Ava on her decision to leave WWE: “I didn’t feel like I was in a position to where I could grow”
Simone Johnson aka Ava, who served as NXT General Manager from January 2024 through January 2026, appeared on Cody Rhodes’ podcast. During the discussion, Ava commented on her decision to leave WWE…
“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 of 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. 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. Would not change it for the world. But I think I just knew I was like, ‘Okay, I need to do—need to do something else. I need to learn and grow and see what’s on the other side.'”