Ron Simmons

Ron Simmons (born May 15, 1958) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and retired American football player. He was the first African American to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, and was thus the first officially recognized African American World Champion. (Bobo Brazil, who won the NWA Championship in 1962, was not officially recognized for his win.)

Simmons was a Florida State University All-American football player, and played for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League and the Ottawa Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League. He became a professional wrestler in 1986, and went on to wrestle in World Championship Wrestling under his real name and in the World Wrestling Federation under both his real name and the ring names Faarooq Asad and Faarooq. He is currently under contract with the WWE and does public relations work. He also appears in backstage segments on RAW, known recently for his catchphrase, "DAMN!".

American football career
Born in Perry, Georgia, Simmons attended Warner Robins High School, where he played American football as a Tight End and Linebacker. In 1976, he was named lineman of the year, and first team All-State by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Simmons was an All-American football player at Florida State University under coach Bobby Bowden (who Simmons described as "a second father"), spending four years as a defensive nose guard. In 1988, Simmons's jersey (number 50) was retired by Florida State University, the third time a number has been retired in FSU history. In addition, Simmons was inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame for his accomplishments while playing at Florida State University.

He later had a brief career in the National Football League, selected as pick 160 in 1981. He played for the Cleveland Browns, and the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits in 1984 and the Memphis Showboats in 1985, but it was in Tampa where he was a teammate of future professional wrester Lex Luger and Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Nate Newton.

Professional wrestling career
Simmons returned to prominence several years after the end of his football career when he was recruited by Japanese professional wrestler Hiro Matsuda. Simmons trained under Matsuda and debuted in October 1986.

National Wrestling Alliance/World Championship Wrestling (1986-1994)
Ron Simmons teamed up with Butch Reed to form Doom. Doom defeated The Steiner Brothers for the NWA World Tag Team Championship, and would be recognized along with Reed as the first (Black) holders of the WCW World Tag Team Championship in January 1991.

On August 2, 1992, a scheduled title match between Sting and WCW World Heavyweight Champion Big Van Vader was cancelled after Jake Roberts injured Sting. WCW President Bill Watts responded by holding a raffle to determine the number one contender. Simmons won the raffle, and went on to defeat Vader with a powerslam to win the Championship. By defeating Vader, Simmons became the first ever African American WCW World Heavyweight Champion.

Simmons held the title for nearly five months, during which time he consolidated his reputation as a stiff wrestler. His reign ended on December 30, 1992 when Vader defeated him to regain the title.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1994-1995)
Simmons appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling from late 1994 to early 1995. During that time he unsuccessfully challenged ECW World Television Champion Shane Douglas at November To Remember 1994 and had matches with Mikey Whipwreck and 911.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (1996-Present)
Simmons joined the World Wrestling Federation and made his WWF debut on the July 22, 1996 episode of RAW is War. His first gimmick was that of Faarooq Asad, a gladiator who wore a black and blue gladiator outfit with a misshaped helmet and was managed by Sunny. Simmons briefly feuded with Ahmed Johnson before changing his ring name to simply Faarooq.

As Faarooq, Simmons and his new manager, Clarence Mason, formed a stable known as the Nation of Domination. The Nation of Domination was loosely based on the Nation of Islam, although the members of the stable were not exclusively African American. After Simmons threw the White American Crush and the Puerto Rican Savio Vega out of the Nation, Vega and Crush formed their own rival factions, known respectively as the Disciples of Apocalypse and Los Boricuas, and Simmons recruited more African American members for the Nation. The three stables feuded with one another throughout 1997. In early 1998, Simmons's leadership of the Nation of Domination was usurped by The Rock, and he spent several months feuding with his former stablemates.

In late 1998, Simmons began teaming with Bradshaw as Hell's Henchmen. They were managed by The Jackyl until he left the WWF, at which point they were repackaged as members of The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness and were renamed the Acolytes, as they acted like acolytes to the Undertaker. The Acolytes recruited Dennis Knight and Mabel to the Ministry by kidnapping and brainwashing them (renaming them Mideon and Viscera, respectively), and feuded with the Undertaker's rivals, such as D-Generation X and The Brood, the latter of which would later join the Ministry as well.

