Ava | |
---|---|
Birth name | Simone Garcia Johnson [1] |
Born | Davie, Florida, U.S | August 14, 2001
Parent(s) |
Dwayne Johnson Dany Garcia |
Family | Anoaʻi |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Ava
[2] Ava Raine [3] [4] |
Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) [5] |
Billed weight | 143 lb (65 kg) |
Trained by |
WWE Performance Center
[6] Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson |
Debut | April 1, 2023 |
Simone Garcia Johnson [7] (born August 14, 2001) [8] is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Ava (shortened from her previous ring name Ava Raine) and appears as the on-screen general manager of the NXT brand. Johnson is a fourth-generation wrestler, being the daughter of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, connecting her to the Anoaʻi family of Samoan wrestlers.
Johnson was born in Davie, Florida [9] on August 14, 2001. [10] She is the first daughter of professional wrestler and entertainer Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (through whom she has two younger sisters from his second marriage) [11] and his ex-wife Dany Garcia, a Cuban American businesswoman, IFBB professional bodybuilder and producer. [12] [13] [14] Johnson's parents announced their separation on June 1, 2007 [15] [16] and divorced in May 2008. [17] From her father's side, Johnson is the granddaughter of Ata ( née Maivia) and Rocky Johnson, a Samoan and Black Nova Scotian respectively. Through her paternal grandmother, she is a non-blood relative of the Anoaʻi wrestling family.
In January 2018, Simone was at the inaugural Golden Globes Ambassador for the ceremony's 75th Anniversary. [18] [19] [20] [21] She attended the private high school of NSU University School, where she graduated and earned her diploma in May 2019. [22] [23] After graduating, Simone had initially planned to take up her college studies at New York University in August 2019, but when she suffered a knee injury a month prior in July, she decided to stay in Orlando, Florida to pursue her professional wrestling career. [24] [25] She has cited her grandmother as the person who got her in to wrestling. [26]
In November 2017, Johnson expressed her interest in becoming a professional wrestler. [27] [28] In February 2020, WWE announced that Johnson had reported to the WWE Performance Center and had begun her training, making her the first fourth-generation wrestler and one of the youngest talents to sign a contract with the company. [29] [30] [31] [32]
On the October 25, 2022, episode of NXT, Johnson made her first televised appearance, revealing herself to be a member of Joe Gacy's villainous faction, Schism. [33] [34] [35] She debuted under the ring name Ava Raine, but this was later shortened to Ava on February 14, 2023. [36] [37] Ava made her in-ring debut on April 1 at Stand & Deliver with Schism, losing to Chase University. [38] [39] [40] Schism would slowly begin to disband in September 2023, starting with the expiration of The Dyad's contracts on September 14, [41] and culminating in a backstage segment in October where Gacy declared that Schism is dead. After Schism, she became the on-screen assistant of Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels. Her role includes being the intermediary between talents and Michaels as well as making announcements on Michaels' behalf. [42] On January 23, 2024, she was promoted to become the new General Manager of NXT, becoming the youngest general manager in WWE. [43] Ava made her main roster debut appearance three days later on SmackDown where she assisted General Manager Nick Aldis with the Royal Rumble entry draw. [44]
Ava made an appearance at Stand & Deliver, introducing the NXT Women's North American Championship at the event.
Ava | |
---|---|
Birth name | Simone Garcia Johnson [1] |
Born | Davie, Florida, U.S | August 14, 2001
Parent(s) |
Dwayne Johnson Dany Garcia |
Family | Anoaʻi |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Ava
[2] Ava Raine [3] [4] |
Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) [5] |
Billed weight | 143 lb (65 kg) |
Trained by |
WWE Performance Center
[6] Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson |
Debut | April 1, 2023 |
Simone Garcia Johnson [7] (born August 14, 2001) [8] is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Ava (shortened from her previous ring name Ava Raine) and appears as the on-screen general manager of the NXT brand. Johnson is a fourth-generation wrestler, being the daughter of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, connecting her to the Anoaʻi family of Samoan wrestlers.
Johnson was born in Davie, Florida [9] on August 14, 2001. [10] She is the first daughter of professional wrestler and entertainer Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (through whom she has two younger sisters from his second marriage) [11] and his ex-wife Dany Garcia, a Cuban American businesswoman, IFBB professional bodybuilder and producer. [12] [13] [14] Johnson's parents announced their separation on June 1, 2007 [15] [16] and divorced in May 2008. [17] From her father's side, Johnson is the granddaughter of Ata ( née Maivia) and Rocky Johnson, a Samoan and Black Nova Scotian respectively. Through her paternal grandmother, she is a non-blood relative of the Anoaʻi wrestling family.
In January 2018, Simone was at the inaugural Golden Globes Ambassador for the ceremony's 75th Anniversary. [18] [19] [20] [21] She attended the private high school of NSU University School, where she graduated and earned her diploma in May 2019. [22] [23] After graduating, Simone had initially planned to take up her college studies at New York University in August 2019, but when she suffered a knee injury a month prior in July, she decided to stay in Orlando, Florida to pursue her professional wrestling career. [24] [25] She has cited her grandmother as the person who got her in to wrestling. [26]
In November 2017, Johnson expressed her interest in becoming a professional wrestler. [27] [28] In February 2020, WWE announced that Johnson had reported to the WWE Performance Center and had begun her training, making her the first fourth-generation wrestler and one of the youngest talents to sign a contract with the company. [29] [30] [31] [32]
On the October 25, 2022, episode of NXT, Johnson made her first televised appearance, revealing herself to be a member of Joe Gacy's villainous faction, Schism. [33] [34] [35] She debuted under the ring name Ava Raine, but this was later shortened to Ava on February 14, 2023. [36] [37] Ava made her in-ring debut on April 1 at Stand & Deliver with Schism, losing to Chase University. [38] [39] [40] Schism would slowly begin to disband in September 2023, starting with the expiration of The Dyad's contracts on September 14, [41] and culminating in a backstage segment in October where Gacy declared that Schism is dead. After Schism, she became the on-screen assistant of Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels. Her role includes being the intermediary between talents and Michaels as well as making announcements on Michaels' behalf. [42] On January 23, 2024, she was promoted to become the new General Manager of NXT, becoming the youngest general manager in WWE. [43] Ava made her main roster debut appearance three days later on SmackDown where she assisted General Manager Nick Aldis with the Royal Rumble entry draw. [44]
Ava made an appearance at Stand & Deliver, introducing the NXT Women's North American Championship at the event.