Ricky Saints addresses comparisons to The Rock, claiming that even his daughter Ava disagreed with any commonalities.
In his interaction with TMZ Sports, Saints explained how the comparisons have become a common occurrence and do not bother him. He often brushes it off as a lazy insult.
“Well, you know, talking to his daughter, she would argue that’s not the case. She denies that at all. But getting compared to The Rock is fine at this point, it doesn’t bother me, it genuinely doesn’t. I think it’s kinda funny when you do one thing The Rock does and everyone’s like ‘see we knew it! We knew you were trying to be like The Rock for years and years!’. It’s like ‘Shut up, oh my God!’.
He joked about the parallels intended to be criticism which doesn’t quite land the way some may expect.
“Saying that I look like The Rock, if that’s the worst insult you have, that means I’m pretty damn attractive. The whole ‘Temu Rock’, hey buddy, you’re shopping on Temu? Wow.’”
“At this point I hear it so much that I find it funny, I used to get Mark Wahlberg at certain points. Matt Damon, I’ve got Matt Damon before.”
Saints made his NXT debut in February 2025 after nearly five years in AEW. Throughout his career, fans often pointed out similarities between him and The Rock, particularly when it comes to charisma and presentation.
Saints competed in the fatal four-way match for the NXT Championship at Stand & Deliver on April 12 where Tony D’Angelo walked away with the victory.
Booker T addressed former NXT General Manager Ava’s departure from WWE on his Hall of Fame podcast.
Ava, the daughter of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, announced on January 30 that she had finished up with WWE. On last week’s episode of NXT, Shawn Michaels appointed Mr. Stone as an interim General Manager. Ava was not mentioned on the broadcast.
Booker told co-host Brad Gilmore that he believes Ava did a tremendous job in the role and feels it is important for a young person to be put in charge of the brand.
Booker said:
“We don’t have a GM at NXT anymore. Ava, daughter of The Rock, of course, she stepped down from being general manager of NXT, and I tell you, I thought she did a hell of a job. I really did. I thought she fit that role very, very well as a young person being a part of such a young group of guys doing big things and being able to have her finger on the pulse of knowing what young people may want.“
As far as a full-time replacement for the NXT General Manager role, Booker and Gilmore spoke about Mr. Stone and Chelsea Green as possibilities, but Booker stressed that he believes a young person should ultimately be cast in the role.
Booker continued:
“When young people see young people doing things, it inspires them. So I would love to see a young person step into that role and take it to the next level.”
Dave Meltzer addressed Ava’s WWE departure in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, noting that it was her decision to do so.
“Those within the company said basically that she had decided to do other things with her life, noting that her parents (Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia) own a production company among other things (including 16 percent ownership each in the UFL football league. They noted it was her decision. Obviously it came suddenly since there was no storyline building it up,” Meltzer wrote.
Booker’s comments are available in the video below:
Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor returns today with tons to talk about including the big changes at Nielsen that have really helped pro-wrestling starting last week, how NXT covered — or didn’t — the departure of Ava, a full TV review of the show, Dynamite tonight, the F4W Convention, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Tuesday’s show opened with Shawn Michaels officially naming Robert Stone the new interim general manager of NXT. Michaels told Stone that for the last seven years, he has done whatever he’s been told, and he knows Stone loves NXT. Michaels said that things could get crazy around here, but he kind of likes it that way. Stone told HBK that he wouldn’t let him down. Ava, the previous general manager, was not mentioned by name nor was her departure explained.
The move comes as Ava (Simone Johnson) announced last week that she would not be renewing her contract with WWE. Shortly after her contract expired, she posted a message on social media critical of the Trump administration and ICE before deactivating her account.
