Ron Simmons | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Simmons in 2020 | |
| Born | Ronald Simmons (1958-05-15)May 15, 1958 (age 67)[1] Perry, Georgia, U.S.[2] |
| Alma mater | Florida State University |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Doom #1[3] Faarooq[1] Faarooq Asaad[1] Ron Simmons |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[4] |
| Billed weight | 270 lb (122 kg)[4] |
| Billed from | Warner Robins, Georgia "The Mean Streets" (as Faarooq Asaad)[4] |
| Trained by | Hiro Matsuda[1][4] |
| Debut | 1986[1] |
| Retired | March 17, 2012[5] |
| Football career | |
| Profile | |
| Position | Defensive tackle |
| Career information | |
| High school | Warner Robins (GA) |
| College | Florida State |
| NFL draft | 1981: 6th round, 160th overall pick |
| Career history | |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
Ronald K. Simmons[6] (born May 15, 1958) is an American formerprofessional wrestler andfootball player. He is best known for his tenures inWWE andWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW). Prior to becoming a professional wrestler, Simmons played football as adefensive tackle in theNational Football League (NFL),Canadian Football League (CFL) andUnited States Football League (USFL) for four seasons during the 1980s.
Simmons playedcollege football for theFlorida State Seminoles and was recognized as anAll-American. He played professionally for the NFL'sCleveland Browns, the CFL'sOttawa Rough Riders and the USFL'sTampa Bay Bandits.
Simmons performed forWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) andExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under his real name, and in theWorld Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/E) under both his real name and thering namesFaarooq Asaad[1] (sometimes spelledAsad) andFaarooq (sometimes spelledFarooq).[1] In WCW, Simmons was aone-timeWCW World Heavyweight Champion;[1][7] as thefirstAfrican American to win the title,[8] he is recognized by WWE as the firstBlackworld champion in professional wrestling history.[9] He was also aone-timeWCW World Tag Team Champion withButch Reed and aone-time WCW United States Tag Team Champion withBig Josh.[10][11] He was one of the most prominent stars in the WWF in the earlyAttitude Era.[12] In the WWF, he was athree-timeWWF Tag Team Champion withBradshaw as one half of theAcolytes Protection Agency.[13] Simmons was a sporadic world title contender between ECW and the WWF,[14] and led theNation of Dominationstable in the latter promotion. He was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame Class of 2012.[4]
Ron Simmons was considered one ofFlorida State's greatest recruiting victories when he signed out of high school.[15] Simmons played four years (1977–1980) as a defensivenose guard at FSU under coachBobby Bowden (whom Simmons described as "a second father"), earning consensusAll-American honors in 1979 and 1980. TheSeminoles were 39–8 during Simmons's years at the school, finishing in theAssociated Press Top 20 three times ('77, '79 and '80), and earning back-to-backOrange Bowl trips after Simmons's junior and senior seasons.[16]
In 1979 Simmons finished ninth in theHeisman voting behind the winner,Charles White ofUSC.[17] In 1988, Simmons'sjersey (number 50) was retired by FSU,[18] the third time a number has been retired in school history. Simmons was inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame for his accomplishments while playing at Florida State, and he was elected to theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 2008.[8][19][20][21]
He had a brief career in theNational Football League (NFL). He was selected in the sixth round of the1981 NFL draft by theCleveland Browns. However, he was cut on August 25, 1981.[22] He played in six games for theOttawa Rough Riders of theCanadian Football League in 1981.[23] He was released by the Rough Riders before the start of the season in July 1982.[24] Simmons then played for theTampa Bay Bandits of theUnited States Football League from 1983 to 1985, and it was in Tampa where he was a teammate of future professional wrestlerLex Luger.[23][25]
Simmons joinedJim Crockett Promotions in 1987, appearing on the first show of the Great American Bash tour when he defeated The Tahitian Prince in Lakeland, Florida on July 1.[26] Simmons wrestled only preliminary level competition that summer, but on August 7 he scored the biggest victory of his career when he defeatedIvan Koloff in St Louis.[27] The rookie Simmons defeated the likes of a youngRodney Anoa'i (Yokozuna) andThe Barbarian. On the October 24 episode of Power Pro Wrestling, he became involved in his first televised angle when he was attacked by Tiger Conway Jr. and Shaska Whatley in an interview.
