NXT has a new superstar on their hands and she goes by the name Ava Raine.
On this week’s (10/25/22) edition of NXT, The Schism, Joe Gacy, Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid introduced their fourth stablemate. For weeks and weeks they’ve teased a new face, but we didn’t know who it was because of the masked figure being very mysterious. Well, we now know that Ava was the new member. At first glance you may think “who is that?” Well, you’d be quick to find out that Ava Raine, Aka Simone Johnson, is the daughter of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. But, she’s much more than that. In fact, she’s her own limb in the Samoan Dynasty family tree.
Second, third and now fourth generation superstars are very common in the world of pro-wrestling and WWE. Many of them embrace their family name, such as Cody Rhodes, Dominik Mysterio, Natalya Neidhart, Charlotte Flair and Randy Orton. But, there’s always a bit of an identity crisis when it comes to being a family name. Having to live up to the expectations of a legendary family member can be hard and in some cases, fans even expect wrestlers to embrace similar gimmicks or styles from their legendary families pasts. But, sometimes we see the new generation stray away from living in the shadows of their family name and start to carve out their own path for success, such as Dominik Mysterio recently joining the dark side with Judgement Day and even turning on his father, Rey Mysterio. But, things can and will be different for Ava Raine.
Unlike Dominik and many others in the past, Ava isn’t being brought in by her father. There’s no on screen connection to her father when first introduced and they don’t even share the same name inside of the WWE universe. And this, in my opinion, is a very positive position to be in. Ava Raine comes in immediate positioned into a darker-type role in her character. Sporting all black with red and black hair and one red eye, Ava already looks nothing like anyone else we’ve ever seen. There is no similarities in gimmicks with anyone from her family, so that’s positive step number one. Now, obviously, we can’t go into detail about any similarities for the in-ring aspect just yet, considering she’s only just debuted with a promo segment. But, something tells me, based on her character and mannerisms in the ring, especially with who she’s paired with, Miss Raine will be unique in her own special way.
For fans in the know, obviously, they will quickly try to compare to anyone under that family tree, but if you’re reading this and are doing that, you shouldn’t be. She doesn’t have to be the next Rock, she doesn’t have to be the next Tamina, Nia Jax, Usos or even Roman Reigns. Let Ava Raine be the first Ava Raine. Working hard on a character to separate yourself from everyone else in the wrestling world is hard enough, but trying to separate from your families accomplishments can be a whole new task in itself. But, I have faith that Ava can do just that.
The love and acceptance the Schism has given me defies any preconceived notions of who I am supposed to be, this family completes me, I am Ava Raine.
-Ava Raine via NXT
She is here now and it’s time for her to shine in your her light and carve her own path. Flanked by Schism, they will Raine down on NXT/WWE and I cannot wait to see what Ava has in store for us all.
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