Stone, 42, wrestled in TNA under the name Robbie E before joining NXT in 2019, managing the likes of Chelsea Green, Riddick Moss, and Von Wagner. When Wagner was released from his contract in 2024, Stone became an assistant to Ava alongside Stevie Turner. He also is part of the WWE Evolve commentary team alongside Peter Rosenberg.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including the doom of AVA and how it will be addressed on NXT tonight, last night’s RAW with the CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns main event segment, Nick Hogan at the Performance Center, Hiromu leaving New Japan, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the death of the Great Mephisto, the Reigns vs. Punk promo segment at the end of RAW plus a complete report on the show, Hiromu leaving New Japan, Peacock business, ratings, more on the departure of Ava, CMLL news and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps: Start: The Great Mephisto passes away 15:29: Roman Reigns & CM Punk set for WrestleMania 42 18:31: Hiromu Takahashi leaving NJPW, other NJPW notes 24:46: Ava posts message critical of US administration & closes X account, new Peacock numbers, ratings 38:54: CMLL & AAA notes, Diego Lopes breaks both feet during UFC fight 42:17: WWE Raw recap, lineups for the week
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, RAW tonight, Finn Balor, Collision with the Tomasso Ciampa title change, the departure of AVA from NXT, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Ava announced Friday that she has left WWE, with last week’s episode of NXT marking her final appearance on the show.
Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez addressed her departure on Sunday’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, with Meltzer saying her decision not to renew with WWE came down to her just not wanting to do it anymore.
“I’ve talked to and heard from several people and the general thing was just she didn’t want to do it anymore. There was no compelling reason,” Meltzer said on the show.
Ava’s partner, Tatyanna Dumas, was recently cut by WWE, although it is not clear whether that factored into her decision to leave.
“It was her decision, it’s not like they were going to get rid of her or anything like that,” Meltzer said.
Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez addressed the latest news regarding Ava’s departure from WWE on Wrestling Observer Radio.
The former NXT General Manager revealed this week that last Tuesday’s edition of NXT was her last and that she has chosen not to re-sign with WWE.
“I’ve talked to and heard from several people and the general thing was just she didn’t want to do it anymore. There was no compelling reason,” Meltzer said on the show.
“It was just one of those things where her parents own a studio and they thought that she’s probably going to end up working there. She doesn’t have to do it.”
It was also mentioned that Ava’s partner Tatyanna Dumas, was cut by WWE recently. However, it’s not clear if that factored into Ava’s decision to leave the company.
“One person had contacted me and mentioned Tatyanna Dumas, who is her girlfriend, was cut, which we didn’t hear just a couple of weeks ago. They weren’t quite saying that’s why she quit but it was something that people put one and one together that maybe that had something to do with it, maybe it didn’t, I don’t know.”
Alvarez mentioned that there was no mention on Tuesday’s episode of NXT that Ava could be leaving soon. An angle involving her and Tony D’Angelo has been playing out in recent weeks on the show.
“It was her decision, it’s not like they were going to get rid of her or anything like that,” Meltzer added.
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up on the site right now. Some of the key stories being covered:
Royal Rumble thoughts, odds and direction
The business of UFC to Paramount, the numbers that were released, what they mean, and how much revenue does this mean vs. how much they paid for rights
Coverage of Saturday Night’s Main Event
UFC 324 coverage, the fights, the future and the business
The life and times of Kim Wood, football, weightlifting, perception of people, Ken Shamrock and Brian Pillman
How Smackdown and NXT did throughout 2025 on Netflix, the ups and the downs
The most complete look at the ratings for all the pro wrestling TV shows over the past week, demos, comparisons, drops from last year factoring out why it would and should drop with big data
A new record set for most sellouts by a main eventer in a given month
Huge CMLL business week and great matches
Major shows upcoming
Big events coming for New Japan
Fantastica Mania coming
Mayu Iwatani’s 15th anniversary show
Jesse Ventura suggest Minnesota should leave the U.S.
Chris Jericho on TV show
Jimmy Jacobs talks working for Vince McMahon
Mick Foey on his mother’s death
Controversial independent angle makes mainstream attention and gets wrestler fired
Former WWE champion in talks to become a weekly TV character elsewhere
Former WCW attitude era announcer about to come back to wrestling
— I don’t have much new regarding Simone Johnson (Ava) leaving WWE. She announced that her contract has expired and wasn’t going to sign a new deal earlier today. I guess there is no angle to write her off but it’ll be explained on Tuesday.