He remained undefeated in singles actions until finally losing to Ivan Koloff on a house show at the Omni in Atlanta on February 14, 1988.[28] Simmons was dominant through the first half of the year against lower-level competition on house shows, including Whatley andThe Terminator. Simmons teamed withSteve Williams at the 3rd Annual Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup in Greenville, South Carolina on April 22, 1988. They were defeated in the opening round byMike Rotunda andKevin Sullivan when Simmons was hit with a foreign object.[29]
Soon after, in March 1989, Simmons began showing signs of a heel turn as he got more aggressive in his matches, including a non-title match against fellow babyface, then-NWA World Heavyweight ChampionRicky "The Dragon" Steamboat and a match on the April 29, 1989 episode of World Championship Wrestling, where he broke the rules during what was supposed to be a face vs. face match againstJunkyard Dog. Simmons won the match when the referee, Ron's future managerTeddy Long made a fast count (Long was fired (kayfabe) as referee byJim Herd immediately following this match). He completed his heel turn on the May 27 episode of World Championship Wrestling during a tag team match, where he teamed withRanger Ross against theSamoan Swat Team as part of a tournament for the vacantNWA World Tag Team Championship, leaving him in the ring alone when Long came out. Simmons later teamed up withButch Reed to formDoom. In the beginning, the members of Doom were masked and only known as Doom #1 and Doom #2, managed byWoman. In theirpay-per-view debut atHalloween Havoc 1989, Doom defeatedThe Steiner Brothers. In the "Iron Team Tournament" atStarrcade 1989, Doom finished fourth, losing all three of their matches. Doom's misfortune continued as Woman soon dropped the team to manageThe Four Horsemen. Then on February 6, 1990, atClash of the Champions X, Doom hit rock bottom when they were defeated by Rick and Scott Steiner and as a result of the stipulation were forced to unmask.[30]
With new manager Long, they rebounded and defeated The Steiner Brothers for the NWA World Tag Team Championship atCapital Combat in 1990. They held the title for nine months, defeating teams likeThe Rock 'n' Roll Express andfeuding with The Four Horsemen. Among their most memorable encounters during their title reign was astreet fight against HorsemenArn Anderson andBarry Windham atStarrcade 1990 which ended in a no-contest when Windham pinned Simmons while Reed simultaneously pinned Anderson. Doom were recognized as the first holders of theWCW World Tag Team Championship in January 1991, finally losing the titles toThe Freebirds atWrestleWar in February 1991. Subsequently, Doom broke up, with Simmons turning face and feuding with Reed, defeating him in acage match at the very firstSuperBrawl. Simmons defeated midcarders includingOz andThe Diamond Studd, then unsuccessfully challengedLex Luger for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship atHalloween Havoc, losing thebest-of-three-falls match one fall to two.
Simmons andMatt Borne won theWCW United States tag team championship in January 1992 from theYoung Pistols before losing them the following month toGreg Valentine andTerry Taylor. He spent the rest of the first half of 1992 feuding withCactus Jack. On August 2, 1992, at a house show in Baltimore, Maryland, a scheduled title match betweenSting and WCW World Heavyweight ChampionBig Van Vader was canceled afterJake Roberts (kayfabe) injured Sting.[31] WCW PresidentBill Watts responded by holding a raffle to determine the number one contender.[31] Simmons won the raffle and defeated Vader with asnap scoop powerslam to win the championship.[31] By defeating Vader, Simmons became the first recognizedAfrican American WCW World Heavyweight Champion and the second African American wrestler to win a World Heavyweight title.[31]
Simmons held the title for five months. He continued to feud with Cactus Jack, whom he defeated via pinfall atSuperBrawl II, with Jack next bringing inThe Barbarian to challenge Simmons atHalloween Havoc. Reed, embittered at his former partner's success, also unsuccessfully challenged Simmons. AtStarrcade, Simmons was scheduled to wrestleRick Rude, but due to Rude being injured he faced"Dr. Death" Steve Williams instead, wrestling to a doublecountout that was changed to adisqualification win for Simmons when Williams attacked him after the match. His title reign ended two days later on December 30, 1992, when Vader defeated him to regain the title.
