Ava Raine—Simone Johnson, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s daughter—said there wasn’t one single reason for leaving WWE, as she prepares a new chapter with her mother Dany Garcia.
When Ava Raine announced she was done with WWE, the decision landed quietly—just after months of speculation that always seems to follow departures from the squared circle. Now, nearly six months later, the 24-year-old has explained what it felt like from the inside.
Raine, who is also known as Simone Johnson, parted ways with WWE earlier in 2026. On Jan. 30, 2026, she said she decided not to renew her WWE contract and finished a six-year tenure with the promotion.
In a new conversation on The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi, Johnson said there wasn’t one specific trigger. “There wasn’t one particular thing, unfortunately. It was like a lot of things and had been something that was on my mind for a while. ” she said. “And I am so grateful for my time at WWE. I wouldn’t change it for the world. I got to live out the dream that [younger] me always wanted to. But I think it was just — it was time for something new. It was time for something different. And I really — I don’t regret leaving, and I’m really happy now.”.
That “happy now” matters, because it frames her exit not as a rupture, but as a shift of seasons. Johnson said she’s not looking back with regret—only with gratitude for the path that led her from training to the big stage.
Done with WWE, Johnson is now working with her mother, Dany Garcia. In the same interview. she also addressed the question that always follows a door closing: could she ever step back through it?. “I think to a certain degree. but I do feel like so much of my life was public for so long. ” she responded. “I’m not sure if I would want to participate in entertainment in the scale that I did when I was at WWE. But I feel like I love the outlet that I have now of being able to like make cute travel vlogs and do that. Because obviously it’s still public and being here [on the podcast] is still public. but it’s just not to the same degree [as] at WWE.”.
Raine’s WWE story began at the WWE Performance Center. where she started as a wrestler and adopted the name Ava Raine. She debuted as part of Joe Gacy’s Schism before becoming the general manager of NXT. And while the headline moment was her departure decision on Jan. 30. the arc underneath it is the same one she’s describing now—an earned career. followed by a choice to move on.
She made her six-year run with WWE, she’s said she’s grateful for every part of it, and she’s now carving a different kind of life in the public eye—one that, for her, simply doesn’t require the same scale as before.
Ava Raine Simone Johnson The Rock daughter WWE exit NXT Schism Joe Gacy Dany Garcia The Downside
Good for her I guess, WWE is toxic anyway.
So she “didn’t renew” which means WWE fired her right? Like come on, these always have some reason, not “no single reason” lol.
I don’t really get it, she was Simone Johnson then Ava Raine and then general manager NXT?? That’s like a whole career shift. Also her mom is Dany Garcia so I’m sure there’s a deal behind the scenes. The travel vlogs thing sounds cute but I bet she’ll be back in wrestling when the ratings dip.
Wait—when they say “no one trigger” do they mean like contract stuff? Because everyone says that and it’s never true. She’s saying she could go back “to a certain degree” which sounds like a maybe… Also, “happy now” like okay but was she unhappy in NXT when she was GM? Idk I stopped watching WWE when they changed everything every week.