After the Undertaker suffered an injury in late 1999, the Ministry of Darkness disbanded. Simmons and Bradshaw continued to team with one another, and eventually adopted the gimmick of two brawlers who enjoyed drinking beer and smoking cigars (much like The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser before them). After Bradshaw began hiring out the services of the Acolytes as mercenaries and bodyguards, the tag team was renamed the Acolytes Protection Agency (APA).

The APA teamed together until 2002, when Simmons was drafted to the SmackDown! brand of the WWF (by then renamed World Wrestling Entertainment). Faarooq had a brief heel turn when he teamed with Reverend D-Von until he retired in December 2002, but in June 2003 he returned to WWE with Bradshaw and the APA reunited. One memorable moment during this short return was a joke shared by the two during which they claimed that the Basham Brothers' then-valet Shaniqua was actually Shelton Benjamin in drag.

In his last WWE storyline, he was fired by former SmackDown! General Manager Paul Heyman after he disrespected Heyman (due to the WrestleMania XX issue between Heyman and Stone Cold Steve Austin during that night). It was assumed the APA would be fired, but it turned out to only be Faarooq. Ron retired from his in-ring career, accusing Bradshaw of not being a faithful friend (in kayfabe; Simmons had decided to retire quietly in this manner due to injury and age). During that event, Heyman told Bradshaw that it was time for him to break out on his own again. Bradshaw went on to win the WWE Championship. Simmons retired from wrestling after this incident but continues to make appearances for the WWE in a promotional capacity.

In 2006, during a rebroadcast of the 1981 Orange Bowl on Sun Sports, Ron stated that since that time he has retired from wrestling action, but would like to continue or even improve his role with the WWE. Starting in October 2006, he began making short appearances on RAW just to say his catchphrase "Damn!", and eventually started wearing a shirt with the catchphrase. WWE fans have greatly cheered the catchphrase every time that he has used it.

On the November 20, 2006 edition of RAW, Simmons was chosen by Ric Flair to replace the injured Roddy Piper at the Survivor Series to take on the Spirit Squad. He was the first to be eliminated, via countout. He was seen in the ring with Chris Masters in the Masterlock Challenge on the January 15, 2007 edition of RAW, a confrontation which ended prematurely after interference from Super Crazy. He has since then been used at the end of backstage segments, saying his trademark "DAMN!", and sometimes "Wowsers!", catchphrases in many different ways.

Wrestling facts

 * Finishing and signature moves
 * Dominator/Damninator (Inverted front powerslam)
 * Standing spinebuster
 * Scoop powerslam
 * Football tackle to the knees
 * Shoulder block


 * With Bradshaw
 * Aided powerbomb
 * Back suplex / Neckbreaker slam combination
 * Double spinebuster


 * Managers
 * The Jackyl
 * Jacqueline


 * The Kat
 * Theodore Long
 * Clarence Mason
 * The Iron Sheik
 * Sunny
 * Woman


 * Nicknames
 * The All American
 * The Powerhouse


 * Quotes
 * DAMN!
 * Well I'll be DAMNED!
 * Don't Make Me Break My Foot Off In Yo' Ass!
 * Wowsers!

Championships and accomplishments

 * Memphis Championship Wrestling
 * MCW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Bradshaw as the A.P.A.


 * National Wrestling Alliance
 * Regional
 * NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (1 time) - with Butch Reed as Doom


 * Ohio Valley Wrestling
 * OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Bradshaw as the A.P.A.


 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year award in 1992
 * PWI ranked him # 108 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
 * PWI ranked him # 91 of the best tag teams of the PWI Years with Butch Reed.


 * World Championship Wrestling
 * WCW United States Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Big Josh
 * WCW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * WCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Butch Reed as Doom


 * World Wrestling Federation
 * WWF World Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Bradshaw as the A.P.A.