The Rock’s Daughter Ava (Simone Johnson) Makes Singles Debut At WWE NXT Live Event

At Saturday’s WWE NXT live event in Tampa, Florida, Ava made her in-ring singles debut.

Ava defeated Ivy Nile in singles action on Saturday’s show. The pin was secured by the oldest daughter of WWE Legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson thanks to a distraction by Joe Gacy.

Below are a few photos and videos from Saturday’s match. The complete results from the Tampa live event can be found by clicking here.

Ava vs. Nile will take place on Tuesday’s special NXT Heatwave episode, as PWMania.com previously stated. After making her singles debut at the non-televised live event in Tampa, Ava’s match on Tuesday will be her official TV in-ring singles debut.

Ava, who turned 22 this month, has only worked five official WWE matches since joining the company in February 2020. On April 1, she made her in-ring debut alongside Gacy and The Dyad in an eight-person loss to Andre Chase, Duke Hudson, Tyler Bate, and Thea Hail at NXT Stand & Deliver. The Schism then lost to Nile, The Creeds, and Boa at the April 14 non-televised live event in Largo, FL, and Nile made her Tuesday night in-ring debut on the June 6 episode, teaming with The Dyad to defeat Nile and The Creeds. Ava also worked the non-televised NXT live event in Fort Pierce, FL on June 23, where she and Gacy were defeated by Hail and Hudson.

Ava began training at the Performance Center in February 2020. In May 2020, it was revealed that she had signed a WWE contract at the age of 18. It was reported in May 2021 that The Great One’s daughter was making progress at the Performance Center as the most-improved developmental talent in squats from January to May of that year. In September 2020, she had her third knee surgery. Ava made her NXT debut in July 2022 with an in-ring promo at a live event. She then made her television debut with The Schism on the October 25, 2022 episode of NXT.

Here are some photos and videos from Ava vs. Nile on Saturday night in Tampa: