Ava has opened up about the personal reasons behind her decision to leave WWE, explaining that she had reached a point where she did not believe she could continue growing in the way she wanted while remaining with the company.
Appearing on Cody Rhodes’ podcast, Ava, whose real name is Simone Johnson, discussed the thought process that led to her departure. The decision was not presented as a sudden reaction or a simple matter of a contract expiring. Instead, Ava described a lengthy period of consideration, saying she had been weighing the possibility for roughly a year before her deal was due to end in February.
For someone who entered WWE with a uniquely high-profile family background, the choice carries added significance. Ava is the daughter of The Rock and part of the extended Anoa’i family, a lineage that has had a major influence on WWE history. That background naturally created major expectations around what her eventual place in the company could be, including the possibility of a connection to The Bloodline on television. But Ava’s comments made clear that her decision was centered on her own development and her need to pursue a different path.
A Long-Term Decision Rather Than a Sudden Exit
Ava said the idea of leaving had been on her mind well before her WWE contract reached its conclusion. She acknowledged that multiple factors were involved, but identified growth as the central issue in her decision.
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“It was something that I had been thinking about for, I think about a year prior, and I knew that my contract was up in February, and a couple things had been happening,” Ava said. “There’s a lot of different reasons why I chose to leave, and it was incredibly hard, but I felt like it was time. I really, really wanted to grow, and I didn’t feel like I was in a position at WWE to where I could grow.”
The wording is important. Ava did not frame her time in WWE as a failure, nor did she suggest that she had no appreciation for the opportunities she received. Rather, she described a situation in which she had reached a personal and professional limit. For performers in a developmental environment, the need to improve can take several forms: gaining experience in front of live crowds, exploring different creative responsibilities, working within a new setting, or simply discovering a clearer sense of identity away from the structure of a major wrestling organization.
Ava did not detail every circumstance that contributed to her choice, and there is no need to fill in those blanks with speculation. What she did make clear is that the move came from a belief that she needed a new environment in order to keep learning.
Gratitude for Her WWE Run Remains Clear
While explaining why she left, Ava was equally direct about her gratitude for her time in WWE. Her comments were not an attempt to dismiss the company or diminish the importance of the experience. She said that she would not change what her WWE run gave her, even as she recognized that it was time to move on.
“I’m incredibly grateful for my time there. I would not change it for the world, but I think I knew. I was like, Okay, I need to do something else. I need to learn and grow and see what’s on the other side.”
That distinction gives Ava’s departure a notably thoughtful tone. Leaving a major company can often become the subject of immediate assumptions about creative frustrations, future plans, or possible disputes. Ava did not provide a detailed breakdown of all the reasons involved, and she did not announce a next destination. Her focus instead remained on the broader idea of moving forward and finding room to develop.
It is also a reminder that career progress in wrestling is not always measured solely by a performer’s position on television. Ava was in a prominent WWE role as the on-screen General Manager of NXT, which put her in front of the audience in a consistent authority position. Still, public visibility does not necessarily mean that a performer feels they are moving toward the skills, goals, or creative opportunities they want most. Ava’s remarks suggest that she saw a difference between being featured and feeling able to grow.
The Weight of a Historic Wrestling Family Name
Ava’s place in wrestling has always come with unusual attention because of her family. As the daughter of The Rock, she arrived with a surname connected to one of WWE’s biggest global stars. Her ties to the Anoa’i family also place her within an extended wrestling dynasty whose members have shaped generations of WWE programming.
That history inevitably invited discussion about where Ava might fit into WWE’s larger stories. The Bloodline became one of the defining factions of its era, and Ava’s family connection made a possible association an easy topic for fans to imagine. However, a recognizable lineage can create both opportunity and expectation. A performer can benefit from instant name recognition while also facing constant questions about whether their path will follow what audiences believe it should be.
Ava’s comments point away from those external expectations and back toward an individual decision. The possibility of a future Bloodline role may have appeared attractive from the outside, but her remarks indicate that remaining in a position because it seemed logical on paper was not enough. She wanted to continue learning, and she felt a change was necessary to do that.
That is particularly notable given the phrase “fourth-generation superstar” that has long surrounded Ava’s wrestling identity. Family legacies can open doors, but they do not automatically answer what a person wants from their own career. Ava’s explanation reflects an effort to define her future on her own terms rather than simply follow the most obvious route available to her.
Cody Rhodes Connects the Conversation to The Rock’s Advice
Rhodes responded to Ava’s comments by recalling advice he had previously received from her father. Rhodes shared an anecdote about The Rock encouraging him to say that he wanted to grow. As Rhodes told it, he embraced that advice so enthusiastically that he repeatedly used the word “grow” during a meeting and ended up ruining the meeting through overuse of the phrase.
The exchange added a personal layer to Ava’s explanation. Her emphasis on growth was not presented as a vague corporate talking point; it was the specific language she used to describe the internal push that drove her decision. Rhodes’ story also showed the familiar connection between the two families and underscored how central the concept was to Ava’s perspective.
There is an obvious irony in the moment: The Rock’s advice, as remembered by Rhodes, was built around the value of growth, while Ava has now used that same idea to explain why she needed to step away from WWE. Yet Ava’s version of that idea is more than a slogan. In her comments, growth means taking on the uncertainty of leaving a major platform in order to discover what may be available beyond it.
What Ava’s Comments Do — and Do Not — Establish
Ava has confirmed that her WWE exit was difficult and that she considered it for a significant period before her contract was up in February. She has also established that her desire to grow was a major reason for the move. Beyond that, she did not lay out a full list of contributing factors or disclose a specific next professional destination.
That leaves her future open. There is no need to assume an immediate in-ring return, a move to another promotion, or a particular role outside wrestling. Ava only said that she wanted to “see what’s on the other side,” language that leaves room for many possible directions.
For now, the clearest takeaway is that Ava viewed the decision as necessary despite the difficulty of making it. Her WWE tenure remains something she values, but she no longer believed it was the right setting for the next stage of her development.
In an industry where family connections and major-company opportunities can make certain career paths appear predetermined, Ava has made a choice that rejects easy assumptions. Her departure was not described as an attempt to erase her WWE experience. It was described as an attempt to build on it. Whether her next step remains connected to professional wrestling or takes her into a different field, Ava’s message is straightforward: she felt it was time to seek growth somewhere new.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.