STW - Faarooq [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Today on Something to Wrestle with we’re going to be talking about Faarooq as it’s been 25 years since Ron Simmons debuted with the World Wrestling Federation.

The WWE Hall of Famer was a college football star coming out of Florida State University finishing in the top 10 in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1979. Did you follow college football at the time?

The two-time All-American goes onto the NFL and the USFL but finds no success there. He eventually joins Jim Crockett Promotions in 1986. Did you ever have any contact or knowledge of Ron around this time for Paul Boesch?

When’s the first time you see Ron and what are your immediate thoughts of him?

Ron finds some success in JCP and the NWA but is first heavily featured as a tag team with Butch Reed as Doom. Eventually they would split and Ron would become the first African American to win the NWA/WCW World Title. Have you ever had the chance to talk to Ron about this distinction?

As Hulk Hogan becomes a major part of WCW Simmons finds himself pushed down the card. Did you ever reach out or vice versa about bringing Ron in in 1994?

What was Vince’s opinion of him at the time?

Ron does some shots with ECW afterwards including wrestling Mikey Whipwreck, Sabu, Shane Douglas & 911. Were you guys getting reports about his stuff in ECW and if he would be a good fit?

How hard is Jim Ross pushing to bring someone like Ron Simmons into the company?

You’ve talked in the past about how every year there was a phone call. What was the phone call?

Simmons is given notice in September of 1994 of WCW not renewing his contract...and it takes until June of 96 for him to debut in the WWF. Was it money?

Did you feel that Ron could contribute to the product?

Does Ron not working a lot after leaving WCW hurt or help his value to the company? Is it greater to be out of sight, out of mind or on TV?

We’ve talked a lot recently about all the talent changes in 1996 with Ron about to be another addition. How important was the influx of talent in early to mid 1996?

That group of talent, Steve Austin, Ron, Marc Mero, Brian Pillman, Mick Foley, etc...can the turn around that would be felt in mid-1997 happen without them?

Does Ron come in if the likes of Kevin Nash & Scott Hall don’t leave the WWF?

From the Observer on 6/17/96: “Besides Brian Pillman, Vince McMahon has either come close to or has completed a deal with Ron Simmons, who is expected to debut as a heel at the next TV tapings on 6/24 and 6/25. McMahon met with Simmons at his home in Georgia after the last set of tapings.”

Are you at this meeting? What is the negotiation like? Were the plans always to put him with Sunny?

When is the decision made to have him programmed with Ahmed Johnson?

We just covered Ahmed a few weeks ago so check it out in the archives but Ron debuts as Faarooq Asad on Monday Night Raw July 22nd. Where did the name come from?

On commentary Jerry Lawler refers to him as Ron Simmons before giving his name. Who’s idea was this?

How did Sunny and Ron get along in the beginning?

Ahmed is hurt from the attack and the plans of Ahmed vs. Faarooq at SummerSlam seemed to be shelved. Was there any heat on Ron for the injury?

What were the plans for SummerSlam originally do you remember?

The Asad part of his name is quickly dropped. Any particular reason why?

Faarooq is entered into the Intercontiental Title tournament which is stripped from Ahmed due to his injury. Were there ever plans on putting the title on Faarooq?

He makes it to the finals up against Marco...MERO on a live Raw. From the Observer: “Mero pinned Faarooq. Perfect was said to have helped Mero out to start a babyface turn for him. Ref Pat Patterson threw Sunny out, but she came back later with a loaded purse with a brick in it. Sunny and Sable started fighting after Sunny threw the purse in, Faarooq got it but Mero punched him, hit him with the purse and used the shooting star press for the pin in 12:31 (**3/4). Mero did a lot of good stuff in this match but when Faarooq was on top the match slowed. It later came out Sunny had a brick in the purse. Apparently Sable accidentally stiffed Sunny in the eye during their slap fight. Sunny was originally supposed to beat up Sable but Mero wouldn't go for it which caused a lot of backstage heat between Mero and Sunny.”

Tell me about this slap fight between Sable and Sunny and did Ron have any issues doing a job like this in a big spot as it’s his first televised loss?

Not long after this Sunny is taken off the road to host Live Wire and they split on TV in an amicable way. Was Ron happy to not have Sunny with him?

On Monday Night Raw on 10/14 Jim Ross said during his commentary stint that Faarooq’s head gear was embarrassing, and questioned whether Vince McMahon was truly a marketing genius since he put a costume on a 3 time all-american. I know we make fun of JR with this type of stuff but he’s got a point here doesn’t he even in gimmick?

