Ron Simmons

Ronald "Ron" Simmons (born May 15, 1958) is an American former professional wrestler and American Football player. He performed for World Championship Wrestling under his real name and in the World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/E) under both his real name and the ring names Faarooq Asaad (sometimes spelled Asad) and Faarooq (sometimes spelled Farooq ). He is signed with WWE in the Legends program.

In WCW, he was a one time World Heavyweight Champion; as the first of two African Americans to win the title, he is recognized by WWE as the first Black heavyweight world champion in professional wrestling history, followed by Booker T. He was also a one time World Tag Team Champion with Butch Reed and a one time United States Tag Team Champion with Big Josh. In the WWF, he was a three time Tag Team Champion with Bradshaw as one half of the Acolytes Protection Agency. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2012.

Prior to becoming a professional wrestler, Simmons was an American college and professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL), Canadian Football League (CFL) and United States Football League (USFL) for four seasons during the 1980s. He played college football for Florida State University, and was recognized as an All-American. He played professionally for the NFL's Cleveland Browns, the CFL's Ottawa Rough Riders and the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits.

Early years
Born in Perry, Georgia, Simmons attended Warner Robins High School, where he played 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.

American Football career
Simmons was an All-American football player at Florida State University (FSU) from 1977 to 1980 under coach Bobby Bowden (whom Simmons described as "a second father"), spending four years as a defensive nose guard. The Seminoles were 39–8 during Simmons's years at the school, finishing in the Associated Press Top 20 three times ('77,'79 and '80), earning back-to-back Orange Bowl trips after Simmons's junior and senior seasons. In 1979 Simmons finished ninth in the Heisman voting. In 1988, Simmons's jersey (number 50) was retired by FSU, the third time a number has been retired in school history. In addition, Simmons was inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame for his accomplishments while playing at Florida State. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

He later had a brief career in the National Football League (NFL), selected as pick #160 in the 1981 NFL Draft. He played for the Cleveland Browns in 1981, and the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits in 1984 and 1985, and it was in Tampa where he was a teammate of future professional wrestler Lex Luger.

National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling (1989–1994)
Simmons teamed up with Butch Reed to form Doom. In the beginning, the members of Doom were masked and only known as Doom #1 and Doom #2, managed by Woman. In their pay-per-view debut at Halloween Havoc 1989, Doom defeated The Steiner Brothers. In the "Iron Team Tournament" at Starrcade 1989, Doom finished fourth, losing all three of their matches. With new manager Teddy Long, they rebounded and defeated The Steiner Brothers for the NWA World Tag Team Championship at Capital Combat in 1990.

They held the title for nine months, defeating teams like The Rock 'n' Roll Express and feuding with The Four Horsemen. Among their most memorable encounters during their title reign was a street fight against Horsemen Arn Anderson and Barry Windham at Starrcade 1990 which ended in a no-contest when Windham pinned Simmons while Reed simultaneously pinned Anderson. Doom were recognized as the first holders of the WCW World Tag Team Championship in January 1991, finally losing the titles to The Freebirds at WrestleWar in February 1991. Subsequently, Doom broke up, with Simmons turning face and feuding with Reed, defeating him in a cage match at the very first SuperBrawl. Simmons defeated midcarders including Oz and The Diamond Studd, then unsuccessfully challenged Lex Luger for the World Heavyweight Championship at Halloween Havoc, losing the best-of-three-falls match one fall to two. Simmons spent the first half of 1992 feuding with Cactus Jack, whom he defeated via pinfall at SuperBrawl II.

On August 2, 1992, a scheduled title match between Sting and WCW World Heavyweight Champion Big Van Vader was canceled after Jake Roberts (kayfabe) injured Sting. WCW President Bill Watts responded by holding a raffle to determine the number one contender. Simmons won the raffle and defeated Vader with a snap scoop powerslam to win the championship. By defeating Vader, Simmons became the first recognized African American WCW World Heavyweight Champion.

Simmons held the title for five months. He continued to feud with Cactus Jack, with Jack bringing in The Barbarian to challenge Simmons at Halloween Havoc. At Starrcade, Simmons was scheduled to wrestle Rick Rude, but due to Rude being injured he faced "Dr. Death" Steve Williams instead, wrestling to a double countout that was changed to a disqualification 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, eventually becoming a bitter heel who felt like the fans abandoned him after he lost the championship. Simmons unsuccessfully challenged Dustin Rhodes for the United States Heavyweight Championship and Paul Orndorff for the World Television Championship during his last months with WCW.

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

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (1996–2004, 2006-present)
After ECW, Simmons joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and made his debut on the July 22, 1996, episode of Raw. 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 started his first feud with Ahmed Johnson before shortening his ring name to Faarooq.

Nation of Domination (1996–1998)
As Faarooq, Simmons dropped his gladiator gimmick and with 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 and the Black Panther Party, although the members of the stable were not exclusively African American. They mostly feuded with Ahmed Johnson, who Faarooq was combating before. Faarooq's ongoing "war" with Johnson included matches at the Royal Rumble in 1997, where Ahmed won by disqualification, and another at WrestleMania 13 where Ahmed recruited the Legion of Doom to take on the entire Nation in a Chicago Street Fight, which was won by Johnson and the Road Warriors. The group stayed together until Faarooq became angry with them for costing him the WWF Championship. After Simmons threw Crush and Savio Vega out of the Nation, Crush and Vega formed their own rival factions, known respectively as the Disciples of Apocalypse and Los Boricuas, and Faarooq 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.

