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Wrestling veteran Vince Russo recently discussed WWE changing Simone Johnson's name to Ava Raine.
Johnson is a fourth-generation superstar and the daughter of The Rock. She signed with the company back in 2020 and has been training at the Performance Center ever since. She recently sent ripples across the wrestling world as she took to social media to inform fans of the name change.
On the latest episode of the Wrestle Buddy podcast, Vince Russo spoke about the recent name change for the fourth-generation star. He suggested that the company wanted to own the rights to her name and so went ahead with the change.
Here's what Russo had to say:
"I don't know why they do that. They did the same thing with Steiner's kid. It's ridiculous. It all comes back to ownage. If they own the name, then they will own you. It's a philosophy bro. Nobody is bigger than the WWE. Nobody is ever going to be bigger than the WWE. It all comes down to power. I mean really, it all comes down to power." (From 44:49 - 45:23)
You can watch the full video here:
Simone Johnson responded to backlash from WWE fans
There was a mixed reaction to Johnson's announcement. Some fans lashed out at the company for the name change feeling that it would separate her from the accomplishments of her family.
The rookie responded to critics on social media with a tweet stating that her new name does not disassociate her from her family tree and their stellar achievements in the business.
Here's what the tweet read:
"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 up-and-comer could soon make her NXT debut. While Ava has some lofty shoes to fill, it will be interesting to see if she can create her own niche in the business or not.
If you use quotes from this article, please credit the Wrestle Buddy podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcript.
