set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School (based on T ...

in a production of '' Grease'' staged in the New Bedford Festival Theatre. In 2020, Johnson appeared on ''

I Can See Your Voice ''I Can See Your Voice'' (abbreviated ''ICSYV'' and stylized as ''I Can See Your Voice — Mystery music game show'') () is an international television mystery music game show franchise that originated in South Korea. History In 2012, prod ...

'' on

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

, playing the flute and singing "

Good as Hell "Good as Hell" is a song recorded by the American singer and rapper Lizzo. Written by Lizzo and producer Ricky Reed, it was released on March 8, 2016, by Atlantic Records and Nice Life Recording Company as the lead single from her first extended ...

" by Lizzo. After relocating to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, she appeared in productions including ''Vegas! The Show'' (portraying Gladys Knight and

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

Professional wrestling career

Johnson was introduced to the professional wrestling promotion

by WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry. She originally auditioned at the

WWE Performance Center The WWE Performance Center is the official professional wrestling school system of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE. The promotion currently operates two Performance Center locations, which serve as training facilities for WWE wre ...

to be a wrestler, but was unsuccessful. In April 2021, she was hired by WWE as the ring announcer for '' WWE 205 Live'' on

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

. She adopted the ring name "Samantha Irvin". Irvin went on to serve as a ring announcer for '' WWE NXT''. In January 2022, she was promoted to being the ring announcer for '' WWE SmackDown'' on FOX. In February 2023, she moved to being the ring announcer for ''

WWE Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television show, television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, ET on the USA Networ ...

'' on the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

. At

WrestleMania XL WrestleMania XL is the upcoming 40th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It will be held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event is scheduled ...

in April 2024, Irvin introduced 14 matches; her performance garnered praise from veteran announcer Michael Buffer.

Filmography

Discography

* ''27Underground'' (2016)

Personal life

Johnson became engaged to professional wrestler

Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...

in 2023. She has a daughter from a previous relationship.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Irvin, Samantha 1989 births 21st-century American women American flautists American musical theatre actresses American singers American television actresses America's Got Talent contestants Female professional wrestling announcers I Can See Your Voice (American game show) Living people People from Dennis, Massachusetts Singers from Massachusetts Whistlers