Was there a worry that Ron wouldn’t get over without something around him, a manager, stable, etc?

Faarooq is supposed to get a rematch against Mero at Buried Alive but has a bum hamstring and can’t make it to the ring. Was there a worry that Ron...who was noticeably bigger than his stint in WCW...wasn’t in the best shape?

When is the Nation of Domination idea first talked about and who’s idea was it?

PG-13 & Clearance Mason are put with Ron for the debut of the Nation at Survivor Series 96. Was PG-13 (Wolfie D & JC Ice) on the radar and this was the best fit for them?

What did you think of the act?

Was there any worry about the racial aspects of the gimmick? The rumor and innuendo was always that the NOD were based upon the Nation of Islam and the Black Panther Party. What say you?

As the Nation comes together the first member to join is Crush. Did Ron have any say on who was coming into the Nation or recommendations?

D’Lo Brown becomes a defacto member without a name as well. How did D’Lo come to be in the Nation at this time?

The Ahmed - Faarooq match with all the injuries is talked about but finally put together for the Royal Rumble. Is this just a snake bit angle?

We covered Ahmed vs. Faarooq in the Ahmed episode recently in the archives. Was Ron happy working with Ahmed as Ahmed didn’t have the best reputation? Was it a goal of Ron’s to bring Ahmed along as a worker? How did they get along?

Savio Vega is added to the Nation and now the Nation is Faarooq, Crush, Savio, D’Lo, PG-13, Clarence Mason. Do you think they were presented in a top tier fashion?

Faarooq’s first WrestleMania is in Chicago at WrestleMania 12 in the six-man street fight with Savio & Crush against LOD & Ahmed. Was it a big deal for Ron to be on a WrestleMania?

He’s less than a year in the company and he’s not been a top heel but he’s getting pushed near the top of the card on a regular basis. What is Ron’s attitude during this time?

The promos Faarooq is cutting on Ahmed is very racial in nature with calling him an “Uncle Tom” being the biggest. Is Faarooq comfortable with this creative and is he pushing for this type of promo?

At Mania LOD & Ahmed defeat the Nation of Domination in the Chicago Street Fight. We’ve talked about this match a lot in the archives but Faarooq does get hurt during the match. Is there a worry with his age...38...and physical nature of his career and his matches that his body might be breaking down?

The Nation storyline continues with Ahmed but at the same time Faarooq starts cutting promos on the WWF Champion the Undertaker. This was what you always envisioned for Faarooq when he came in right? To work a top babyface like Taker?

At King of the Ring 97 the main event is Taker vs. Faarooq for the WWF World Title. From the Observer:

“7. Undertaker pinned Faarooq to retain the WWF title in 13:43. The NOD had a lot of presence when they started the gimmick. But they've lost a lot of steam through both overexposure and because their television matches have cured thousands of insomnia, some of whom probably were watching to be entertained rather than put to sleep. It didn't appear that Faarooq was taken seriously as a main event heel. That said, the two worked about as good a match as they could. It was a decent match with the outside shenanigans and storylines adding to it rather than distracting from it. The NOD began arguing with each other. Faarooq was distracted allowing Undertaker to come from behind with the tombstone for the pin. After the match, Undertaker gave the choke slam to both Savio Vega and Crush. Paul Bearer then told him to choke slam Faarooq. He acted as if he didn't want to, but did it, and Bearer continued to order him to do it. He wound up doing it four times before Johnson came out. The two got nose-to-nose and Undertaker went to choke slam Johnson, but Johnson ducked out of the way and hit the Pearl River plunge on Undertaker and walked out. **¼”

First off do you think Meltzer was correct with the criticism of the Nation and their matches?

Second off what did you think of this match and Faarooq getting choke slammed 4 times couldn’t have felt good for him?

Was there any talk of putting the belt on Ron at this point or at any other point?

Was the point of Faarooq and Taker to transition to the Ahmed heel turn and Ahmed working up top with Taker?

The Nation breaks up after King of the Ring to splinter out into different groups, Crush with the Disciples of Apocalypse and Savio Vega with Los Boricuas. Why the split into these factions?

Faarooq “promotes” D’Lo Brown to a full-time member and recruits Kama Mustafa to become a member. Recently Charles Wright was on the Broken Skull podcast with Steve Austin on Peacock and talked about how close he was to being Papa Shango again. Do you remember why the shift was made to make him a member of the Nation?

Ahmed also joins the Nation but it’s a short lived run as he gets hurt. Was Ron pushing to add D’Lo, Kama & Ahmed into the Nation?

