Simone Johnson (Ava) Wanted To Do A Creepy Goth Character In NXT

Simone Johnson, daughter of The Rock, signed with WWE in February 2020, reporting to the Performance Center.

She made her television debut in October 2022, joining Joe Gacy in Schism and taking the name Ava Raine, which was later shortened to Ava. She remained part of Schism until October 2023 when the group disbanded.

In January 2024, she became the general manager of the brand.

Speaking on The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi, Simone discussed her role as GM and was asked if she wanted to do any other characters on the brand.

“I feel like there were always a lot of characters that I wanted to try, but then I ended up being the general manager, which was more authoritative and already set for me. I still had a lot of fun with that because I got to interact with so many different talents. That was a great part of that. I definitely wanted to be more of a creepy goth character. I would’ve loved to do that,” she said.

Simone announced her departure from WWE in January. Fans can learn more about her decision to leave the company by clicking here.

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