Simone Johnson, known to WWE fans as Ava, has made clear that she has not closed the door on wrestling again.
During an appearance on Cody Rhodes’ What Do You Want To Talk About?, Johnson was asked directly whether her time as an in-ring competitor had come to an end. Her answer left room for a future return, though she also emphasized that her immediate priority is addressing the injuries that have affected her ability to train and wrestle.
“I hope not. I have a couple of injuries that I need to sort out. When that is done….I think [I’ll return]. I do genuinely miss actually wrestling. For my last two months there…even when I was general manager, I was still training and wrestling, but for my last two months, I was in so much pain that I wasn’t actually wrestling. I do miss that.”
The comments are significant because Johnson’s WWE journey has already required considerable adaptation. She began training at the WWE Performance Center in 2020 with the goal of continuing her family’s celebrated wrestling legacy. As the daughter of The Rock, she entered the system with an enormous level of public attention before she had even established herself as a performer in the ring.
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That spotlight has always made Johnson’s path different from that of the average WWE prospect. The expectation surrounding her last name was unavoidable, but so were the physical setbacks that delayed her progress early in her development. Her recent remarks show that the toll of those setbacks continued well beyond the beginning of her training, ultimately affecting her ability to do the in-ring work she says she still misses.
An In-Ring Ambition Put on Hold
Johnson’s last match took place in August 2023. While her match history was limited, her comments suggest that wrestling remained part of her routine for a considerable period after she stopped appearing as an active competitor on WWE programming. She explained that she was still training and wrestling even after stepping into an on-screen authority position.
That distinction matters. An authority role can remove a performer from the physical demands of televised matches, but it does not necessarily mean the wrestler has abandoned the goal of competing. In Johnson’s case, she indicated that she remained involved with in-ring training while serving as NXT General Manager. The issue was not an apparent loss of interest in wrestling; it was the pain that eventually made training no longer feasible during her final two months there.
Johnson did not identify the injuries involved, reveal a diagnosis, or offer a recovery schedule. As a result, there is no established timetable for when she could be medically ready to resume training, let alone return to a ring in a competitive role. Her use of “I hope not” also keeps the situation appropriately open-ended. It is an expression of desire rather than an announcement that a comeback has been scheduled or guaranteed.
Still, the central takeaway is clear: Ava’s transition away from active wrestling was not presented as a permanent creative decision. Johnson continues to see the possibility of wrestling again once she has dealt with the physical issues standing in her way.
From Performance Center Prospect to NXT General Manager
Johnson arrived at the WWE Performance Center in 2020, beginning a developmental process that carried both opportunity and pressure. For any newcomer, the road from training to television is demanding. For Johnson, it also came with immediate comparisons to one of the most recognizable figures in professional wrestling history.
Injuries slowed that process. Rather than developing through a lengthy run of matches, Johnson ultimately had only a handful of bouts before taking on a much more prominent non-wrestling television role. Beginning in 2024, she served as NXT General Manager, becoming a key authority figure in the brand’s ongoing stories and weekly presentation.
The role gave Ava a consistent on-screen platform and established her as an important part of NXT even while she was no longer regularly competing. General managers are often central to the structure of a wrestling program, making matches, responding to confrontations, and representing the brand’s authority. It was a position that allowed Johnson to remain visible and involved in WWE programming while her own in-ring future was uncertain.
Yet her comments to Rhodes underline that being a television authority figure did not replace the satisfaction she found in wrestling. She specifically said she “genuinely” misses the act of competing. For a performer whose active match experience has been limited by injury, that feeling may be especially notable. Johnson has not described herself as someone who had a full in-ring career and decided to move on; she remains someone who wants the chance to pursue the work that injuries interrupted.
WWE Departure Does Not Necessarily End the Goal
Johnson left WWE at the end of January after choosing not to renew her contract. That decision ended her latest chapter with the company, including her tenure as the NXT General Manager, but it does not automatically settle the larger question of whether she will wrestle in the future.
Her latest remarks do not announce a destination, a new contract, or a planned appearance for any promotion. They also do not establish whether a potential return would be with WWE or somewhere else. The only concrete point Johnson offered is that she wants to resolve her injuries and believes a return could be possible after that process is complete.
That restraint is important in evaluating the situation. There is often a tendency to treat a former WWE talent’s expression of interest in returning to the ring as immediate evidence of an imminent signing or debut. Nothing in Johnson’s comments supports that kind of conclusion. Her focus was on her health and on what she misses about the profession, not on a next destination or a date.
At the same time, she did not frame her WWE exit as retirement. The wording leaves a meaningful opening for the next phase of her career, whenever she is physically able to pursue it. Whether that eventually involves another WWE run, an opportunity elsewhere, or a return to training outside of public view remains unknown.
Health Remains the Decisive Factor
The clearest obstacle in front of Johnson is not interest, visibility, or family legacy. It is recovery. She said that pain had reached the point where she was not actually wrestling during her final two months, despite previously continuing to train while working as General Manager. That is a direct indication of how seriously the physical issue had disrupted her ability to stay active.
Professional wrestling requires consistent conditioning and ring practice even before a performer can consider a return to televised competition. For Johnson, sorting out the injuries will come before rebuilding that routine. There is no reason to assume the process will move quickly, particularly when she has not provided details about the injuries or their treatment.
What can be said is that Johnson’s motivation appears intact. She entered WWE training in 2020 in pursuit of a wrestling career, battled early setbacks, worked a handful of matches, and found another way to contribute on NXT television as Ava. Now, after leaving WWE, she has again stated that she hopes her in-ring story has not reached its conclusion.
For now, there is no announced return and no timetable to monitor. But Johnson’s answer provides a clear update on her mindset: she still wants to wrestle, she still misses it, and she believes that possibility can remain alive if she is able to get healthy.
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.