When your old man is The Rock, the world is going to expect you to be bigger than life, irrevocably likable, and always diplomatic. But Simone Garcia Johnson, aka WWE’s Ava Raine, decided to slam that protocol this week by being brazenly incisive in response to conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s passing and the internet is losing its mind.
The Setup: A Death That Split America
Last week, right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at a event in Utah. The news of his killing sent shockwaves around america, as friends lamented the departure of perhaps one of the more divisive figures of his generation. President Donald Trump entered full funeral mode, tweeting:
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika and family. Charlie, we love you!”
While politicians made statements of sorrow and cable pundits debated face time, Ava Raine went onto Instagram with a post that made people gasp and clutch their pearls, while rising to applause as people stood.
“If you want people to have kind words when you pass, you should say kind words while you’re alive.”
The comment section promptly exploded.
Backlash: WWE Fans and Culture Wars in Collision
These days, there’s no sneezing without it being a hashtag war, so of course, Ava’s post illuminated the wrestling internet. The fans who desired her to stick in her NXT role demanded immediate consequences.
One furious user tagged WWE leadership directly:
@WWE action must be taken against Ava’s backhand remark against Charlie Kirk. That is disgusting and she does not even know what she is going on about. #FireAva @TripleH.
Another came in in all capital letters, literally foaming at the keyboard:
“@wwe You should fire Ava Raine RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!! Complete disgusting and pathetic human being #fireava.”
Others, however, weren’t angry, they called for an investigation:
@WWE @TripleH must seek possible remarks made by Simone Garcia Johnson AKA Ava Raine surrounding late Charlie Kirk’s death.
For a brief moment, it looked as though Ava’s entire wrestling career might be powerbombed by outrage on Twitter.
Your Support: “Where’s the Lie?”
But don’t get it twisted, Ava Raine did not by herself stand in the storm. What she had to say hit a chord in people who believe that Kirk’s speech left scars, not legacies.
One fan dropped the receipts:
“You mean, where’s the lie???? I’ve watched video of him going viral in which he insinuated that blacks were better as slaves. If people are going to cry over your death, then don’t be a piece of shit while you’re living.”
Others praised her freely outspoken manner:
“She’s correct. Be someone worth partying about when you die. You can’t go around treating people poorly in life and then want people to behave as though you weren’t when you die.”
Another put it in simple terms:
“She smell what the culture is cooking she not wrong either … don’t be mad at her for voicing her thought.”
And then came the intellectual defense squad: “Recognizing the cruelties & inhumane behavior of one who has perished is not to rejoice in one’s death, it is to view reality. @charliekirk11 was a misogynist, homophobe & racist. What he said did measurable harm & no apotheosis is deserved.”
Why Ava’s Comment Hurt Kirk’s Fans
Ava Raine is bigger than your average celebrity kid with a Twitter account. She’s a second-generation superstar in the making, crafting her WWE career under her own name. In holding people accountable for hypocrisy in passionately courting controversial figures after fatalities, she dared followers to answer a question that makes people cringe: Are we obligated to be kind to the dead if they weren’t while alive?
Her statements were brief, concise, and surgical, more of a moral litmus test than a hot take. And that’s precisely why people can’t get over it.
WWE Backstage
Now, will WWE sit back and let this firestorm play out, or will it step in before it devours Ava’s career? WWE has in the past enforced what its talents do out of the ring, especially when there is politics involved. Fans are already spamming keywords like #FireAva in hopes of getting the corporation to take action.
But there’s a twist: Ava’s remarks weren’t made in a spirit of trolling. They arose out of generational renewal. Young people are over the age old playbook that dictates “you must respect the dead, period.” No, instead, younger people are rewriting history in real time: legacy is won, not conceded.
Bottom Line: Hero Moment of Ava Raine or Heel Turn?
At its conclusion, Ava Raine did what professional wrestlers do best: she made a promo that completely divided the crowd in half. She’s a disrespectful nepotism baby walking over a man’s grave to one, and to the other, it’s the voice of a generation that’s shouting hypocrisy in the same raw voice that she does inside of NXT. Either way, there’s one guarantee: Ava Raine has now walked into the biggest narrative of her rising career, and it never happened inside of a ring.
