Simone Johnson Cites Injuries as Barrier to Returning to WWE Ring
Simone Johnson says she misses the physicality of wrestling but must resolve injuries before considering a comeback to the ring.
Key points
- Simone Johnson says she misses wrestling but has unresolved injuries preventing a return.
- She left WWE NXT to seek personal growth outside the wrestling industry.
- A potential comeback depends on resolving physical pain from her last two months at WWE.
The canvas is cold, the ropes taut, and the silence between the bell’s ring heavy with anticipation. Simone Johnson, the 25-year-old daughter of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, stands at the edge of that quiet. She is no longer the general manager of NXT, a title she held for a brief, intense period, but the memory of the mat’s texture still lingers in her mind. It is a tactile ghost, a sensory echo of the six matches she wrestled for the developmental brand in 2023.
In a recent conversation with Cody Rhodes, Johnson admitted that the absence of in-ring work has become a hollow space. The pain that kept her away from the action during the final two months of her tenure at WWE has not faded. It has calcified into a question that hangs in the air: Is the career over, or merely paused? The answer, she says, is tethered to her body’s ability to heal.
Pain defines the pause
“I do genuinely miss actually wrestling,” Johnson stated, her voice carrying the weight of that specific longing. She described the final stretch of her time at WWE as a period where the joy of competition was eclipsed by physical distress. While she continued to train, the actual act of wrestling became a source of suffering rather than passion. This distinction is crucial. It is not a lack of desire, but a physiological barrier. The injuries remain unresolved, a mechanical problem that demands a solution before any artistic expression can resume.
The decision to leave NXT was not a sudden departure but a calculated choice. Johnson announced earlier this year that she would not renew her contract, citing a need to step outside the industry. She spoke of “a lot of reasons” for her exit, with the inability to grow in her position serving as a primary driver. The role of general manager, while prestigious, did not align with her long-term vision for personal and professional development. She sought a life beyond the wrestling industry, a necessary breath of fresh air after the compressed atmosphere of the company.
A calculated step away
Leaving WWE was not a rejection of the craft but a reevaluation of its place in her life. Johnson expressed appreciation for her time within the company, acknowledging the opportunities and challenges it presented. However, the desire to experience life outside the industry proved stronger. It was a move to reclaim autonomy, to explore identities and passions that had been sidelined by the demands of her role in the wrestling world. This period of separation is not a retreat but a reset, a strategic pause to allow for growth and reflection.
The road back is uncertain
The possibility of a return is not dismissed, but it is conditioned. Johnson’s statements, as reported by Wrestling Inc., reveal a nuanced perspective. She is not ruling out a comeback, but she is not rushing toward one either. The priority is clear: to address the injuries that have kept her from the ring. Only when her body is no longer a source of pain can she consider re-entering the arena. The ring waits, patient and unforgiving, for her return. The question is no longer whether she wants to wrestle, but when she will be able to do so without compromise.
