Simone Johnson, the daughter of Dwayne Johnson, is continuing in the family tradition as she made her WWE TV debut on Tuesday night, shocking the pro wrestling crowd. The last member of Joe Gacy’s group, The Schism, was identified as Simone, who performs under the name Ava Raine. As he introduced Ava, Joe Gacy spoke to the audience.
Before Simone, the group’s other members, such as Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid, had already been identified. The audience appeared astonished when Raine took off her mask as she stood on the podium between Fowler and Reid. Ava discussed how to be accepted and said, “The love and acceptance The Schism has given me, defies any preconceived notions of who I’m supposed to be. This family completes me. I am Ava Raine.”
Given that she continues the family tradition started by her father Dwayne Johnson, her grandfather Rocky Johnson, and her great-grandfather Peter Malvia, Simone Johnson’s debut is noteworthy since she becomes the first fourth-generation wrestler in the sport’s history. Ava also paid honour to her roots on Twitter by writing, “4 roots 1 tree.” Ava has been working out at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, where athletes like John Cena and the Bella Twins have trained before making their WWE TV debuts.
Ava had previously encountered criticism in May due to her ring name. On Twitter, she expressed the same sentiment and stated, “I probably sound like a broken record & hopefully this is the last I’ll mention this but I don’t understand why people being portrayed as separate individuals from their family name is such a heated topic. A name doesn’t discredit any prior accomplishments from any family.”
The Rock, Simone’s father, has been keeping busy in the interim with his acting career and most recently made his heroic debut in the DC Extended Universe film Black Adam. The actor’s potent superhero movie has been popular for its Superman tease as well. Now that his appearance in Black Adam has been confirmed, Henry Cavill will play Superman once more. Following the success of the first movie, the makers of Black Adam have stated that a sequel to the recently released superhero movie starring Johnson is in the works and that it will happen as soon as possible.