- The Rock's daughter Ava Raine is one of the newest, youngest stars at the WWE.
- She made her TV debut last year and is already being tipped for greatness.
Ava Raine, a 21-year-old pro wrestler, always seemed destined to compete for the WWE.
As she's distantly related to Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Tamina Snuka through her famous father The Rock, it was perhaps harder to walk on an alternative path than the one already trodden by high-achieving family members.
The Rock even told Jimmy Fallon during a 2020 episode of 'The Tonight Show' that Raine "was working her ass off" behind the scenes at age 16, getting herself thrown around the ring, and incurring bumps and bruises along the way because she was so desperate to pursue a career in the family business.
"It blows my mind … that my daughter wants to follow in my footsteps," he added, referring to a deal Raine signed with the WWE and its Performance Center in February 2020.
Raine told the WWE website at the time that she wanted to carry on The Rock's legacy, as her family, she said, "has such a special connection to wrestling."
She made her first televised appearance on October 26, 2022, and received rave reviews from some of the biggest names in the industry.
Charlotte Flair, daughter of Hall-of-Famer Ric Flair, even told Insider recently that Raine "did great, looked confident, and was comfortable" on the mic.
Watch her first appearance right here:
Meet Ava Raine — one of WWE's youngest stars-in-the-making
As her Instagram posts show, Raine is politically-engaged, enjoys vacations, and loves pizza.
In some ways she's like many of her Gen-Z peers.
However, unlike others, Raine seems to be headed to the top of sports entertainment.
She burst onto the NXT scene at WWE as a mysterious figure, wearing a yellow mask and dressed in a red hooded sweater, shadowing The Schism — a stable of wrestlers that includes Joe Gacy and The Dyad.
Though she's still in developmental, she's expected to take part in even greater storylines down the road for the WWE's flagship show, 'Smackdown.'
In WWE, one of the biggest and most successful storylines of the modern era has been The Bloodline — a villainous stable led by Reigns, and features his real-life cousins Solo Sikoa and The Usos — all of whom are also related to Raine.
"I'm ready to see what she can do," Jimmy Uso told TMZ Sports last year.
He added that he's "ready" for her to continue to develop on NXT, "pop off," and then "represent The Bloodline."
"We are all family," Uso said. "We all look out for her. She has the whole squad side on her side."
Raine made her in-ring debut this month
Raine made her in-ring debut earlier this month and fared well in a 10-minute eight-person tag team match during the NXT Stand and Deliver pre-show April 1.
The match pitted The Schism against Chase U and showed Raine going toe-to-toe with Thea Hail, and even generated a crowd reaction when she slapped male competitor Duke Hudson across the face.
Ultimately, Raine's team The Schism failed to get the win, yet, considering comments from Uso and Flair, it's clear she'll become a mainstay fixture on the WWE's programming.
NXT airs Tuesdays on USA Network and returns April 18.