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Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has arguably the best nickname in all of sports. Unquestionably one of the best entertainers ever, his daughter and her new name have huge shoes to fill.
His daughter, Simone Johnson, unveiled her new ring name to be Ava Raine on Sunday and she will be the WWE’s first-ever fourth-generation wrestler. Both her grandfather, Rocky Johnson, and great-grandfather “High Chief” Peter Maivia were wrestlers as well.
She joined the WWE in February 2020 at 18 years old and has since been training within the company’s Performance Center, according to The Sporting News. The WWE has also trademarked her new name.
Unfortunately, her ring name was met with criticism out of disappointment it didn’t associate with her father’s ring name or the rest of her family. Johnson responded to several critics online. In one tweet she said, “I could build my entire career around my father & people would still bask me anyway.”
“i probably sound like a broken record & hopefully this is the last i’lll mention this but I don’t understand why people being portrayed as separate individuals from their family name is such a heated topic,” she wrote on Twitter. “a name doesn’t discredit any prior accomplishments from any family.”
