Shawn Michaels provides update on The Rock's daughter Ava
Shawn Michaels recently gave an insight into what the future might hold for The Rock's daughter in WWE.
Ava, real name Simone Johnson, has been part of WWE's developmental system since 2020. The 22-year-old made her televised NXT debut as a member of the Schism faction in 2022 before becoming an authority figure.
Michaels, NXT's head booker, told reporters ahead of Stand & Deliver that Ava's in-ring future is uncertain. However, he believed she was performing well in her new role as a General Manager.
"From a ring standpoint, we'll wait and see on that, to be perfectly honest, because she is doing a fantastic job as GM," Michaels stated. "It was something that I thought about a long time ago. It was one of those things where, okay, we'll wait to see if that looks like it presents itself. After some time in the ring, and doing everything with Schism, it felt like it was time to go there. Her development has been fantastic. I'm very proud of her," said Micheals. [0:34 – 1:04]
Watch the video above to hear Michaels reflect on his WrestleMania 10 Ladder Match against Razor Ramon.
Shawn Michaels praises Ava's ability to handle pressure
As NXT's on-screen decision-maker, Ava sometimes appears in multiple segments in an episode.
Weekly shows often require script changes at short notice, which is something Shawn Michaels thinks Ava copes with seamlessly.
Shawn stated:
"Things that have gone on during a live television show, and she has adjusted and adapted. She is probably, besides myself and my head writer Johnny Russo, she's one of the three of us that has to be ready for anything to change, and we throw a lot on her at the last minute and she does a great job of handling that, so we're very proud of her progress." [1:04 – 1:30]
WWE NXT will move from the USA Network to The CW Network in October 2024. Shawn Michaels added that the show is likely to bring in viewers from a younger demographic due to the channel change.
"I think that's exactly what it's doing," he said, referencing WWE's younger viewership. "I think you can see with NXT, not just our athletes are getting younger, but so is our audience. I think one of the things that's obviously going to assist in that and help that continue our audience to grow is the move to CW later this year," the NXT Head booker said. [1:59 – 2:17]
At Saturday's Stand & Deliver event, Ava announced that NXT will introduce a new women's title in the coming weeks.
What do you make of Shawn Michaels' booking of Ava? Hit the discuss button and let us know.
Please give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.