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Lilian Garcia is, without doubt, one of the most recognisable voices in the world of wrestling and, with 20 years of experience in the wrestling industry, WWE's legendary ring announcer has pretty much seen it all.
I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Lilian Garcia to discuss the heartbreaking reason she started the iconic Chasing Glory podcast, which delves deeper than ever before into the lives of some of the biggest names from around the world of sports entertainment and professional wrestling - and what drives her to keep going.
We also spoke about Lilian's admiration for most recent guest Paige, before discussing her thoughts on the current state of women's wrestling, the possibility of a second Evolution pay-per-view, and whether we'll see Lilian Garcia back in WWE this year.
Check out the full interview via the video below, or read on for the text in its entirety!
Congratulations on all the success you've had with Chasing Glory, which is almost two and a half years old I believe. I know you previously had Making Their Way To The Ring. What made you start the podcast, or maybe I should ask, what drives you to keep going with it?
Boy, yeah, you just said "what drives me to keep going" because it's not easy. I tell people, whenever they want to start a podcast, I say, "If you don't see yourself in this for three years minimum - and just know that it's a struggle, it's a lot of work - then don't even get started."
But I have to say that, when I left WWE, and my dad was really, really sick, and I stepped away from the ring, I was taking care of him and I remember him saying to me, "Lil, I really don't want you sitting here, watching me be so ill," and at the time, he didn't know he was dying - because they told my sister and I but we didn't tell my mother and my father, because we didn't want my dad to have to live with that.
So, he was still fighting for his life, thinking that he could get well and - oh, my God - that time was just so hard for me, but what he was telling me was, "Lil, while I'm sitting here, trying to get better, you just stepped away from WWE, I don't want you to leave your whole life for me. What's your next move? I want you to do something."
I had this idea back in 2004 to do these really in-depth interviews of the Superstars because I've gotten to know such incredible people behind the scenes but no-one really gets to hear their stories and I felt like, "God, if people could just hear the struggles that they've been through and how they've overcome their own journeys, then I feel like it could be so inspiring for others and it would also connect people with the Superstar even more."
So, I took that concept, I was already doing a couple things for Afterbuzz TV, so I went to Kevin Undergaro, he was really open about it and - like you said - it was initially called Making Their Way To The Ring, and that's what we did, and I did some really in-depth interviews on there.
After six months, they had introduced me to PodcastOne, so I went to PodcastOne. PodcastOne was audio only. It's funny, I was doing video before anybody else was doing video in podcasting, then I went to audio, then a year after that, I realised, "I want to be on video again." So, after our 100th episode, we went to video. It's turned into what it is now and I really just have to thank the fans for receiving it the way they have and especially the Superstars for trusting me with such hard and real conversations, and opening up their lives like they have - and that's what's made this show so successful and I'm really glad people have been receiving it the way that they have.
NEXT: Lilian discusses her admiration for Paige
COMING UP: Lilian discusses the evolution of women's wrestling
And having a distinctive voice and incredibly well-known guests definitely helps create those connections with the listeners! Your most recent episode, which I loved, was with Paige. Full disclosure, I know you spoke about the Triple H incident on there. I was the person who asked the question of Triple H, and I also got to ask Paige about it last week. I thought her answer was very classy. You've just sat down with her for an amazing conversation, so I'd love to know your opinion on Paige.
I love Paige! I absolutely love her. I've gotten to know her so well over the years and, to see her evolution as a person, and her growth - as someone who was young, got caught up, made a decision that later on backfired, but owned it! That's one thing about Paige that I've been so inspired by is that anything she's ever chosen to do that hasn't been in her best interest, she 100% owns it and then she turns around and helps other people that might be making mistakes or putting themselves in those situations - helping them think twice or, if they have, knowing that you can overcome anything!
Who, of us, has not all made one dumb mistake after another in our lives, whether we drink too much or we're hanging out with the wrong people? But some of us don't get caught on video, for example, doing it.
So, it was beautiful in the way that she spoke, I loved that she did get to speak on my podcast about everything that happened and the fact that you were saying, Triple H didn't mean anything by it - but to also know the power that words have, and I think it was just a great way to have a conversation, so you could see both sides of things, and I love that we can now be open about what it is to move forward, evolution of women - not only athletic-wise or in careers, but also how we speak about women.
The thing I think you said best on that was that everything should be about opening a conversation. Obviously, you're best known for your work in WWE, you mentioned the tragic reason that you had to leave. While you were there, you sang, announced and did just about a bit of everything else too. I believe one of the last times we saw you was way back at Evolution. Will we ever see Lilian Garcia back in WWE, even sporadically, or is that chapter closed?
I would never say a closed chapter. I never do that to my life. I think that's a mistake when you just say, "Never." I don't believe in that word.
I will say that going back for Evolution was awesome. Last year, going back for WrestleMania for the Women's Battle Royal was amazing. Hopefully I'll get to do that again this year because this would be year three [of me doing that] so it would be a beautiful thing. I hope that's what happens and I'm all for it.
Then I also got called by the PFL, Professional Fighters League, to be their MMA in-cage announcer, which was so cool to make a bit of a transition and do something different.
