Simone Johnson, formerly known as Ava in WWE, has opened up about the backlash she received during the “We Want Cody” movement ahead of WrestleMania 40.
WWE initially appeared to be moving toward The Rock challenging Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 after Cody Rhodes stepped aside on SmackDown. The decision sparked a significant fan backlash, with supporters rallying behind Rhodes and pushing for him to receive his rematch against Reigns.
During an appearance on Rhodes’ “What Do You Wanna Talk About?” podcast (full episode below), Johnson recalled being warned by NXT head writer Johnny Russo that the reaction to WWE’s plans involving her father could spill over onto her.
“He was like, ‘Hey, just so you know, like, when we play your promo, please don’t be surprised if they boo you.’ And I was like, ‘Okay. Like, yeah. Like, I can understand that.’
“And then that did happen. Okay. All of the hate online happened. And that day it changed the way that I looked at, I think, fans overall.”
Johnson said the negativity was particularly difficult because she had nothing to do with the creative plans involving The Rock, Rhodes and Reigns. The experience ultimately changed her perspective on the wrestling business for a period of time.
“And it just changed the way that I looked at the wrestling business, and for a while I thought about it in a very negative way. ‘Cause it was quite negative at the time.”
Despite the heated reaction surrounding the situation, Johnson recalled Rhodes checking on her personally.
“No, you were very kind. You asked me if I was okay, and then you asked if there was anything you could do.”
WWE ultimately changed direction, with Rhodes challenging Reigns at WrestleMania 40 while The Rock turned heel and aligned himself with Reigns. Rock and Reigns defeated Rhodes and Seth Rollins on Night 1 before Rhodes defeated Reigns on Night 2 to capture the Undisputed WWE Championship.
Elsewhere during the conversation, Johnson discussed her decision to leave WWE, revealing that it was something she had been considering for roughly a year before her contract expired.
“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. There’s a lot of different reasons why I chose to leave, and it was incredibly hard. But I felt like it was time.”
Johnson stressed that there was no single incident behind her departure. Instead, she felt she needed to leave WWE in order to continue developing personally and professionally.
“I really, really wanted to grow, and I didn’t feel like I was in a position at WWE to where I could grow. And I’m incredibly grateful for my time there. I would not change it for the world.
“But I think I just 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. There wasn’t one particular thing, unfortunately. It was like a lot of things and had been something that was on my mind for a while.”
Also during the episode, Cody Rhodes revealed a wild alternate plan for The Rock’s “sell your soul” WWE storyline.