— Want to thank everyone for the nice comments about the show on Wednesday and the article on Kim Wood in today’s Observer. We talked a lot more about Wood on today’s show with Alex Marvez, who knew him well from his days covering the Cincinnati Bengals and they remained very close friends.
— AEW Dynamite did 653,000 viewers and an 0.09 in 18-49. It is the most viewers the show has done since Big Data came into being. This number doesn’t include MAX. For live and same day viewing, if you include MAX, it would beat the Raw number of the prior week and could be close to the Smackdown number as well. It’s only a one-week thing and the gains were mostly teenagers (best teenage number for a pro wrestling TV show in recent weeks) and 50+. These numbers aren’t exact but it did about 43,000 in 18-34, 81,000 in 35-49 and 107,000 in 50-54 which obviously makes no sense at all. I wouldn’t react too much to a one-week rating number, but since the focus was on multiple challengers for the world title (Swerve, Andrade, Kenny Omega, Adam Page and Brody King) that would seem to be the reason, but it’s better to wait for a pattern.
— Regarding Powerhouse Hobbs/Royce Keys and the note in the current issue. While AEW did make a big offer for him to come in, a number that just a few years ago would be very high for a pro wrestler, it wasn’t through the roof high and was not at the level of the top ten plus stars in AEW, but it was a very good five-year offer. We don’t know the WWE offer. To clarify, it was not at the level of the biggest stars in the company right now. I don’t know how much he even considered as WWE believed he was coming for some time either way. I think some had the impression he was offered top-of-the-line money and while it would have been pre-wrestling competition a great number, the salary scale throughout the industry has risen because of competition.
— Voices of Wrestling released their poll for the ten best matches of 2025:
Kenny Omega vs. Gabe Kidd 1/5
MJF vs. Mistico 9/19
Adam Page vs. Will Ospreay 5/25
Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley 7/12
Toni Storm vs. Mariah May 3/9
Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 2/11
Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano 4/27
Bandido vs. Konosuke Takeshita 7/11
El Desperado vs. Jun Kasai 6/24
Sareee vs. Syuri 3/10
— Henry Miller, the former sumo and MMA fighter Sentoryu who was popular during the Pride heyday, passed away last night at the age of 56. He had lung issues.
— CMLL at Arena Mexico. At this writing the show is not sold out. They raised ticket prices for this one. It’s on Triller starting at 9:30 p.m. Eastern as well as on the CMLL YouTube subscription page.
Espiritu & Rey Cometa vs,. Coyote & Polvora
Cobarde & Felino Jr. & El Hijo de Stuka Jr. vs. Akuma & Los Gemelo Diablos I & II
Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja & Soberano Jr. vs. Mason Madden & Mansoor & Johnny TV
Flip Gordon vs. Barbaro Cavernario
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Xelhua for the CMLL heavyweight title
Mistico & Mascara Dorada & Neon vs. Difunto & Ultimo Guerrero & Volador Jr. in a non-title match
This is the first show with The Sky team all together in seven weeks as it’s Neon’s first match back from a broken shoulder.
