Brian Gewirtz Says It Isn't His Place To Help The Rock's Daughter With Big Decision
Brian Gewirtz is a former WWE writer who spent much time working with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on scripts that he would use when cutting a promo on TV. While Rock is not nearly as active in the professional wrestling world as he once was, his daughter, Simone Johnson, is currently training at WWE'S Performance Center in hopes of one day becoming a star in the company. While the 21-year-old has yet to make her TV debut, she has cut a promo at an "NXT" live event where she announced herself as Ava Raine and gave herself the nickname of "The Final Girl."
"I collaborated with Dwayne a ton, we always wrote our promos together," Gewirtz said on "Sportskeeda Wrestling." "It's not my place as a writer to tell [Simone], like, 'You're either going to use your real name or use a new identity." It's like, 'What do you want to do? What does she want to do? What is she most comfortable with?' ... I can't imagine the pressure of having to live up and a be a fourth generation star ... This is her world now. This is her, you know, playground to explore and craft her own persona. So, I think ultimately, whatever decision she wants to make, that's the right one ... I'm truly excited, you know, to see how she progresses and how she, you know, introduces herself."
Simone was originally signed to WWE in 2020 and has been training in the Performance Center ever since. The Samoan dynasty is large in the wrestling community as her father is The Rock, her grandfather is Rocky Johnson, and great-grandfather is "High Chief" Peter Maivia. Simone is also related in some way to stars like Roman Reigns, The Usos, Yokozuna, and Rikishi.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Sportskeeda Wrestling" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.