Ron Simmons

[8.0] "Winning the title vs Vader remains a timeless great moment and huge at the time. Pretty much limited to the power game, style wise, but still a hell of a career, first Black NWA / WCW Champ, the APA were reliable arse kickers back in the day and the Nation were, needless to say, tremendous."

[9.0] "Ron Simmons was a pioneer in Pro wrestling with being the first African American world champion (disputed I know but he was the first recognized reign of the WWE, WCW or NWA championship the big ones back then). His in-ring work as a power brawler was good. He was a great tag guy whether it was Doom or the APA. DAMN he is a great wrestler."

[8.0] "Faarooq left his mark- first African American to win the world title in WCW, which is memorable to me for that racist promo after by Harley Race. He was a natural babyface at the time, then in WWF hed strike gold again as the leader of the Nation of Domination. Then hed get a third wind as part of the badass tag team the APA. He continued to entertain by interrupting dreadfully cringe segments and shouting DAMN! In my eyes, Faarooq had a little bit of everything and was a solid upper midcarder for a very long time."

[8.0] "An incredible power wrestler and athlete I will always have a ton of respect for. His main event run was incredibly short but it gave us the moment of him becoming the first african american world heavyweight champion and for that alone it was a massive success. His later years saw him take a step back with his in ring work to become a solid hand for the wwe with his character work. Helping be a bridge to future stars like The Rock and JBL. All the love for the Florida State Seminole"

"Ron's early work is fantastic. Doom, his split from Butch Reed, ascension to the WCW World Title and matches with Lex Luger and Vader stand out as some of his best. His in ring work declined with age, but his character work (after the rough start to his Farooq run) and APA team with Bradshaw are likely what most will remember."

[6.0] "His WCW world title run is kinda underrated and forgotten these days. Kinda in limbo when he led the Nation Of Domination but got better when he teamed up with Bradshaw."

[9.0] "One of the best power wrestlers ever, in my opinion. Great as a tag team guy in Doom or the APA, and tragically underused as a singles competitor, Simmons could do it all, but I think he aged out of the "main event" bracket too early, sadly."

[8.0] "Ron was only ever a main-eventer for a short stretch, but he was an effective piece in the mid card or tag division wherever he went. Everyone loves power wrestlers, but there are very few actually good power wrestlers out there, since it's a style frequented by clumsy bodybuilders or athletes from other sports. Ron is a pretty quintessential power guy, especially for his era. While you aren't guaranteed a great match, his psychology is sound, his pace is right, he's a great bump-taker, and he knows how to deliver the big, match-changing moves of this style. Many a hapless babyface's comeback has been stopped dead by the most violent spinebuster of all time, courtesy of Simmons. Like most others, he didn't start out a great promo, but always had that deep commanding voice and knew it was less about what you said but how you said it. By the time he founded the nation of domination, he was very good on the mic, and hit the stratosphere once the APA was established, showcasing him in many memorable angles and skits. He gets an extra point for his historical place in wrestling, not only for his 92 championship run, but also for the NoD. Like most fans, nominally I'm against "racial" angles, but this heel faction was fresh and well-executed for the time. It was totally believable that a wrestler who was once world champion felt incensed on how he and other black wrestlers were treated, so he switched companies and formed this group. There were of course some shitty racist moments during their feud with DX, but for the most part the group's presentation was solid despite losing a lot. Ron was one of those guys who you were always hoping would be on a show. He wasn't the star, but when his segment or match came on you knew you were getting something good. And the real life stories about the man are fantastic as well. The dude was a legendary character in life, which is another bonus. He even managed to get a merch cash-in in the twilight of his career, with a single word, no less. Truly un-fuck-with-able. A- look, B+ promo, B in-ring."

