Simone Johnson, the eldest daughter of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has officially arrived in WWE.
Going by the ring name “Ava Raine,” the 21-year-old Johnson made her WWE television debut on Tuesday night. She appeared on WWE’s developmental brand NXT and was revealed as the newest member of the Schism, a cult-like faction led by Joe Gacy. Johnson is the fourth member of the group, joining Gacy, Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid.
Johnson is the first fourth-generation wrestler in WWE history. Her legendary pro wrestling lineage also includes her grandfather Rocky Johnson and great-grandfather Peter Maivia. Her great-grandmother Lia Maivia was one of wrestling’s first female promoters.
WWE announced in February 2020 that Johnson had signed with the company and begun training at the WWE Performance Center. In September of that year, she suffered a setback when she needed to undergo knee surgery. It was the third knee surgery that Johnson has undergone.
Before debuting on television, Johnson cut the first promo of her career at an untelevised NXT event in July. Dwayne Johnson spoke to Entertainment Tonight after that promo and said he was “very, very proud” of Simone.
"She's made history [becoming WWE's first fourth-generation wrestler]. Very, very proud of her,” he said. "She is fiercely independent. It's very important for her to make her own way, blaze her own trail, blaze her own path. She doesn't come to me looking for a lot, which I respect that. And I'm here watching and supporting."
Simone’s mother Dany Garcia, who is the chairwoman of the XFL, posted a tweet on Tuesday celebrating her daughter’s NXT debut.
