Post by Head Booker on Aug 3, 2007 19:23:48 GMT -6
An anniversary of wrestling that deserves remembering, Aug. 2, 1992
In any other sport, the anniversary I mention probably would be remembered as a grand occasion. Wrestling is a different animal, and as such, it makes for a different priority list. However, I cannot let the 15th anniversary of something like this go without mention. It deserves to be said.
It was on this day that the color barrier was broken for World Champions.
On August 2, 1992 in Baltimore, Maryland, WCW was giving one of its myriad shows on the circuit. The big story at the time was Sting against Vader, but that was thought to be losing steam. (Or, at the very least, in need of being shuffled up; Sting against Vader never really lost steam, and was still used as late as 1994.) Vader was World Champion, and the time had come to take advantage of a major steal from the WWF: Jake "the Snake" Roberts. Cameras were in place for what was not a TV taping, and Bill Watts, then WCW promoter, was ready to deliver.
The supposed main event of the evening would be Sting and Vader, but early in the show, Sting made an appearance. He was in the middle of giving one of his interviews about how this would be the time Vader would fall. In the middle of it, the lights went out. When they came back on, there was the Snake, behind Sting and ready to strike. Strike he did -- a few DDTs later, Sting was on a stretcher and headed for a Baltimore hospital. Jake Roberts' debut left the crowd in absolute shock.
With a story like that, anything else would've been gravy. However, WCW management was ready to fire with both barrels.
With Sting incapacitated, the matter of a new challenger was at hand. Vader didn't care who it was -- he and manager Harley Race were certain they'd win no matter what. The draw was announced, and out came the winner: an upper-midcard powerhouse with a legitimate athletic background and an All-American in college football by the name of Ron Simmons.
The match was a brutal contest of power, and highlights of it became a staple on WCW programming. Both men threw each other around and tried to out-bully their opponent, and fans in attendance began to see signs of weakness in Vader. Here was someone who was matching Vader's power and taking it to him. Perhaps someday he would be the one to dethrone the Big Van.
As it turned out, that someday was that night. Vader was caught off the second rope by Simmons, who delivered an amazing spinebuster to the champion. Simmons sent Vader into the ropes, and to the shock of everyone in attendance that night, powerslammed the 450-pound giant. As the crowd cheered in ecstatic disbelief, the referee made the fateful three-count. History was made -- there was a new champion. But more than that, Ron Simmons became the first black man to win a World Heavyweight title.
(At this point, let me preempt those of you who will mention Bobo Brazil in 1962. Not only did Brazil not beat the champion -- Rogers claimed injury and was forced by NWA officials to forfeit -- but Brazil refused to be named as champion without winning the belt. In the rematch between Buddy Rogers and Brazil, the original Nature Boy won back the title he never lost. It should be noted that NWAwrestling.com gives Brazil an asterisk and only recognizes Rogers as having had one reign, not two as he would have had Brazil been champion. Further, Brazil is not recognized as NWA Heavyweight Champion in his WWE Hall of Fame profile. Therefore, Brazil did not break the color barrier officially; Simmons did.)
Ron Simmons should have had this monumental event carry him to immortality in wrestling. However, since WCW was in charge -- more specifically, Bill Watts -- this wasn't the case. Rather than give Vader a rematch at Clash of the Champions in September, the rematch went to Cactus Jack, who was a year away from meaning anything in wrestling. Simmons won the match -- and in the process, nearly crippled Foley. At Halloween Havoc, with Sting and Roberts headlining, Simmons was inexplicably put against Barbarian. The inexplicability continued at Starrcade when, with no other real matches scheduled and a Battlebowl the only other thing drawing the show, Simmons defended against Steve Williams -- who for most of 1992 had been a tag champion.
At this point, Eric Bischoff took over WCW booking. The first order of business was to put the belt back on Vader -- which happened on a TV show that aired around New Year's 1993 -- before shunting Simmons back to the midcard. This had the cumulative effect of ruining any chance Simmons had of returning to the World Title scene while in WCW. However, when Simmons jumped to the WWF in 1996, he was able to make up for lost time.
Ahmed Johnson was riding a wave of popularity, but Simmons, now re-christened Faarooq Assad as a convert to Islam, claimed that Ahmed was no man of the streets. Faarooq became a black militant, soon forming the Nation of Domination and accusing WWF higher-ups of latent discrimination, noting that there had never been (at the time) a black WWF Champion. In fact, Mabel was the only black challenger for the title since before Hulkamania began -- a fact that annoyed Faarooq to no end as he saw Sid, Vader, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and other whites rotate among the champion/challenger slots. He vowed to make the WWF officials notice and used Ahmed Johnson, a "color boy" in his words, as a stepping stone.
