Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's Daughter Receives New WWE Name
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's daughter, Simone Johnson is inching closer to her WWE premiere. On Sunday, she announced her new wrestling stage name on social media – Ava Raine. This news has fans more excited than ever to see Simone in the ring after numerous delays.
Simone signed a contract with the WWE back in 2020, but according to a report by Comicbook.com she has delayed her debut due to a number of serious injuries. She may finally be well enough to get in the ring, however, judging by her exciting announcement on Sunday. Fans were pleased to see Simone take on a stage name all her own, with no allusions to her legendary father. They hope this means she will show some independence and establish herself as a force to be reckoned with.
— ava 🃏 (@AvaRaineWWE) May 29, 2022
"You know what your dad would say? It doesn't matter what your name is! You are a jabroni until such time till you MAKE a name for yourself. Get in that ring and start fighting! Fight whoever is in your way till you get to the top!" One commenter wrote encouragingly. Another added: "Can't wait for your debut!!" while a third wrote: "That name rocks! Uhh, no pun intended."
Simone was born in August of 2001 during Johnson's marriage to Dany Garcia. The two split up in 2007, but Simone remained close to her father over the years. When Simone began training at the WWE Performance Center, Johnson praised her in a post about her prospects.
"Dreams ain't just for dreamers," he wrote at the time. "Congrats to my #1 born, Simone Johnson on officially signing her wrestling contract with [WWE NXT] and on her way to becoming the first ever 4th generation WWE athlete. Carry our family name proudly, but your road will always be yours to create, earn and own. So proud. Live your dream. Let's work."
Not long after, Simone appeared on the Swerve City podcast where she discussed her plans to follow in her father's footsteps. She said that her father gave her advice, but he didn't sugarcoat anything. She said: "He basically just told me what I just said, 'You are your own person. Regardless if other people compare you to your parents or to anyone else, or if you compare yourself to your parents or to anyone else, you are still your own person."
"I just have to remind myself, that pressure only exists when I start comparing myself to my parents," Simone continued at the time. "... this idea that I want to keep getting into my head is that I'm not my parents. No one is their parents. And Individuality is a gift and I just have to keep remind myself of that, that no matter what pressure, not matter what circumstances, no matter what comparisons are, I love my parents so much. I'm so proud of everything that they've done, but I am my own person. And I just have to remind myself of that, no matter what the circumstances are."