— For tomorrow night at Arena Coliseo in Mexico City, the main event is a non-title four-way with Castagnoli vs. Angel de Oro vs. Cavernario vs. Euforia plus Johnny TV & Madden & Mansoor vs Barboza & Difunto & Furia Roja
— Sunday at Arena Mexico has Madden & Mansoor & TV in the main event against Atlantis Jr. & Gordon & Neon and Xelhua vs. Euforia. Puebla on Monday looks to be the strongest sellout chance with Mistico & Dorada & Templario vs. Cavernario & Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr. plus Atlantis Jr. vs. Ultimo Guerrero
— The Royal Rumble starts at 2 p.m. tomorrow from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Men’s Royal Rumble
Women’s Royal Rumble
Drew McIntyre vs. Sami Zayn for WWE title
Gunther vs. AJ Styles with Styles career at stake
— We’re looking for reports on these weekend shows: *NXT in Nashville, TN tonight *NXT in Birmingham, AL tomorrow We’re looking for results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]
— We’ll be doing a poll on the Royal Rumble tomorrow so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
— UFC tomorrow night on Paramount from Sydney,Australia starting at 5 p.m. Eastern time:
Aaron Tau (129) vs. Namsral Batbayar (126) – Fight canceled due to Tau missing weight
Sulangrangbo (135.75) vs. Lawrence Lui (135.25)
Keeichiro Nakamura (145.25) vs. Sebastian Szalay (145.75)
Sungwook Kim (155.75) vs. Dom Mar Fan (154.75)
Kaan Ofli (145.25) vs. Yizha (145.5)
Jonathan Micalief (170.5) vs. Oban Elliott (169.75)
Jacob Malkoun (185.75) vs. Torrez Finney (185.75)
Cameron Rowston (184.5) vs.Cody Brundage (184.75)
Junior Tafa (202.25) vs. Billy Elekana (204)
Quillan Salkilld (155.5) vs. Jamie Mullarkey (155.5)
Tai Tuivasa (265.5) vs Tallison Teixeira (259)
Rafael Fiziev (155.5) vs. Mauricio Ruffy (155.25)
Dan Hooker (155.75) vs. Benoit Saint Denis (155.75)
Alexander Volkanovski (144.5) vs. Diego Lopes (145) for the UFC featherweight title
— Collision is tomorrow at 8 p.m. from Arlington, TX:
Mark Briscoe vs. Tommaso Ciampa for TNT title
Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron vs. Skye Blue & Julia Hart for AEW women’s tag titles
Kazuchika Okada vs. Adam Priest for International title
— The home that Hulk Hogan lived in in Clearwater Beach, FL, is up for sale for just under $11 million. It’s 5,400 square feet with five bedrooms, with an ocean view, a pool and spa.
— Braun Strowman was released from the hospital today after surgery for an infection in his knee.
— New Japan announced they will be releasing a documentary on Hiroshi Tanahashi’s final match which will be released shortly for free on New Japan World.
— James Curtin/Rockstar Spud/Drake Maverick turns 43 today while Becky Lynch turns 39. Sailor Art Thomas was born 102 years ago today. Rick Harris/BlackBart would have been 78 today. (Thanks to Tony Richards)
–AAA on YouTube tomorrow has:
TJP vs. Chris Carter vs. Mini Vikingo vs. Elio LeFleur with the winner getting a cruiserweight title shot at Laredo Kid
Lola Vice vs. La Hiedra, winner teams with Mr. Iguana for a mixed tag team challenge against Ethan Page & Chelsea Green
La Parka vs. Apollo Crews vs. Jack Cartwheel vs. Aerostar, winner goes to the Rey de Reyes finals.
— Last night at Arena Aficion for its 74th anniversary show before a sellout 3,500 fans, Mistico & Bandido b Soberano Jr. & Angel de Oro, Mascara Dorada & Esfinge b Mortos & Difunto, Solar drew Satanico for the Masters title were the top matches.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with the Friday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, talking about the big news from today’s issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
AEW’s Alex Marvez joined us to talk about the life and times of Kim Wood.
Here were some of the things we discussed:
Possible Royal Rumble winners
AJ Styles and whether this is his last match or not
Possible surprises
AEW Dynamite ratings
Simone Johnson’s status in WWE
If booking wrestling today is easier or harder than in years past
In a statement, the company wished Ava, real name Simone Johnson, all the best in her future endeavors and commended her work in the company.
“WWE thanks and applauds Simone Garcia Johnson for her stellar work as Ava and beyond,” they said. “Her passion, dedication, and impact were felt across the entire NXT and WWE community. We wish her the very best in all future endeavors.”
Earlier on Friday, the NXT General Manager announced on social media that she would not be renewing her contract, and this past Tuesday’s show was her last appearance.
“This past Tuesday was my last appearance on NXT & subsequently WWE. Thank you to all who have cheered, watched, and supported me through my journey. While my decision to not renew my contract was very difficult, it’s also new turning point in my life. It has been an honor & a privilege to be Ava.”