[10.0] "His early career trajectory was great fun to witness as it occurred. With his football background, even as a rookie he was given a strong rub by the commentators. He was quickly put on national TV where it didn't take long before he was cutting "Just say no" promos and teaming with Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert. He looked PHENOMENAL from day one. His power based repertoire was intimidating to say the least (effortless and often overwhelming for enhancement talent). His pairing with Butch Reed as DOOM is wrestling gold, the two were a perfect fit and only got better with time - their tenure was ended far too quickly. His next singles run, which eventually gave us his World Title win was quite good as well! We absolutely loved to cheer for Ron Simmons. Things got rocky though and he wasn't booked very well, despite the fans unending adoration for him. The quick pit stop in ECW was refreshing! Next and final lap: Vince's McMahonland. I hated the Faarooq helmet and name... he's Ron Simmons, he's a bad ass - don't f#ck with Ron, because he's unf#ckwithable. But hey, at least the outfit didn't last long! The Nation of Domination was pretty great and only led to excellent things for all. Except Ron, who floundered rather dreadfully until the Acolytes broke free on their own to go into business as the APA. Who doesn't love the APA? Brashaw kinda sucks - but Hey Man! There's Ron Simmons! I could watch this man through the decades over and over doing anything, everything and nothing and I still love him to death. Bad booking be "DAMN"'ed he get's a 10! Love ya Ron! Big time fan over here."

[8.0] "Ron Simmons is genuinely one of the most underappreciated athletes in professional wrestling. His WCW run was great i mean who can forget that Ron was the first African American to officially become a World Heavyweight Champion. His run in the WWF as one of the top heels in the company was great stuff (even though the politics of the entire NOD vs DX feud have aged horribly Ron played his part to perfection.). It really is too bad that due to he conservative politics of the WWE and them not wanting to revisit segments that paint the company in a bad light that we will never get something like a Nation of Domination reunion. Ron pretty much checked all the boxes when you run down his skill set. He had a great imposing physique and his conditioning was always great for someone his size. Simmons could cut good promos and had the charisma and presence of a star. In the ring he was a tremendous brawler and power wrestler who could give as much as he could take. I always wonder how different his career might have gone had Bill Watts not cut his knees out from under him when he was WCW champ. Great wrestler."

[7.0] "Faarooq was incredible as the leader of the Nation of Domination. Cut some mean promos and did some excellent mic-work with that booming voice of his, and could in my opinion hold his own both as a tag team wrestler and as a solo wrestler."

[8.0] "Idk I liked Simmons from what I seen out of him. Top athlete with a legitimate sports background, he wasn't much of a technical worker but he was a great powerhouse guy and could work either as a vicious heel or a beloved face. He was a fantastic tag worker, either in WCW with Reed or in WWF with Bradshaw, being able to work a effective brawling style while holding his own against some of the best tag teams at the time as well. People do underestimate his solo runs in WCW and WWF to be fair, he had some pretty good matches for the time. I wouldn't say he was anywhere near a top billing (mostly due to his pretty lackadaisical promo work) but in his better days he was a solid fixture that could be slotted into any position and fit just fine. Quite underrated as a whole."

[8.0] "My favorite Ron Simmons was the version that was the leader of the Nation of Domination. Had he come to the WWF with that gimmick instead of the stupid Gladiator gimmick and being paired with Sunny, I feel like he would've fared better solo wise. He was powerful, intense, and a natural orator. Everything he said you believed it. Younger fans probably just remember his latter years of teaming with Bradshaw in the ass-kicking beer drinking APA tag team, and also the "DAMN! " catchphrase, but his heyday was very good. He became the first Black World Champion in WCW, and though I feel like he should've been booked better, it's still an amazing feat. His tag team with Butch Reed in DOOM was very good as well, such a great looking and power-based tag team."

[5.0] "His time in APA was good but he was never good by himself even when he got the gold in WCW. DAMN is one of the most over catchphrases in wrestling."

[7.0] "Faarooq as the leader of the Nation of Domination was my favorite incarnation of Simmons. The group kind of fizzled quickly, but I think it had some really interesting potential. I wish it had lasted longer. The APA was over huge. I think people often forget how beloved they were. Even though they were certainly in the comedy realm, they were not so "in-you-face" (the way WWE comedy usually is) so it worked."

[9.0] "A powerful presence in the ring with a high level of athleticism stemming from his football career, Ron Simmons had a great run in WCW in the early '90s, culminating with his making history as the first black WCW World Champion. Although he never quite reached the same height in the WWF/E, he did have a prominent role as Faarooq, the leader of the Nation of Domination. In addition to singles success, he also bookended his career with tag team success, early on with Butch Reed as Doom, and closing out his career as half of the APA with Bradshaw. Went into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012, which was well-deserved."

[10.0] "Great powerhouse wrestler! DAMN! Very strong and great in the ring. He made history when he won the WCW Championship title in 1992 becoming the first African-American to win a world title belt."

