He became a professional wrestler in , 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 was most recently in WWE , where he appeared in backstage segments and did public relations work.
He was released on January 13, 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 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 the "Iron Team Tournament" at Starrcade , Doom finished fourth, losing all three of their matches. Among their most memorable encounters during their title reign was a street fight against Horsemen Arn Anderson and Barry Windham at Starrcade which ended in a no-contest when Windham pinned Simmons while Reed simultaneously pinned Anderson. Subsequently, Doom broke up, with Simmons turning face and feuding with Reed, defeating him in a cage match at the very first SuperBrawl.
Simmons won the raffle and defeated Vader with a powerslam to win the championship. Simmons held the title for five months. Death" Steve Williams instead, wrestling to a double count out 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, , 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.
His first gimmick was that of 'Faarooq Asaad', 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'.
After being dumped from the Nation, Simmons teamed briefly with 2 Cold Scorpio. In late , 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. 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 and become a backstage agent for the company, was let go the day this angle aired on SmackDown. In , during a rebroadcast of the Orange Bowl on Sun Sports, Simmons stated that since his retirement from professional wrestling, he would like to continue or even improve his role within WWE.
Starting on October 23, , 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. He was the first to be eliminated, via countout. On the January 15, episode of Raw , he was seen in the ring with Chris Masters in the "Master Lock Challenge", 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, , edition of SmackDown! Simmons also engaged in a feud against Santino Marella. On September 10, , on Raw , Simmons was attacked by Marella. On the September 24, , 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, , Simmons and Bradshaw were hired by Hornswoggle to help him in a no disqualification handicap match against Jonathan Coachman and Carlito, which they won.
Simmons appeared on Raw' s th episode on November 3, , appearing on the entrance ramp and said "Damn" while many superstars were dancing in the ring. Simmons appeared once again on the May 2, , episode of Raw in a backstage segment for The Rock's birthday celebration and said "Damn" again. Simmons was also credited in the tribute as being the first African American world heavyweight champion in WCW.
He ended his Hall of Fame speech with his signature "Damn" once again. 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". Ryder and Marella were dressed as a Witch and Lady Gaga respectively.
Simmons then came and, after a long pause, eventually said "Damn". Simmons showed up on the January 28, , episode of Raw watching a dance off between Brodus Clay and Tensai and reacted to this by saying "Damn".
Also during , Simmons has made several appearances for Maryland Championship Wrestling's "Autumn Armageddon" tour. He also made an appearance on the January 19, episode of Raw. Tatum, J. Papa, M. Williams, and M. Retrieved November 15, Shawn Armstrong. Wrestling Moves and Smashes Pocket Encyclopedia. ISBN Retrieved November 16, Retrieved June 15, Westcott, Brian.
Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved November 17, Biography Lists News Also Viewed. Ron Simmons. He was a natural athlete, a tremendous in-ring worker, and arguably the best ever on the microphone. Also, bah gawd, the man was The Beatles of making catchphrases. I know I said the scale was , but arbitrary rules were meant to be broken. I know that this might look like a bloodbath against The Rock, but Ron Simmons really had an underrated career in the business of professional wrestling.
He found success, popularity, and longevity in both World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation, which is a feat that is much harder than it seems. He was accomplished as both a tag team and singles wrestler, and excelled as both a babyface good guy and a heel bad guy.
His character went through many different iterations, which is always a solid indicator of range. He terrorized the WWF as the leader of the Nation of Domination and terrorized our eyes with his odd chest-painted symbols as a member of The Acolytes. When you add all of that to a resume that includes the distinction of becoming the first African-American World Champion and an induction in the WWE Hall of Fame, you get a competitive matchup.
When you lay out all the facts like a respectable gentleman, Simmons had a really solid career. Believe it or not, Dwayne Johnson was a pretty highly-recruited kid coming out of high school. He was a star defensive lineman that was looking to make a name for himself at the decrepit and smelly confines of the Orange Bowl.
All jokes aside, which is very hard for me to do, The Rock did sack Charlie Ward. That means something Florida State football would not be where it is today without Ron Simmons. Legendary coach Bobby Bowden personally credits Simmons as one of the key players that turned the program around and made it a nationally-recognized powerhouse. Look at the stats.
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