WWE Ring Announcers Switch Brands in 2023 Draft

Monday Night Raw and SmackDown will soon have very different rosters, and those new rosters will be introduced by different ring announcers.

Last week's SmackDown and this week's episode of Raw played host to Night One and Night Two of the WWE Draft, which resulted in both brands undergoing significant changes. This year's draft was cemented by the various champions who have switched brands, with the Raw and SmackDown Women's Champions being drafted to the opposing brand. WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER has been drafted to Raw, while U.S. Champion Austin Theory will be appearing on SmackDown going forward.

Not only have the Superstars been changing brands, but the announcers for Raw and SmackDown have also been moved. WWE quietly announced in the results section on their official website that Samantha Irvin has been moved to Raw, while Mike Rome has been moved to SmackDown. In Irvin's case, she will be able to continue to travel with her fiance Ricochet, who was moved to Raw during Night Two of the draft, alongside his tag-team partner Braun Strowman.

Rome joined WWE in 2016 after previously being a touring emcee for Nickelodeon and would debut on the main roster as a backstage interviewer on Raw in January 2017. The announcer also has the distinction of being a former WWE 24/7 Champion, capturing the title from Samir Singh at a December 2019 WWE live event. His reign was ended seconds later by Sunil Singh.

Samantha Irvin joined WWE in April 2020 and has quickly become one of WWE's most popular announcers for her enthusiasm for the entrances. Last month, Irvin provided the ring announcements for the WrestleMania 39: Night Two main event between Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes. Her efforts at WrestleMania would earn her the admiration of legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer.