As we’ve seen in the past (e.g. Bron Breakker not having Steiner in his name despite keeping all the other trappings of his Hall of Fame father & uncle’s gimmick), not even wrestling royalty is exempt from WWE’s policy of giving almost everyone on their roster a trademark-able name.
But maybe you thought Simone Johnson — daughter of Dwayne, granddaughter of Rocky, fourth generation member of the legendary Samoan Dynasty — would get a pass? Nope.
Meet Ava Raine.
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Raine commented on the change on Twitter, and specifically criticism of it not making a connection to papa Rock, saying:
“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.
“I could build my entire career around my father & people would still bash me anyway.”
She also thanked people who’ve been supportive.
Does this mean an on-screen debut is imminent for the 20 year old, who officially signed two years ago? And as long as WWE embraces her legacy in other ways like they have with Breakker, is the name really a big deal?
Let us know what you think*, Cagesiders.
* It doesn’t matter what you think.
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