SummerSlam comes and goes and there’s no Faarooq match on the card after main eventing the last pay-per-view. Is that just how the creative shook out?

When does Ron become the locker room leader/enforcer we’ve all heard about later on?

Rocky Maivia helps Faarooq beat Chainz and thus the Rock is born and joins the Nation. Looking back and hindsight...how important is this turn for the WWF?

On Raw the next week the infamous Die Rocky Die interview happens and it turns into a brawl in the back between the Nation, DOA and the Boriquas and somehow...Jim Cornette’s windshield gets smashed. Was it a rib or something that just happened to be by accident?

Savio Vega wins a triangle match over Crush & Faarooq at Ground Zero in a match that is best described as not good. What was it about these guys that it just didn’t click in the ring?

Faarooq and Owen Hart are in the tournament final to crown a new Intercontinental champion after Steve Austin’s injury at Badd Blood. From the Observer…

“4. Owen Hart won the vacant IC title from Faarooq (Ron Simmons) in 7:12 when Steve Austin hit Faarooq with the title belt. The idea is that Austin wanted Hart to win, so he'd get a shot at Hart which takes place at Survivor Series. Hart looked like he was mentally somewhere else, probably because he was. Another bad match.”

It’s very hard to judge anyone on this day from a wrestling standpoint considering it was the night of Brian Pillman’s death but Ron wasn’t supposed to be in this spot it was supposed to be Ahmed before another injury happened isn’t that right?

How obvious is it after this that the Rock is star of the Nation and Faarooq wasn’t?

The tease of the split begins in December as Rocky and Faarooq are having disagreements. Did Ron see the future in Rocky?

Faarooq makes it to the final 3 of the Royal Rumble with the Rock & Steve Austin. Faarooq wants Rocky to help him eliminate Austin and then eliminate himself but Rocky refuses and Austin ends up the winner anyway. Was there hope that Ron could be a babyface against Rocky?

At WrestleMania 14 Ken Shamrock and the Rock faced off for the Intercontinetal Title which saw Rocky win by DQ. Shamrock attacked him after the match and Faarooq came down but decided to walk away from it efficetvely making him a babyface. The Rock the next night kicked him out of the Nation and it built to a 6-man tag match at Unforgiven. From the Observer:

“1. Faarooq & Ken Shamrock & Steve Blackman beat D-Lo Brown & Mark Henry & Rocky Maivia in 13:07. After the hot tag brought in a fresh Faarooq with Rocky, Rocky used a DDT for a near fall before Faarooq got the pin on him using a sloppy dominator. 1/2*”

It’s crazy now to look back at this and see Faarooq pin Rocky in 1998 on a pay-per-view. This is just done to setup the singles match where Rock gets the win right?

At Over the Edge there’s a show long storyline after Faarooq attacks Rocky but there’s an issue with a chair in the attack. The chair isn’t there when Rocky gets piledriven on it but JR calls it with the chair and Lawler says the chair moves but Rocky gets stretched out anyway. Live TV right?

Supposedly Rocky is too hurt to work but Slaughter forces him to work which is odd because that’s really a babyface gimmick. From the Observer:

“Maivia came out with the belt in a neck brace. Faarooq then attacked Maivia, took off his neck brace and began hitting him. They worked the match with Maivia no longer selling the neck injury that was supposedly so disabling. The crowd had no clue how to react because even though Maivia was put in the face position, they didn't dislike Faarooq, but could have cared less about him, and didn't like Rocky. Again no heat. Faarooq then scored a pin out of nowhere with the ref counting three but Maivia getting his foot on the ropes. The spot should have been a big pop for the title change but nobody cared. Ref Tim White saw the foot on the ropes and re-started, and Maivia immediately took Faarooq down with a leg-dive and with both feet on the middle ropes, pinned him. Again no reaction. The fact Faarooq couldn't beat a "dead" Maivia forced into the ring only served to kill his standing, and the two piledrivers after the match he gave Maivia drew no reaction either. Finally Owen Hart and the rest of the Nation made the save, and DX then did a run-in to save Faarooq. DX' run-in got a reaction but it was clear by this point nobody cared about Faarooq. -*”

Was Ron just dead at this point as a babyface? I mean the whole match is a clusterfuck. What happened here Bruce?

Coming off this match there’s rumor and innuendo that Ron has major heat in the company due to his weight. Was there an issue at the time with him?

At Fully Loaded Faarooq teams with Too Cold Scorpio in a win over Terry Funk & Bradshaw. This is just 4 guys who got nothing going on put together in a match wouldn’t you agree?