“I loved being your mayor. From the bottom of my heart, thank you,” she later added.
Ava, daughter of The Rock, first joined the WWE Performance Center in 2020. Two years later, she made her television debut as a member of The Schism. Once the group went their separate ways, Shawn Michaels named her the General Manager of NXT in 2024.
The former NXT General Manager released a statement on Friday revealing that last Tuesday’s episode of NXT was her last with the company, saying that she decided not to renew her contract.
Ava’s statement reads:
“This past Tuesday was my last appearance on NXT & subsequently WWE. Thank you to all who have cheered, watched, and supported me through my journey. While my decision to not renew my contract was very difficult, it’s also new turning point in my life. It has been an honor & a privilege to be Ava.”
The 24-year-old daughter of The Rock signed with WWE and reported to the Performance Center in Orlando in early 2020. She joined Joe Gacy’s Schism faction as Ava Raine in 2022 and made her in-ring debut the following year. Ava only wrestled on WWE programming three times, with her only singles match being a loss to Ivy Nile at Heatwave 2023.
She transitioned to an on-screen authority role in late 2023, first as Shawn Michaels’ assistant, and then later being promoted to General Manager in 2024.
Ava (Simone Johnson) was in attendance at Sunday night’s award ceremony where her father was nominated for his performance as Mark Kerr in “The Smashing Machine.” Out of the six nominees in the Best Actor in a Motion Picture category, Wagner Moura took home the honor for “The Secret Agent.”
“Proud is such an understatement,” Ava tweeted today. “Congratulations to all the winners & nominees #GoldenGlobes2026”
Ava — who is the on-screen general manager of WWE NXT — attended the Golden Globes with her girlfriend Tatyanna Dumas, who is signed to WWE as a prospect in the Performance Center. Dumas is originally from Australia and was a stunt performer and basketball player before joining WWE in 2024.
“An honour to stand by your side and be there for moments that are unforgettable,” Dumas responded to Ava’s tweet. “Proud of Dad, that’s for sure. The first, but not the last.”
Along with Johnson and Moura, Michael B. Jordan, Jeremy Allen White, Oscar Isaac, and Joel Edgerton were nominated in the Best Actor category. It was the first Golden Globe nomination for Johnson, who stepped outside of his comfort zone in “The Smashing Machine” to show that he’s capable of more as an actor than we’ve seen from him before.
“The Smashing Machine” was released in October 2025 and tells the story of Kerr’s MMA career, battle with addiction, and his relationship with his ex-wife Dawn.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is so proud of how is daughter Ava has managed to follow in his footsteps while simultaneously carving out her own path.
With Ava standing beside him, Johnson got emotional while speaking to MTV UK about his daughter’s WWE career. It means a lot to have Ava in the family business, but Johnson is especially proud that she has never once asked him to use his influence to help her get ahead.
“I am so proud of her. Because it’s what I did, you know? And I love what I did. And I love wrestling, I grew up in wrestling. She was born into it too, just like I was. And when she said, ‘Hey, I want to do what you do.’ But the difference is — it’s why I get emotional — because she’s like, ‘I want to do what you do, but I want to carve my own path.’ And that’s the difference,” Johnson said. “That was a big deal when I heard that.
“Because it’s easy, I think, for any kid who wants to come up and do what their parents are doing to — maybe it’s not overt, but to utilize the influence. I’m telling you, it never happened. I never got that call. Like, ‘Hey, can you call someone?’ I never got that call, and that’s the truth. And that’s the thing that makes me proud. When you don’t get that call — look, I would have been there anyway, I would have made that call. But when you don’t get it, it gave me a profound sense of pride, because, oh, I helped, with her mom, raise an amazing human being.”
Ava (Simone Johnson) first joined the WWE Performance Center in 2020. Performing in the ring was her initial path, but she’s since transitioned into a different role as the on-screen general manager of NXT. She was not present on this week’s episode due to being in Europe, where her father is promoting his upcoming movie “The Smashing Machine” — a biopic on MMA legend Mark Kerr that is set to be released in theaters on October 3.