Afterwards, Simmons was relegated to mid-card status. He was due to face fellow babyfaceDustin Rhodes for theUnited States Heavyweight Championship atSuperbrawl III but was injured and replaced withMaxx Payne. He also unsuccessfully challengedPaul Orndorff for theWorld Television Championship atBeach Blast (1993). In late 1993 he turned on protegeIce Train, becoming a bitter heel who felt like the fans abandoned him after he lost the championship. In the spring of 1994, Simmons was working for WCW without being signed to a contract, also Simmons was briefly managed bySherri Martel during this time. Simmons competed in the European Cup Tournament, winning his 1st round match against Marcus Bagwell but lost the next round to Sting.[32] He would go on to feud with Sting and Bagwell, mostly competing in tag matches. His final match was a win overScott Armstrong on the September 10, 1994 edition of WCW Worldwide.[33]
Simmons debuted inExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in September 1994. In November 1994, he began teaming with2 Cold Scorpio, with the duo unsuccessfully challengingThe Public Enemy for theECW World Tag Team Championship. AtNovember to Remember in November 1994, Simmons unsuccessfully challengedECW World Heavyweight ChampionShane Douglas. On the December 27 edition ofECW Hardcore TV, Simmons won theExtreme Warfare match.[34][35] He faced Douglas again in December and January, but was unable to win the title. AtExtreme Warfare in March 1995, Simmons defeatedHack Meyers then issued a challenge to911, who came to the ring andchokeslammed Simmons. The following month atThree Way Dance Simmons lost toMikey Whipwreck by disqualification after he chokeslammed the referee; following the match, 911 attempted to attack Simmons again, only for Simmons to give 911 alow blow and chokeslam him. AtHostile City Showdown later that month, 911 defeated Simmons after chokeslamming him off the top rope. Simmons made his final appearances with ECW in May 1995.
In January and February 1995, Simmons wrestled in Japan withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as part of its "Fighting Spirit" tour. During the tour, he largely teamed with other American wrestlers such asFlying Scorpio,Mike Enos, andScott Norton in tag team matches andsix-man tag team matches, facing opponents such asKensuke Sasaki,Masa Saito,Shinya Hashimoto, andTadao Yasuda. Simmons made a second tour with NJPW in May and June 1995, again teaming with American wrestlers such asArn Anderson, Mike Enos, andSteve Austin.
Following his appearances with ECW and NJPW, Simmons went into semi-retirement. He began working as a warehouse manager for aCoca-Cola factory on the outskirts ofAtlanta, Georgia.
In 1996, Simmons returned to professional wrestling, signing a contract with theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF). He made his debut on the July 22, 1996, episode ofMonday Night Raw. His firstgimmick was that of "Faarooq Asad", agladiator/street thug who wore a black and blue gladiator outfit with a misshaped helmet and was managed bySunny. Simmons started his firstfeud withAhmed Johnson before shortening his ring name to Faarooq. The feud was started when Faarooq attacked Johnson during a tag team match pitting Johnson andShawn Michaels against the Smoking Gunns. As a result of the injuries sustained, Johnson vacated theWWF Intercontinental Championship. In the subsequent tournament, Faarooq lost in the finals toMarc Mero.
In November 1996, Faarooq dropped his gladiator gimmick, parted ways with Sunny and formed theNation of Domination (NOD), astable loosely based on theNation of Islam[citation needed] and theBlack Panther Party[citation needed], although the members of the stable were not exclusively African American. They initially feuded with Ahmed Johnson. At theRoyal Rumble 1997, Johnson defeated Farooq by disqualification. In theRoyal Rumble match, Johnson eliminated himself when he saw Faarooq in the aisle and chased after him. Later in the same match Faarooq was eliminated when Johnson returned and attacked him with a2x4. AtWrestleMania 13 Johnson and theLegion of Doom defeated the NOD in aChicago Street Fight.
After losing toWWF Champion The Undertaker, at the1997 King of the Ring, Faarooq blamedCrush andSavio Vega for his loss and threw them out of the NOD. Both formed their rival factions, known respectively as theDisciples of Apocalypse andLos Boricuas, and Faarooq recruited more African American members for the NOD, including half-SamoanRocky Maivia. The three stables feuded with one another throughout 1997. In the summer of 1997, Faarooq again lost a tournament final for the WWF Intercontinental Championship, this time toOwen Hart afterStone Cold Steve Austin interfered. Austin, who had forfeited the title due an injury inflicted by Hart, wanted Hart to win so he could again beat him for the title.
