WWE Hall-of-Famer Ron Simmons has portrayed many characters in his professional wrestling career. Whether as a heel or babyface, Simmons was one of the best wrestlers in the world throughout the 90s.
RELATED: APA: 8 Things You Didn't Know About Ron Simmons & JBL's Tag Team
Simmons found major success in the WWE as Faarooq. Whether he was the leader of The Nation of Domination or one-half of the APA tag team, Faarooq was a tough outing for any wrestler. However, his career did not start in WWE. After a short stint in the NFL, Simmons joined the world of professional wrestling and had a successful run in WCW in the late 80s and early 90s. While his most famous accomplishment was defeating Vader for the WCW title, Simmons accomplished a lot more during his time in WCW that fans should be aware of.
10 Impressive Rookie Year
Ron Simmons wasted no time making an impact in the ring. During his first year as a professional wrestler, Simmons wrestled many names that would go on to be legends in their own right.
RELATED: Every Version Of Ron Simmons, Ranked From Worst To Best
At the start of his career, Simmons found himself in tag matches against The Sheepherders, who would be later known as The Bushwackers. Simmons would also earn wins against Rick Steiner, Ivan Koloff, and the future Yokozuna in his early days. During his rookie year, Simmons also won the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship.
9 Turned Heel Against The Junkyard Dog
In 1989, Ron Simmons turned his back on fans of the NWA and WCW, but it did not happen quickly.
RELATED: 10 Backstage Stories About Ron Simmons We Can’t Believe
Simmons began showing heel tendencies in matches against other babyfaces, such as Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. In a match against the legendary Junkyard Dog, Simmons continued to show his aggressive side. The match ended when the referee, Teddy Long, did a fast count giving Simmons the win. Simmons fully turned heel after he abandoned his tag partner in a match after Teddy Long came to the ring and convinced him to leave.
8 Doom
With a new attitude, Simmons joined Butch Reed to form the tag team Doom. The duo wore masks and became a major threat to WCW and NWA’s tag team division.
At their first pay-per-view appearance, Doom defeated The Steiner Brothers, who were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this past year. For the remainder of the year, Doom feuded with The Steiner Brothers for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. The feud culminated with a title versus mask match at Clash of Champions that resulted in Doom losing their masks.
7 Managed By Woman & Teddy Long
Despite Teddy Long playing a major role in Ron Simmon’s heel turn, he was not the first manager to accompany Simmons. When the Doom team first joined forces under masks, they were managed by Woman.
Eventually, Woman would put her focus on managing The Four Horsemen which left Doom without a manager. After losing their masks to The Steiner Brothers, the team was rejuvenated after Long became their manager. With Long as their manager, the team would reach new heights.
6 NWA Tag Champion
Doom would once again get a major pay-per-view win against The Steiner Brothers at the NWA Capital Combat event in 1990. On this night, Doom would win the NWA World Tag Team Championship.
Doom would go on to have a successful reign that would include title defenses against the Rock n’Roll Express, The Road Warriors, and The Four Horsemen duo of Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. The team would lose the titles in 1991 to The Fabulous Freebirds.
5 First World Title Feud
While Simmon’s time in WCW is highlighted by a world title win against Vader, that was not the first time Simmons fought for the prestigious world championship.
At the WCW pay-per-view event Halloween Havoc, in 1991, Simmons challenged Lex Luger for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. With Dusty Rhodes in his corner, Simmons was unable to defeat Luger, with Harley Race in his corner, in a two-out-of-three falls match. However, during the next year, Simmons would win the WCW United States Tag Team Championship and the WCW world title.
4 Cactus Jack Feud
Following his failed attempt at winning the world title, Simmons began feuding with hardcore legend Cactus Jack.
In Feb. 1992, at the SuperBrawl II pay-per-view event, Simmons earned a hard-fought victory over Cactus Jack. At the following pay-per-view, Cactus Jack would be in the corner of Mr. Hughes when he lost to Simmons at WrestleWar ‘92. The feud would continue in October, at Halloween Havoc, when Cactus Jack accompanied The Barbarian in a losing effort against Simmons.
3 Won World Title After Winning Raffle
When Simmons famously won the WCW title from Vader in 1992, it was not a match that was originally scheduled to take place. Vader was supposed to face Sting, but he was injured by his rival Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
As a result of the injury, a raffle was held to determine who would challenge for the world title. Simmons would go on to win the raffle, and the rest is history. On an episode of WCW Main Event in August, Simmons slammed Vader to the mat and won the championship.
2 Five Month Title Reign
Simmons would go on to be WCW world champion for five months. He was the first African American to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. He was also one of the first African Americans to ever be a world champion.
Simmons’ world title reign was highlighted by title defenses against Vader, Cactus Jack, “Dr. Death" Steve Williams, Steve Austin, and Rick Rude. In Dec. 1992, Simmons would lose the title to Vader at a house show in Baltimore.
1 Turned Heel After Losing World Title
After losing the WCW title, Simmons felt the fans had turned on him, so he did the same. Simmons ended his WCW tenure facing the heroes of the promotion.
During his final months in WCW, Simmons attempted to regain WCW gold. Simmons unsuccessfully challenged Dustin Rhodes for the WCW United States Championship. He also unsuccessfully challenged Paul Orndorff for the WCW Television Championship. Simmons’ last WCW appearance would be in 1994. He would compete for ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling before joining the WWE in 1996.
