Lilian Garcia Recalls Her WWE Return in 2011, Leaving in 2016 And Starting Chasing Glory

Lilian Garcia has brought Chasing Glory to the WWE Network, and she recalled the show’s origins after she left WWE in 2016 and how she returned in 2011 while speaking with Chris Van Vliet. You can see the highlights and full video below:

On her return to WWE in 2011: “So they had SummerSlam out here [in California]. And this was … 2011. So now it’s SummerSlam 2011, they invite me to the Summerslam party, which was on the roof of one of the hotels. And so, it was beautiful. I got to see everybody, I was like ‘Oh my God, I miss you, I miss you.’ And it was so great. And Kevin Dunn was there. And Kevin was like, ‘You ready to come back yet?’ And I at this point, I had found out — so we got married in 2009 when I left. Found out in 2010 that we couldn’t have kids, so now that plan went out the door. And so when I saw them, I missed [them]. I was like, ‘You guys are like my family. Like, I really miss you.’

“At that point though, I was like, ‘No, no, not yet.’ And I didn’t even have intention. And then, November. He left the door open, and November of that year I was really getting sad. Like, I was sad not to be part of it. I felt I still had more still to offer. And so I reached out to him, and was like, ‘Hey, so were you serious about this?’ And he’s like, ‘Your timing couldn’t be more perfect. We have Tribute to the Troops coming up, and we want you to sing, so we’ve gotta get this done.’ So again, here it was, ‘Contracts! Let’s go fast!’ And the next thing you know, I was back. It happened that quickly.”

On her 2016 departure and the creation of Chasing Glory: “That was so hard. And I wasn’t intending to leave the company. You know, at this point, I had put 15 years in, but I still was okay with staying. I loved it. But then when [her dad] got really sick and they gave us — they told us he had two weeks to three months to live, it was kind of like, the decision was made. And it was okay, because I took care of him.

“And during that time is when he’s like, ‘Lil, I don’t want you just to sit here and watch me dying. What can you be doing next? Like, I feel bad you are not there anymore.’ And I was like, ‘Well, I had this idea in 2004 for this little show, that I thought would be cool to talk to the Superstars. And it all started with the females. I was so enamored with their stories that they were sharing as we were in the locker room getting close with one another. And I had pitched it even to WWE in 2004. This is before Total Divas, all of that. But the timing wasn’t there. Podcasts were really, they weren’t a thing at all. So there really wasn’t a home. So I was just, ‘Maybe I’ll just do that.’ And that’s how it started. I started in November of that year, 2016.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.