On Tuesday night’s episode of NXT, Simone Johnson, the 21-year-old daughter of renowned WWE Superstar and actor Dwayne “The Rock,” debuted on television for the company as Ava Raine.
In place of acknowledging her ties to her family, Raine, who signed a developmental contract with WWE in 2020, revealed herself as the mysterious member of the cult-like team Schism with Joe Gacy and The Dyad:
Others applauded Raine and WWE for attempting to get the character over on its own own, even though some may have found it odd to ignore Raine’s prominence as the daughter of one of the biggest names in wrestling history:
Raine only needs to consider her well-known father to realise why it might not have been the best for her profession to immediately tie herself to her ancestry.
The Rock used the ring name Flex Kavana during his brief tenure in the Memphis area in 1996 before getting a contract with WWE. Rocky Maivia was then his new name thanks to WWE.
The Rock’s lineage was clearly honoured by the choice of that moniker, which was inspired by both his legendary grandfather “High Chief” Peter Maivia and his legendary father Rocky Johnson.
The Rock was propelled to the top right away and won the Intercontinental Championship soon after, but the fans weren’t responding to his basic babyface persona, and acknowledging his heritage didn’t do much to change that.
Johnson didn’t capture the attention of fans and establish himself as a hugely successful megastar until he turned heel, joined the Nation of Domination, and adopted the moniker The Rock.
Raine is probably well aware of the fact that The Rock’s success has little to do with his family and everything to do with his own charisma and personality.
Like The Rock’s early years in his career, Raine’s debut with The Schism is only a stepping stone for him.
