wrestling / News

Lilian Garcia Says John Cena is Very Different in Person, Recalls Emotional Post-9/11 National Anthem Performance

February 26, 2017 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Lilian Garcia

– Lilian Garcia did an AMA on Reddit recently. Some highlights are below:

On which name she enjoyed saying the most in her WWE announcing career: “RVD was a fun one to say… The Rock was a fun one… Stone Cold Steve Austin… and then there were some that were so hard to say. Because they’re only one syllable, like Kane and Edge, which was harder to make an impact. So I started putting a growl into it, like a rocker style, which I started using in all my announcing which would give it some grit and a rocker edge.”

On her favorite accidental announcing screw-up: “Definitely mine, because I had some good ones. I think it was pretty funny when I was in Toronto, even before the show, and I said, we were in the Air Canada Center, and I said, “Welcome to the Air American Center.” The crowd was like “What?” And I played it off that I was just kidding with them. The difference between being a ring announcer and a commentator is we don’t have the chance to say ‘excuse me, or I mean’ we just have to live with it.”

ON funny or weird stories about Vince: “I would say a funny one was the Iraq trip. We’d be in a huge military plane, and the bathrooms were kind of like port-a-johns and people could see you go into them. And when I went to get out, I could feel someone was holding the door, keeping it closed. I knew that it had to be one of the superstars, and when the door opened it was Vince. It was funny, to be cutting up like that. Vince and I have always had a great relationship and I value every opportunity he’s given me during my time here at WWE.”

On what happened backstage after Charlie Haas knocked her off the apron: “I just remember going to the trainer’s room and they were trying to check out how bad the injury was on the wrist – it wasn’t until I was, I can’t remember if it was an X-Ray or MRI, that I’d torn a ligament in that wrist. Which is why I was screaming so much at ringside because that sucker hurt. Another example of live TV, where anything can happen and that one got turned into a storyline.”

On what it was like performing the national anthem on Smackdown so soon after 9/11: “So emotional. Extremely emotional. I knew how important that moment was, and I was also very traumatized by the events because I lived in New York city at the time. I knew that I had to get through it, and I knew it was something bigger than myself. I just wanted to help in anyway to bring the arena together as much as possible in such a hurting moment.”

On how often billed weights are changed: “It’s really rarely changed, and everything is from memory. From day one, even my first day on the job, I didn’t know until going live my first Raw that I had to have everything memorized. I had a little panic attack. They don’t use cue cards.”

On whose wrestling persona differs the most from what they are like in real life: “I think I’d have to say John Cena, in that when he’s out there – the big, and animated, just bigger than life persona… backstage, he’s quiet and humble and it’s different. Yea, it’s a different persona. Kind of the same with Roman Reigns, very quiet and humble. I’ve noticed that with a lot of guys. They definitely know how to turn on the entertainer switch.”

On what it was like for her when she first came in to the WWF during the Attitude Era: “Exciting, and scary. Because I had NO training and I really didn’t know what I was doing at all. And the shows were so huge, they were always sold out. And the energy was always so high, and I’m a person who always wants to do my best. It was exciting and scary at the same time. What a special time to be a part of, and it was also a great learning experience to walk in and have to learn on the job.”

On her favorite angle she was involved in: “I’d have to say the Viscera angle. It was pretty extensive, and like I said, I really loved working with him. I like how that whole storyline evolved. They turned it into a beauty and the beast type story, and I was definitely the beast haha.”

On if she ever angered anyone backstage: “Not that I remember. I had a really good relationship with everyone. I honestly don’t remember anyone being mad at me. I wasn’t one to stir the pot, so to speak.”