In early 1998, Faarooq's leadership of the NOD was increasingly challenged by Maivia, who had shortened his name to The Rock and felt he should be the leader as he was now Intercontinental Champion. In the Royal Rumble match, all five NOD members were in the ring at the same time and frequently brawled with each other, Faarooq even eliminating his fellow membersD'Lo Brown andMark Henry; he was one of the final three along with the Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Faarooq wanted the Rock to help him eliminate Austin, but the Rock refused and eliminated Faarooq. The following month atNo Way Out of Texas: In Your House, the Nation of Domination lost a10-man tag team match to Ken Shamrock, Ahmed Johnson,Chainz,Skull and 8 Ball when The Rock submitted to anankle lock by Shamrock. After the match Faarooq and The Rock almost came to blows. AtWrestlemania XIV, Faarooq andKama were unsuccessful in the tag team battle royal. Later in the evening, Faarooq was the only NOD member absent from The Rock's title defense againstKen Shamrock. When Shamrock put The Rock in an ankle lock, Faarooq ran down to the ring but decided against helping him and walked off, with the crowd cheering his decision, thus turning him face. The following night onRaw is War, the Rock assumed leadership of the NOD and kicked Faarooq out of the group. Faarooq spent the next several months feuding with his former stablemates. Faarooq feuded with The Rock but failed to win the Intercontinental title atOver the Edge: In Your House. Also this time Simmons then teamed briefly with2 Cold Scorpio and worked mainly onShotgun Saturday Night and house shows.
After feuding with the Nation, in November 1998, Simmons began teaming withBradshaw as theAcolytes, a violent tag team sporting occult symbolism on their tights and chests. They were managed byThe Jackyl until he left the WWF, at which point they were reintroduced as members of theMinistry of Darkness led byThe Undertaker. The Acolytes recruitedPhineas I. Godwinn andMabel to the Ministry bykidnapping andbrainwashing them (renaming them "Mideon" and "Viscera", respectively), and feuded with The Undertaker's rivals, such asD-Generation X andThe Brood, the latter of which later joined the Ministry as well.
During this time the Acolytes had two short reigns as tag team champions; they defeated the team ofKane andX-Pac but lost the title tothe Hardy Boyz. At theFully Loaded pay-per-view in 1999, they won the title back in a no disqualification handicap match against the Hardyz andMichael Hayes. Their second reign ended when they lost the title to Kane and X-Pac.
After the Undertaker suffered an injury in late 1999, the Ministry of Darkness disbanded. Faarooq and Bradshaw continued to team with one another, and eventually adopted the gimmick of two brawlers who enjoyed drinking beer and smoking cigars. After Bradshaw began hiring out the services of the Acolytes as mercenaries and bodyguards, the tag team was renamed the "Acolytes Protection Agency" (APA). Around this time, Faarooq adopted his "Damn!" catchphrase. The team won their third tag team title by defeating theDudley Boyz in June 2001 but lost the titles the following month toDiamond Dallas Page andChris Kanyon whenTest interfered.
The APA teamed together until 2002, when Faarooq wasdrafted to theSmackDown! brand. Around this time, Ron Simmons began wrestling under his real name, as the terrorist groupAl-Qaeda had a training camp called Al-Faarooq.[1] Simmons had a brief heel run when he teamed withReverend D-Von until he left television in December 2002, but in June 2003 he returned to WWE with Bradshaw and the APA reunited.
In his lastWWEstoryline, On the March 18, 2004 episode of Smackdown, he was fired by SmackDown! General ManagerPaul Heyman after the APA lost a match WWE Tag Team ChampionsRikishi andScotty 2 Hotty. It was assumed that the APA was fired, but Heyman told Bradshaw he was allowed to stay. Simmons retired from his in-ring career, accusing Bradshaw of not being a faithful friend in storyline. In reality, Simmons, who had been planning to retire due to his health and age, became a backstage agent for the company.
