Following his 2023 Men's Royal Rumble win, Cody Rhodes immediately declared then-Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Romans as his WrestleMania 40 opponent. In a shocking turn of events, he then stepped aside under the notion that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson would challenge "The OTC" at the grand event instead.The move led to a massive online uproar, with fans heavily backing Rhodes and chastising The Rock. The Rock's daughter Simone Johnson even found herself on the receiving end of hostility, too.According to Simone, she first heard about the outcry while sitting backstage at the 2024 "WWE NXT" Vengeance Day premium live event, which came just two days after The Rock seemingly replaced Rhodes.Less than two weeks before that, WWE hadappointed Simone (also known as Ava) as the new on-screen "NXT" General Manager as well."Dad came back. You guys shook your hands. He took your spot," Simone recalled on "What Do You Wanna Talk About," hosted by Rhodes. "That was Friday. That Sunday was an NXT pay-per-view, Vengeance Day. I remember it was gonna be the first time that there was WWE programming since that Friday Night SmackDown. I will never forget this. I was sitting in makeup ... I finished my makeup, and our head writer, Johnny Russo, came up to me and was like, 'Hey, can I just talk to you for a minute?' I said 'Sure.' I don't think I had filmed the promo that I was doing yet that day, or we were about to film it. He was like, 'Hey, just so you know, when we play your promo, please don't be surprised if they boo you.' I was like 'Okay.' I can understand that.'"
To no surprise, the audience indeed greeted Simone's appearance at Vengeance Day with a round of boos. Her response to it, however, changed over time."That did happen. All of the hate online happened. That day, it changed the way I looked at fans overall and it just changed the way that I looked at the wrestling business," Simone said. "For a while, I thought about it in a very negative way. It was quite negative at the time. Then I think, in a way, I'm incredibly grateful that happened because it kind of just made me double down and made me much more confident in what I was doing and why I was doing it."It made me just be like all these external factors can happen, and everyone can have an opinion because of who I am or something that my dad has done," she continued. "It made me be a little selfish in my journey and what I was doing, but I think it was necessary."Due to the overwhelming negative response to its booking decision, WWE's creative team later pivoted back to a Rhodes-Reigns program. Rhodes confirmed as such at the WrestleMania 40 press conference in Las Vegas when he told Reigns, and the entire world, that he'd challenge "The Tribal Chief" for his title at the big PLE. The Rock stayed involved in the storyline along the way, notably by turning heel and siding with Reigns.Simone, meanwhile, settled into her new role as the "NXT" General Manager. She eventually departed from the brand and WWE altogether in January 2026.If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "What Do You Wanna Talk About" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
