More than two years after signing with WWE, Simone Johnson, the 20-year-old daughter of Dwayne āThe Rockā Johnson, took to Twitter on Sunday to officially announce her wrestling name.
Simone, who will go by the name to Ava Raine in the ring, is facing backlash from wrestlingĀ fans, who believeĀ she shouldāve chosen a moniker that paysĀ respectĀ to her father. One Twitter user in particular joked that Simone should have picked a name that connected back to āThe Rock,ā for example,Ā āThe Pebble.ā
On Sunday, Simone took to Twitter to respond to the criticism.
āI probably sound like a broken record & hopefully this is the last iāll mention this but i donāt understand why people being portrayed as separate individuals from their family name is such a heated topic,ā she wrote. āA name doesnāt discredit any prior accomplishments from any family.ā
In another tweet, Simone reminded fans that even if she did ābuild my entire career around my father,ā people would still find a reason to ābash her anyway.āĀ
From there, Simone called out people for making worn out rock-related jokes, writing, āIĀ beg of you guys to find a new joke. Anything,ā before posting a screenshot of a google search in which she looked up ātypes of rocks.ā
āNothing in this category, please,ā she added.
Simoneās Twitter rant ended with her reminding her fans that her response was all in good fun.
āIām not trying to ignore or undermine all the sweet comments & support i get,ā she said. āThank you guys.ā
Simone is expected to make her WWE debut later this year. Back in 2020, she became the fourth generation in her family to sign with the company, following her father, āThe Rock,ā her grandfather, Rocky āSoul Manā Johnson, and her great-grandfather, āHigh Chiefā Peter Maivia.
āIt means the world to me,ā Simone said in aĀ statementĀ at the time. āTo know that my family has such a personal connection to wrestling is really special to me and I feel grateful to have the opportunity, not only to wrestle, but to carry on that legacy.ā