Where Was Lilian Garcia?, Trish’s Return, Victoria Pics

Conspicuous by her absence last night on Raw was ring announcer Lilian Garcia. SmackDown ring announcer Justin Roberts filled in for her on the show with no explanation given via commentary. Not to worry Lilian fans, she simply had the night off. Two weeks ago, Lilian posted her WWE schedule on her MySpace account (www.myspace.com/liliangarcia) for the end of the year and through February. The only date left off the schedule was for tonight’s Raw in Toronto, so her night off was planned well ahead of time and it was not a sudden decision. For what it’s worth, she usually takes a vacation around the winter holidays, so that could explain her absence from tonight’s show. Additionally, she hasn’t missed a single Raw or pay-per-view appearance since June 2007 when she was taking time off to recover from a skiing injury in which she tore the ACL in her right knee. Lilian will be back handling her regular ring announcing duties at next Monday’s Raw taping in Manchester, New Hampshire.

The WWE site has added new photos of SmackDown Diva Victoria.

Last night was Trish Stratus’ first appearance in the ring since September 17, 2006 when she defeated Lita to win a record seventh Women’s Championship and retire as champion. That happened in Toronto, the same place where she returned last night. Stratus offered comments following her victory, exclusively on WWE Mobile on AT&T. This was a one-shot deal for now but I would not be shocked to see her make a few future appearances as she does have that ‘itch’ as of late to get back into the ring. Don’t expect her back full-time though.

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