When is it decided that Bradshaw & Faarooq would be a good tag team?

Who’s idea was it?

What were their feelings on it?

The original incarnation of the Acolytes was Don Callis coming to ringside and recruiting Faarooq & Bradshaw. What did you think of Don in this role?

Why did Don not last long?

From the Observer on the name the Acolytes…”The Acolyte name was picked by Jackyl as a rib on the office for his previous portrayal as a religious fanatic cult leader”

Is that true?

When you put Ron & Bradshaw together were they already the “locker room tough guys” or did putting them together make them the enforcers?

Who came up with the symbols on their chest?

Once Don Callis leaves the Acolytes are moved into the Ministry of Darkness around the Undertaker. This is just a natural move isn’t it?

The Ministry is a collection of talent around the Undertaker that the hope is they’ll get a rub. We covered Undertaker 1999 recently but the people who are put in the Ministry...Bradshaw...Faarooq...Mideon...Viscera...etc. are all really guys who got nothing going on. If you got something out of this stable...it was really the Acolytes wasn’t it?

Bruce we’ve covered the Acolytes vs. Public Enemy match in the past so check it out in the archives but do you think that’s where the Acolytes get their reputation from?

Bradshaw & Faarooq get a couple tag team title reigns, one comes over Kane & X-Pac before they drop it to the Hardy Boyz. They weren’t really a team that need the titles were they?

Michael Hayes actually comes back and wrestles with the Hardy Boyz in some matches against the Acolytes. Did working Ron & Bradshaw put Doot Doot Doot back into retirement?

They win the tag titles back at Fully Loaded over the Hardyz & Hayes before dropping them back to Kane & X-Pac.

Undertaker’s injury leads to the end of the Ministry...did Ron & Bradshaw have a fear there wasn’t going to be anything for them?

Who comes up with the idea of turning the Acolytes into the APA?

They drink beer...they play cards...they take money from people to either help them win or protect them...how much of this gimmick is a stretch from their real personalities?

Who came up with the door?

When WCW is purchased in 2001 the role of the APA turn into the locker room leaders and enforcers for the WWF. How real was that gimmick?

The APA win the tag team titles again over the Dudley Boyz only to drop them to DDP & Kanyon. Did they have any issues putting DDP & Kanyon over?

Were they as cold as everyone always said they were to the WCW wrestlers, referees, staff that were coming in?

Was Ron worried about his spot and that’s why it went down that way?

The APA runs it course and the split happens at the first WWF draft. Did they know ahead of time that this was coming?

Who was the first one to voice their displeasure? Ron or Bradshaw?

They have their final tag match on March 28th in East Rutherford on a house show where they lost to the Dudley Boyz and after the match the Dudleyz, Acolytes, Hardyz & even Arn Anderson come out and toast as it’s the end of the run for the Dudleyz & Acolytes both got split up. Did every tag team really needed to be split up?

Did you have hope for Ron as a singles?

Faarooq moves over to Smackdown where he fueds with the new Reverend D-Von gimmick and Deacon Batista. Also he gets paired with a young fresh on the roster Randy Orton. Is Ron at this point in the veteran guy on the road teaching the new guy role?

Supposedly Al-Qaeda has a camp called Al-Faarooq so Ron starts using his real name again. Is that how you remember it?

At the end of 2002 Ron is officially the oldest wrestler on the roster but his contract is expiring and the talk is of moving Ron to an agent role. Was Ron ok with this?

Ron stays on after some time off and the APA reforms on SmackDown for one last run. It also features the APA Invititional Bar Room Brawl at Vengenace 03 where Bradshaw wins by beating you! What do you remember of that?

He finishes up in 2004 in what is the storyline that jumps the John Bradshaw Layfield gimmick off. Did Ron have any issue with doing this for John?

The APA loses a tag match on the March 18th SmackDown to Rikishi & Scotty 2 Hotty and Paul Heyman...SmackDown General Manager...says that the APA isn’t fired but Faarooq was and Bradshaw’s heel turn starts to lead to JBL. Was it finally time to take Ron off TV?

Is it odd that Bradshaw never did a physical attack on Faarooq? Was that something they both agreed to? They’re the only tag team I can remember just breaking up without a physical altercation.

Did he move into an agent role after the break up?

He starts doing various appearances during various interview segments saying “Damn!” How does that come to be?

Ron does various appearances including being Teddy Long’s best man for his wedding with Kristal on SmackDown.

Why was Ron constantly brought back on TV?

Ron is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012. He is well deserved of this correct?

What are your favorite moments of Ron as the man?

What was your favorite Faarooq match?