The Rock breaks silence on Ava Raine receiving death threats ahead of WrestleMania XL

The Rock's sudden return has made waves in WWE, and fans have reacted negatively over the past few weeks. Recently, The Great One broke his silence and addressed the death threats Ava Raine received following Friday Night SmackDown ahead of WrestleMania XL.

Earlier this month, The Rock returned to Friday Night SmackDown and seemingly took Cody Rhodes' spot in the main event of WrestleMania 40 against Roman Reigns. An overwhelming majority of the WWE Universe has been against the decision made by the current board member of TKO Group Holdings.

Some fans reacted poorly and sent death threats to Ava Raine, aka Simone Johnson, after the show, which led to her leaving X (Twitter). Speaking to Pat McAfee, The People's Champion addressed the threats and praised her daughter's recent work ahead of WrestleMania Kickoff:

"She's feeling it too [Fan backlash]... Oh yeah, Cody's gotta finish his story... By the way, she's also got death threats. It's crazy... C'mon guys, we're all in this thing, and by the way, what happens in the middle of the ring and on these storylines, don't forget that, again inside baseball, outside the ring, we all talk. We all can figure this thing out while working together."

It will be interesting to see how the fans react after the match is officially made for the event.

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The Rock reportedly decided on a major match at WrestleMania 40

Earlier this year, The Rock became a board member at TKO Group Holdings and acquired more power in the promotion heading into WrestleMania 40. After his return, he made a major change to a marquee match at WrestleMania XL.

According to Fightful Select, The Rock was the driving factor backed by other board members when he decided to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 instead of Cody Rhodes:

"With Johnson’s power as a member of the TKO Board of Directors, his Hollywood standing and the backing of Ari Emanuel, Nick Khan, and others, the decision was made to go with Rock vs. Reigns as the headline bout, believing it would be a greater attraction for the mainstream and also help push some positive momentum for the company."

It will be interesting to see how The American Nightmare finishes his story in the coming months.

What are your thoughts on The Rock's return? Sound off in the comment section below.

If you use quotes from this article, please credit Pat McAfee and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.