[8.0] "Significant figure in professional wrestling. Had a long career which saw him transition well from college football to the NFL to the NWA, WCW to WWF Attitude Era and to The Hall of Fame. Accumulating NWA, WCW and WWF World Tag Team titles (as well the WCW US tag titles and those of WWF Developmental promotions like OVW and MCW), Simmons' key area of success was in the tag division as one half of DOOM and The Acolytes/The APA. His ultimate achievement was of course his 150 days as WCW World Champion and his victory over Vader is one of my favourite moments in wrestling history. His reign was a little forgettable due to some unconfident booking from WCW (winning and losing the title on house shows, weak challengers, inconclusive finishes). Though he would never win a singles title again, in his career he would challenge for the ECW World Championship, NWA World Championship, WWF's Heavyweight and IC titles as well as WCW's US & TV titles. His contribution to wrestling remains large, despite never regaining his spot as a singles star. In the early 90s he was a groundbreaking single's wrestler who made history and as much as ten years later he was a member of a dominant and popular WWE tag team. His career included WWE, NWA, WCW, ECW and NJPW and he held seven mainstream championships, plus a number of others, some of which remain active to this day. In the ring he was a powerhouse who could really move and really work. Listen to anecdotes from guys like Arn Anderson, Ric Flair and Vader and you'll get a feel for how good he really was."

[8.0] "Honestly I loved him as the leader of the Nation of Domination and looking back on it he really should have been World Champion at that point. I enjoyed him as part of the Acolytes in the Ministry but the APA had some of the most entertaining moments of the Attitude Era. Good wrestler, great character and he has a catch phrase."

[7.0] "Never worse then good but never really reached greatness, former NWA World Heavyweight Champ Ron Simmons is more or less remembered for his 'damn' catchphrase but he was more then that. He was the better of the two in the APA (and quite frankly as much as I love heel JBL I do sometimes wish Simmons got his push in '05), had a controversially charged heel run as the leader of the Nation of Domination (another missed opportunity as far as making him the WWE champ), and several classic matches tagging with both Butch Reed and John Layfield."

[10.0] "I get why Cagematch requires a certain number of words for every rating. I do. Can't be sure people aren't messin' with the system and whatnot. Especially when you give a fella an especially high rating. On the other hand, certain superstars are so gosh darned talented that anyone who's seen a single match of theirs can distill their greatness into one simple word. Ron Simmons is one of those superstars. And that word... DAMN!"

[9.0] "One of the greatest of all-time, and an important wrestler in history. Deservedly the first African-American WCW Champion but in his heyday, he was one of the best power based wrestlers of the era. His run as the leader of the Nation of Domination was underrated and I felt he deserved a WWE World title run. Once he formed the APA, it capsized a great career. You believed every move he did and that's hard for a wrestler to do. A great talent."

[8.0] "The man famous for saying Damn! Ron Simmons has good powerhouse wrestling, charisma and great character work."

[9.0] "Though he is mostly remembered now as half of the APA or even the "Damn! " guy, that's really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Simmons. His WCW work is very underrated, he was far more than a token champion and is a huge part of history as the first fully recognized black world champion, a position he more than earned. His tag work in Doom is also excellent. Great talent that deserves even more respect than he already gets, the man is a legend."

[10.0] "Ron "Farooq" Simmons broke ground by becoming the first ever African American world heavyweight champion. (Make no mistake, he deserved it. He was a powerhouse who was freaky fast in his WCW days, definitely a trait learned in his days as a pro football player. ) He joined WWE and, after a brief period in one of the stupidest outfits ever made for a wrestler, he became the feared leader of the Nation of Domination. But of course, his greatest accomplishment in the big E was his tag team with Bradshaw. They were fun and funny without losing the badass aura that made them forces to be reckoned with in the ring. Ron still pops up on WWE television every once in awhile, when something so outrageous and bizarre happens, all you can say is "DAMN! ""

[6.0] "A coin flip of a wrestler. He really didn't succeed all that much on his own and his time came with mostly competing in tag team matches with Bradshaw AKA JBL back in the APA days. The "DAMN! " shtick was quirky but, Ron Simmons made it work. In all a decent worker that definitely could of done a lot more with a better given opportunity."