The Rock Comments On His Daughter's Progress At The WWE PC
On July 9, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's daughter, Ava Raine (real name Simone Johnson) appeared at an "NXT" live event in Orlando, FL, to cut her first-ever promo in the ring. Portraying a heel during the segment and calling herself "The Final Girl," Raine ran down fellow "NXT" superstar Cora Jade and the rest of the women's locker room. Following the appearance, the most electrifying man in all of sports entertainment has provided an update on his daughter's progression, and spoke about her becoming the first fourth-generation superstar in WWE history.
"She's made history. Very, very proud of her," The Rock told Entertainment Today at the premiere of "DC League of Super-Pets." "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."
Raine signed with WWE in February 2020 and was immediately assigned to the WWE Performance Center. Her training initially did not go as planned — Raine struggled with injuries which ultimately resulted in a series of knee surgeries before her career has even begun to take flight. It appears the promotion is now testing the waters with her first gimmick, ahead of a potential call-up to the "NXT 2.0" roster to mix it up with the likes of "NXT" Women's Champion Mandy Rose, and her Toxic Attraction allies Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne, as well as now-heated rival "NXT" Women's Tag Team Champions Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez.
Raine was given her ring name in May, which has no relation to the Anoa'i family tree that she is proudly a part of — a common trend in WWE with the likes of Bronson Rechsteiner, who is the current "NXT" Champion Bron Breakker, not being given a ring name connected to his father, Rick Steiner, and Bianca Carelli, who wrestles as Arianna Grace, not being provided a character name linked to her father, Santino Marella.
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