Lilian Garcia Recalls The Best Advice Vince McMahon Ever Gave Her
Earlier this week, Lilian Garcia announced that her highly acclaimed podcast, "Chasing Glory," was going to be coming back, but this time, it'll officially broadcast on the WWE Network starting next Monday. Following that statement, Garcia made her second appearance on WWE's The Bump on Wednesday to talk about how excited she is to be back and part of the WWE family again.
"It's just awesome to be coming home," Garcia replied with a big smile on her face. "This has been a labor of love for me for three years now since I left the WWE in 2016.
"To hear the incredible stories from the Superstars, and to humanize them, you know, to get their struggles and their journeys, people look at them as Superstars. To hear their stories and how they got through it, it really resonates with the fans. Now, they can look at their lives and say, 'Wait, that's happening to me right now, so that means I can do it and I can hang on. This is a labor of love for me to spread positivity."
Garcia admits that the idea to create "Chasing Glory" stems all the way back to 2004 when she overheard several of her colleagues talk about their personal struggles and how they felt like they had no one to help them through it.
"So in 2004, that was when this idea came to me," she noted. " I was spending a lot of time in the locker room with the females, and [I heard] some of the stories they were talking about, like, things they had gone through, like, alcoholism or abuse. I was like, 'wow, if people knew this, they might not give you such a hard time in your career; they might get to a point where they can identify with you, and pull for you.'
"In 2016, when I left, I was taking care of my dad, and I had a conversation with him. He told me, 'Lil, you can't be just my caretaker; please, what ideas do you have?' I told him about this idea I had in 2004, and I told myself, 'ok, it must be time to do it.' He was actually able to watch it before he passed on Christmas Day.'
With her focus mostly on human interest stories, Garcia has spent many sessions discussing with Superstars, as well as other entertainers, their lives behind the scenes and what inspired them to change their outlook. Throughout her journey, she mentions how stories like Brie Bellas's trials and tribulations coming into the WWE, or Mickie James' abusive childhood, she felt the need to become beacon of hope that many need in their lives.
"I feel like from my very first guest, Brie Bella, her talking about the struggles she went through to get to the WWE, she told me right after, 'I've never been asked these [sorts] of questions before in interviews.' I was in awe with her journey," she admitted. "So I knew something special was there from the get-go.
"But then Mickie James – man, in the first five minutes, she talks about how she was molested for many years in her life, and how she was tired of holding that in. [After that segement] I knew there was something special here."
Speaking of life-altering, Garcia recalls some sound advice she received from Vince McMahon during her time as an announcer, and how she carries that over to everything that she does now.
"One of the things I remember about Vince is him telling me not to take myself too seriously," she recalled. "I would be so into wanting to be perfect; if something didn't go right, I would beat myself up. I remember I was in the back and he came up to me – I didn't realize I messed up on something. When he told me about it, I started to tear up. He told me, 'Hey Lil, relax. I just want to make you better, so I'm going to give you some advice.' That really did stick with me. I started taking things less personally."
"Chasing Glory" will begin broadcasting next Monday, October 26th on the WWE Network.
You can watch Lilian Garcia's full interview here. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE's The Bump with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.