In 2006, during a rebroadcast of the 1981Orange Bowl onSun Sports, Simmons stated that since his retirement from professional wrestling, he would like to continue or even improve his role withinWWE. Starting on October 23, 2006, he began making short cameos onRaw to say his catchphrase "Damn", often in awe of or shock at odd occurrences. For a long time it was his only spoken word on a given show.
On the November 20, 2006 edition ofRaw, Simmons was chosen byRic Flair to replace the injuredRoddy Piper at theSurvivor Series to take on theSpirit Squad. He was the first to be eliminated, via countout. On the January 15, 2007 episode ofRaw, he was seen in the ring withChris Masters in the "Master Lock Challenge", which ended prematurely after interference fromSuper Crazy. Simmons's escaping the Master Lock, was not recognized. On the July 27, 2007 edition ofSmackDown!, Simmons was named thebest man forTheodore Long andKristal'swedding.
Simmons also feuded withSantino Marella. On the September 10, 2007 episode ofRaw, Simmons was attacked by Marella. On the September 24, 2007, edition ofRaw, Simmons returned to the ring and defeated Santino Marella by countout after Marella left the ring and walked out. Simmons occasionally competed onWWE Heat, taking onjobbers from the town in which the show is being taped. At the end of each match, Simmons held a microphone, pulling it toward and away from his mouth while the crowd cheered him until he eventually uttered his catchphrase. On the December 3, 2007 episode ofRaw, Simmons and Bradshaw were hired byHornswoggle to help him in ano disqualification handicap match againstJonathan Coachman andCarlito.[36]
OnRaw's 800th episode on November 3, 2008, Simmons interrupted wrestlers, who were dancing in the ring, with his catchphrase. During the2008 Slammy Awards, he gaveThe Great Khali the award for the DAMN Moment of the year. Simmons was released from WWE on January 13, 2009, due to budget cuts but repeatedly reappeared on various WWE events to interrupt awkward situations with his catchphrase. Occasions include episodes ofWWE Old School Raw (November 15, 2010 and January 6, 2014) andRaw (May 2, 2011 and January 28, 2013),Hell in a Cell 2012 and WrestleManias30 and31.[12]
Simmons would wrestle in theindependent circuit from 2008 to 2012. He wrestled his final match on March 17, 2012, teaming with former WWE wrestlerBrian Christopher defeating former Nation of Domination stable matesPG-13 (J. C. Ice andWolfie D) at Crossfire Wrestling in Nashville, Tennessee.
Simmons was also credited in the tribute as being the first African Americanworld heavyweight champion in WCW.[12] Simmons was acknowledged as a memorable character in WWE's "Attitude Era".[12] On March 31 by his APA partner John "Bradshaw" Layfield. He ended his Hall of Fame speech with his signature "Damn" once again. Simmons and Layfield reunited as the Acolytes Protection Agency (APA) on the1000th episode ofRaw, providing their signature protection and back-up forLita during her match withHeath Slater. After Layfield hit Slater with the Clothesline from Hell, Simmons took to the microphone exclaiming "Damn!"
In 2012, Simmons was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame. In 2014, Simmons made several appearances forMaryland Championship Wrestling's "Autumn Armageddon" tour.
On the January 19, 2015 episode ofRaw, during a "Raw Reunion" segment, Simmons came out to help thenWo (Scott Hall,Kevin Nash, andSean Waltman) andThe New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn andRoad Dogg) and John "Bradshaw" Layfield againstthe Ascension (Konnor andViktor).
Simmons appeared at theRaw 25 Years show on January 22, 2018, and attended the2018 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. He also appeared at theRaw Reunion show on July 22, 2019, in a backstage segment involvingMike andMaria Kanellis,Eve Torres, andJimmy Hart; using Hart's megaphone to exclaim "Damn!"
Simmons also appeared on January 23, 2023, atRaw is XXX whenBaron Corbin andJBL won a poker game to win money, but then they lost the money because they had to pay their "taxes". Simmons then came into view shook his head and said "Damn!"[37]
Simmons is a playable character in multiple wrestling video games includingWWF War Zone,WWF Attitude,WWF WrestleMania 2000,WWF No Mercy,WWF SmackDown!,WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role,WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It,WWE WrestleMania X8,WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth,WWE RAW 2,WWE '13,WWE 2K16, andWWE 2K22, ‘’WWE 2K23’’,WWE 2K24”.
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