Wrestling Twitter Praises Introduction of The Rock's Daughter Ava Raine for WWE Debut

Simone Johnson, the 21-year-old daughter of legendary WWE Superstar and Hollywood actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, made her televised debut for WWE on Tuesday night's episode of NXT under the name Ava Raine.

Raine, who signed a developmental contract with WWE in 2020, did not acknowledge her familial ties, instead revealing herself as the mystery member of the cult-like stable Schism alongside Joe Gacy and The Dyad:

While ignoring Raine's status as the daughter of one of the biggest stars in the history of wrestling may have been a curious move to some, others praised her and WWE for trying to get the character over on its own accord:

Raine need not look any further than her famous father to understand why tethering herself to her family history right out of the gate may not have been the best move for her career.

During his brief run in the Memphis territory in 1996 before officially signing with WWE, The Rock went by the name Flex Kavana. WWE then changed his name to Rocky Maivia.

That name was a clear homage to The Rock's family, as it drew from his Hall of Fame father Rocky Johnson and his Hall of Fame grandfather "High Chief" Peter Maivia.

The Rock was pushed to the moon immediately and won the Intercontinental Championship before long, but his basic babyface character wasn't connecting with the fans, and the acknowledgement of his roots did little to help his cause.

It wasn't until he turned heel, joined the Nation of Domination and started calling himself The Rock that Johnson piqued the interest of fans and became a massively popular megastar.

The Rock's success had almost nothing to do with his family and everything to do with his own personality and charisma, and it is likely that Raine is well aware of that fact.

Debuting as part of The Schism is merely a stepping stone for Raine, much like the early years of The Rock's career were for him.

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