Simone Johnson, daughter of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and former WWE NXT General Manager as well as in-ring performer and member of The Schism, shocked fans attending the Performance Center when she announced his retirement from WWE in late January.
According to Dave Meltzer the general consensus within the company at the time was Johnson “didn’t want to do it anymore.” With an episode of Cody RhodesWhat do you want to talk about?” podcast, however, the star had to explain more about her decision in her own words. He called it incredibly difficult.
“It was something I thought about, I think a year ago,” Johnson explained. “I knew that my contract ends in February. There were several things going on, there are many different reasons why I decided to leave, and it was incredibly difficult. But I felt it was time. I really wanted to grow and I didn’t feel like I was in a position in WWE where I could grow. I’m incredibly grateful that the world changed, but I didn’t think the world changed for my time there. “I need to do something different. I need to learn and grow and see what’s on the other side.”
Earlier in the podcast, Johnson talked about a time he was booed by fans at NXT Day of Retribution due to a backlash involving Rhodes. almost gave up his spot at WrestleMania 40 to The Rockand WWE history was woven around it. Johnson said it changed the way he felt about his journey and fans in general for a while.
If you use a quote from this article, write “What do you want to talk about?” and provided ah/t Wrestling Inc. for transcription.