The Acolytes / The APA (1998–2004)
After being dumped from the Nation, Simmons teamed briefly with 2 Cold Scorpio. 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 Phineas I. Godwinn 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 later joined the Ministry of Darkness 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, becoming faces in the process. 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, Simmons would start saying his trademark "DAMN!" catchphrase, though it wouldn't be emphasized as much as it would be later on.

The APA teamed together until 2002, when Simmons was drafted to the SmackDown! brand. Around this time, Simmons changed his ring name to his real name by choice, due to the terrorist group Al-Qaeda having a training camp called All-Faarooq. Simmons had a brief heel run when he teamed with Reverend 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 last WWE storyline, he was fired by former SmackDown! General Manager Paul Heyman. It was assumed the APA would be fired, but it turned out to only be Faarooq. Simmons retired from his in-ring career, kayfabe accusing Bradshaw of not being a faithful friend. In reality, Simmons, who had been planning to retire due to his health and age and become a backstage agent for the company, he was let go the day this angle aired on SmackDown; reports at the time indicated there was "inappropriate conduct"" at WrestleMania XX festivities the weekend prior.

Sporadic appearances and Hall of Famer (2006–present)
In 2006, during a rebroadcast of the 1981 Orange Bowl on Sun Sports, Simmons stated that since that time he has retired from wrestling action, but would like to continue or even improve his role with WWE. Starting on October 23, 2006, he began making short cameos on Raw under his given name to say his catchphrase of "Damn", often in awe of or shock at odd happenings. 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 "Master Lock Challenge" on the January 15, 2007 edition of Raw, a confrontation which ended prematurely after interference from Super Crazy. Although Simmons technically broke the Master Lock, it was not officially recognized because of Crazy's interference. On the July 27, 2007, edition of SmackDown!, Simmons was named the best man for Theodore Long and Kristal's wedding.

Simmons also engaged in a feud against Santino Marella. On September 10, 2007, on Raw, Simmons was attacked by Marella. On the September 24, 2007, edition of Raw, Simmons made a return to the ring and defeated Santino Marella by countout after Marella left the ring and walked out. A week later, Simmons said "Damn" one more time after throwing Steve-O out of a nearby door.

Simmons occasionally competed on WWE Heat, taking on jobbers 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 said "Damn". On December 3, 2007, Simmons and Bradshaw were hired by Hornswoggle to help him in a no disqualification handicap match against Jonathan Coachman and Carlito in which they helped him win. Simmons appeared on Raw's 800th episode on November 3, 2008, appearing on the entrance ramp and said "Damn" while many superstars were dancing in the ring. He also returned during the 2008 Slammy Awards with Mickie James to give The Great Khali the DAMN Moment of that year's Slammy Awards.

Simmons was released from WWE on January 13, 2009, due to budget cuts. Simmons showed up backstage on the November 15, 2010 episode of WWE Old School Raw and said "Damn". Simmons appeared once again on the May 2, 2011, episode of Raw in a backstage segment for The Rock's birthday celebration and said "Damn" again.

In 2012, it was announced that Simmons would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Simmons was also credited in the tribute as being WCW's first African American heavyweight champion. Simmons was acknowledged as a memorable character in WWE's "Attitude Era". He was formally inducted 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 the 1000th episode of Raw, providing their signature protection and back-up for Lita during her match with Heath Slater. After Layfield hit Slater with the Clothesline from Hell, Simmons again held a microphone, pulling it toward and away from his mouth while the crowd cheered him until he eventually said "Damn". Simmons appeared again during the Hell in a Cell Pay per view during the segment with Theodore Long, Eve, Zack Ryder and Santino Marella. Ryder and Marella were dressed as a Witch and Lady Gaga respectively. Simmons showed up while Marella was singing "Born This Way" and said "Damn" to him. Simmons appeared again on the Slammy awards on Monday Night Raw with Kane, Daniel Bryan and Ric Flair as they were saying "yes", "woo" and "no" respectively. Simmons then came and, after a long pause, said his trademark "Damn". Simmons showed up on the January 28th 2013 episode of RAW watching a dance off between Brodus Clay and Tensai and said his catchphrase "Damn".

In wrestling

 * Finishing moves
 * Dominator (Inverted front powerslam) – WWF/E
 * Snap scoop powerslam pin – NWA/WCW; used as a signature move in WWF/E
 * Thrust spinebuster


 * Signature moves
 * Belly to back suplex
 * Delayed vertical suplex
 * Double powerbomb
 * Dropkick
 * Elbow smash
 * Forearm club
 * Headbutt drop
 * Football tackle to the knees
 * Neckbreaker
 * Running leaping shoulder block
 * Short-arm clothesline or a short-range lariat


 * With Bradshaw
 * Finishing moves
 * Aided powerbomb
 * Signature moves
 * Double spinebuster


 * Managers
 * Woman
 * Theodore Long
 * Sunny
 * Clarence Mason
 * The Jackyl
 * Jacqueline


 * Nicknames
 * "The All-American"


 * Entrance themes
 * "Don't Step to Ron" by S. Tatum, J. Papa, M. Williams, and M. Seitz (WCW)
 * "Protection by Jim Johnston (WWF / WWE; Used while apart of the A.P.A)
 * "Damn" by Jim Johnston (WWE)

Championships and accomplishments

 * Championship Wrestling from Florida
 * NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time)


 * Memphis Championship Wrestling
 * MCW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bradshaw


 * Ohio Valley Wrestling
 * OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bradshaw


 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1992)
 * PWI ranked him #20 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1992
 * PWI ranked him #91 of the 100 best tag teams of the PWI Years with Butch Reed in 2003
 * PWI ranked him #108 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003


 * 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


 * World Wrestling Entertainment
 * WWF Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Bradshaw
 * WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2012)