I'm always just open to opportunities, but a lot of times, I'm not even in control of a lot of the opportunities, so I just stay open and see what comes my way.
I will say this, I definitely miss the connection with the WWE Universe, that is something that will never go away, but I love that people have followed me onto Chasing Glory so I can still feel connected.
You definitely are, and you're connecting people with WWE Superstars as well!
NEXT: Which former WWE Superstar would thrive in today's product?
COMING UP: Lilian discusses the evolution of women's wrestling
I actually recently found a book I own called Divas Uncovered that had a lot of quotes from yourself and other women who have been involved in WWE, with a lot of quotes in it. I need to ask, who is the one woman from the past you think could thrive in WWE today?
That's a loaded question! Do you mean, who, from back then could...?
Yeah, just with the in-ring presentation being a lot more physical and the spotlight being on in-ring ability. A lot of women back then obviously had great in-ring ability, but there's now a greater spotlight on it. Who do you think would be able to be the perfect former WWE Superstar to be in the ring with today's roster?
I really feel like they'd all have something to offer. I feel like, now, the women get such an opportunity to really showcase their talents, so they're given the time, and time in the ring helps them be able to hone their craft - and I feel like if the women back then had been given the same amount of time, we would have even seen them evolve even more - but you look at Trish Stratus, for example, she came into this era and she showed that, boom, she could totally handle it!
There's a lot of them that have done that, but it's the opportunity that now they have that's incredible, and I'm just really proud that not only have they stepped into the opportunity but they've shown that they really belong there and that they can do what the men do and be as entertaining.
I asked that because you were a part of Evolution, where the eras all seemed to merge wonderfully and time most definitely wasn't an issue. A lot of people have been clamouring for a sequel. A lot has happened since the first one, such as the Saudi Arabia match. I'd love your thoughts. How do you see the Women's Revolution progressing from here?Should there be a second Evolution or more time in general?
I think what's really important is to not set the women apart. In other words, make it normal. Like, it's expected that, yeah, they would have a Royal Rumble, or yeah, they would have an Elimination Chamber match and do great. It's just expected because they're just great athletes, not just because they're women doing the sport.
I love the fact that it is a progressive evolution, where we see it as, "Here's the men doing the match, here's the women doing the match, they're just incredible athletes," so we expect both and don't make a big deal out of it.
Do I agree that there are moments that you HAVE to celebrate and the Saudi Arabia moment is something to celebrate? Absolutely! I mean, that's a huge wall to break over there and I think that's incredible.
When it just becomes normal that we see the women in these moments, I think that's when you'll really see the evolution.
NEXT: Who's next on Chasing Glory
Something that happened recently that seemed to be more controversial than anticipated was Becky Lynch saying the best thing for women's wrestling would be to remove the word "women's" - which has seemingly happened with the NXT Women's Championship now being called the NXT Championship. What do you think of that decision and just eradicating the word "women's" before wrestling?
Okay, I didn't get to see her on WWE Backstage but it's almost saying the same thing I'm saying, right? Where it's just normal.
We don't say, "And here's the Men's World Champion," you know? I think that's what she's trying to point out. It's just a normal acceptance and not something separated.
Finally, let's return to Chasing Glory. You said earlier that I asked a loaded question, this might be more loaded - what lies ahead for you with regards to Chasing Glory, and do you have any upcoming guests you can tell us about?
Chasing Glory continues to have its own Evolution, and that's a beautiful thing, and that's because of the fans and the Superstars making this show so successful.
We recently went to video, which was a big step, and you can see the show on YouTube - YouTube.com/LilianGarcia
We made it simple in the fact that we have ChasingGlory.com where you can either listen or watch the show, but I always love to tell people that you can follow @ChasingGlory on Instagram because, on Fridays, we have what we call Glory Friday, where we announce who's next on that Monday show. And it's fun for people, they're like, "It's so cool, I can't wait for Friday to find out who's coming up on Monday!"
So, it's almost like I don't want to tell you who's coming up because that'll give that away, but I will say that I'm definitely going to continue getting more Superstars on the show, but I also like to ge other athletes, other entertainers, wellness coaches - sprinkle all these people in.
Even though some of the fans might not know who they are, I feel like their stories are so powerful, that you can always, always learn from someone, even if you don't know who they are.
When you give yourself the opportunity to listen to someone else's journey, you can pick nuggets out of it and then apply it to your life - and that's what we're all here for, it's to help each other out because I've said this before, we don't have a roadmap in this life, and the more that we can help each other with, "Hey, this worked for me, why don't you try this? Okay, this worked for me, why don't you try this?" then the more joyous our journey, here on this Earth, can be.
And the one thing about wrestling fans is they love a compelling story, so if you're bringing that to them - no matter who it's from - you know they're going to like it!
Thank you so much for chatting to me. It's been an absolute pleasure!
Oh, same here, thank you, and say hello to everyone in Scotland there for me. I love you guys dearly!
You can follow Lilian Garcia on Twitter here, and check out Chasing Glory at ChasingGlory.com, via @ChasingGlory on Instagram or via YouTube here.
