Ron Simmons was a football and wrestling icon, becoming the first African American wrestler
to capture a major World Heavyweight Title in 1992.  While in college at Florida State
University, Simmons was a two-time All American nose guard and set numerous records
between 1977 and 1980.  In 1977, he had 12 sacks, the third most in school history.  
Altogether, he had 25 quarterback sacks and 44 tackles for loss.  Simmons caused 17 career
fumbles and 13 in ’77.  He had five sacks in a game on October 29, 1977 against North
Texas State.  Five tied for 2nd all-time in Seminole History with Willie Jones.

The number he wore, 50, was retired by FSU.  He was only one of two player to have the
honor and the only defensive player.  In 1986, he was also inducted to the Seminole Hall of
Fame.  With 483 tackles, Simmons was 2nd on the career tackle list.  More about his
collegiate records can be found at www.fsu.edu.

After leaving college a legend, Simmons played for both the CFL and USFL.  He suffered a
serious leg injury and turned to professional wrestling.  Simmons worked for Mike Graham out
of Tampa and joined the Florida NWA Circuit.  He made his professional debut in October
1986.  Many Floridian Newspapers covered the event.  Simmons toured many regions before
settling into Jim Crockett Promotions/ Turner Broadcasting in late 1989.

Simmons donned a mask and teamed with Butch Reed in the tag team, “Doom.” Reed had
previously earned much fame in the Central States Region and had also been a top-notch
football player.  After Robin Green’s betrayal of the Steiners, Doom gained headlines with a
sneak attack on Scott Steiner.  The duo entered the “Iron Team” Tag Tournament at
Starrcade along with the Road Warriors, Samoan Swat Team and the Steiners.  They failed
to gain a single point.  The Warriors ended up winning.  Doom’s miserable performance
during the round-robin affair left many wondering whether the tag team could succeed in the
future.

At the “Texas Shootout” on February 6, 1990, Doom wrestled the Steiners for the NWA World
Tag Team Championship in a title vs. masks bout.  The Steiners won the match and Doom
were forced to unmask.  Simmons and Reed were revealed.  After taking Teddy Long as their
manager, Simmons and Reed were prepped for a serious run at the NWA World Tag Title.  
The Andersons were also on the hunt, but going into Capital Combat in Washington DC,
Doom were the leading contenders.

Finally, after months of title shots, Doom captured the World Tag Title dethroning Rick and
Scott Steiner on May 19th.  They feuded with several teams including the Horsemen through
the rest of the year.  Simmons and Reed had a battle with Barry Windham and Arn Anderson
at Starrcade in St. Louis.  They lost the tag title on February 24, 1991 in Phoenix at
WrestleWar.  Doom also broke up and feuded.  Simmons became a fan favorite and his
popularity grew.  During the fall, it seemed that he was slowly becoming a top heavyweight
contender to Lex Luger’s WCW World Heavyweight Title.  Prior to Halloween Havoc on
October 27th, Simmons was named the number one challenger and was awarded a title shot
in a two-of-three-falls match against Luger in Chattanooga.  He beat Luger in the first fall in 4:
55, but lost the second by disqualifcation.  Luger hit a piledriver in 4:00 of the final match and
scored the winning pin.  Luger retained, but Simmons’ run at the top of WCW was not yet
over.

On August 2, 1992, Ron Simmons made history with a defeat of Big Van Vader in Baltimore
for the WCW World Title.  Many proclaimed Simmons the best wrestler in the world and
sincerely owning the right to be called the “World’s Champion.” Vader beat Simmons in late
December at the same arena to regain the belt but his reign was respected by all.

During a tour of Europe, Simmons suffered a broken leg and eventually left WCW in 1994 for
Extreme Championship Wrestling.  He became a top contender to the ECW World
Championship.  Simmons teamed with 2 Cold Scorpio on November 18, 1994 in Philadelphia
to beat Brian Pillman and Shane Douglas, the ECW World Champion.  Simmons pinned Hack
Myers in Philly on March 18th before an estimated 1,100 fans.  He was disqualified in a match
against Mikey Whipwreck on April 8th in Philadelphia.

Simmons signed with the World Wrestling Federation and changed his name to Faarooq.  He
entered the gang-wars of 1997 and 1998, joining the Nation of Domination.  In 1999,
Faarooq formed a card-playing tag team with Justin Bradshaw known as the “Acolytes.” They
were a tag team for hire, of sorts, and were prepared to do whatever the money took them.  
The two remained together into 2001 and were constantly recognized as the toughest tag
team in the organization.

By the summer of ’01, they had captured the WWF World Tag Team Title three-times.  Their
popularity never seemed to waiver.  Ron Simmons has been a very important figure in
professional wrestling over the last twenty-years.  His career should eventually lead to
another World Title run.  There is no question.

TITLE HISTORY:

  -NWA Florida Heavyweight Title (1986-’87) defeated Kareem Muhammad
  -Co-holder of the NWA World Tag Team Title (1990-’91) w/ Butch Reed
  -WCW World Heavyweight Title (1992) defeated Big Van Vader
  -A three-time co-holder of the WWF World Tag Team Title
          w/ Justin Bradshaw (1999) defeated Kane and X-Pac
          w/ Justin Bradshaw (1999) defeated The Hardy Boys
          w/ Justin Bradshaw (2001) defeated The Dudley Boys



Research by Tim Hornbaker
Ron Simmons Wrestling History
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