All this led to one of the most heated rivalries of its time in the WWF, and indeed around WrestleMania 13 it was second in intensity only to the runaway train that was Bret/Austin. At that WrestleMania, the Nation of Domination (Faarooq and fellow dissidents Crush and Savio Vega -- ironically, neither of whom were black) faced Ahmed Johnson and hometown heroes Legion of Doom. With the Street Fight environment one that seemed poised for a train wreck, the result was pleasantly exciting. There was never a moment when nothing was happening, the use of weaponry kept the crowd's interest, and LOD's very presence meant that every move got a reaction. While Ahmed and LOD won the battle, it would be Faarooq who won the way, pinning Ahmed Johnson in a #1 Contender's match in May 1997 to get a chance at the WWF Championship first.
While Faarooq would not beat the Undertaker, he was not yet out of the spotlight. He fired Crush and Savio and re-formed the Nation of Domination. The names he chose for this incarnation -- including smark favorite D-Lo Brown and future WWE PPV main eventers Mark Henry and the Rock -- would lead to a renaissance of the Nation, bringing them full circle and renewing the rivalry with the Legion and with newcomer Ken Shamrock. Unfortunately for Simmons, the Rock's notoriety had passed anything he could hope for, and Simmons was turfed after WrestleMania XIV.
Attitude-and-later fans will only remember Simmons as one-half of the APA -- the lesser half, thanks to JBL's singles exploits. While Layfield's accomplishments are on par with or better than Simmons', to dismiss him as such would be a mistake. Simmons has been involved in PPV World Title matches for both the WWF and WCW -- a sure sign of something working in his favor. Plus, his title win came at a time when being champion meant something -- arguments can be made today that belts are props, but no one would dare suggest it back then.
Above all, though, Simmons was a first. While it should not have taken until 1992 for such a thing to be official, it did. It was 15 years ago today that Simmons became the first black World Heavyweight Champion, and for that reason, his place in history is secure. So some time today, raise a glass to Simmons and share the beer he and Bradshaw would for the occasion. Ron Simmons has a well-earned place as part of history.
And it happened 15 years ago today.
As Simmons himself would say, "Damn."
In any other sport, the anniversary I mention probably would be remembered as a grand occasion. Wrestling is a different animal, and as such, it makes for a different priority list. However, I cannot let the 15th anniversary of something like this go without mention. It deserves to be said.
It was on this day that the color barrier was broken for World Champions.
On August 2, 1992 in Baltimore, Maryland, WCW was giving one of its myriad shows on the circuit. The big story at the time was Sting against Vader, but that was thought to be losing steam. (Or, at the very least, in need of being shuffled up; Sting against Vader never really lost steam, and was still used as late as 1994.) Vader was World Champion, and the time had come to take advantage of a major steal from the WWF: Jake "the Snake" Roberts. Cameras were in place for what was not a TV taping, and Bill Watts, then WCW promoter, was ready to deliver.
The supposed main event of the evening would be Sting and Vader, but early in the show, Sting made an appearance. He was in the middle of giving one of his interviews about how this would be the time Vader would fall. In the middle of it, the lights went out. When they came back on, there was the Snake, behind Sting and ready to strike. Strike he did -- a few DDTs later, Sting was on a stretcher and headed for a Baltimore hospital. Jake Roberts' debut left the crowd in absolute shock.
With a story like that, anything else would've been gravy. However, WCW management was ready to fire with both barrels.
With Sting incapacitated, the matter of a new challenger was at hand. Vader didn't care who it was -- he and manager Harley Race were certain they'd win no matter what. The draw was announced, and out came the winner: an upper-midcard powerhouse with a legitimate athletic background and an All-American in college football by the name of Ron Simmons.
The match was a brutal contest of power, and highlights of it became a staple on WCW programming. Both men threw each other around and tried to out-bully their opponent, and fans in attendance began to see signs of weakness in Vader. Here was someone who was matching Vader's power and taking it to him. Perhaps someday he would be the one to dethrone the Big Van.
As it turned out, that someday was that night. Vader was caught off the second rope by Simmons, who delivered an amazing spinebuster to the champion. Simmons sent Vader into the ropes, and to the shock of everyone in attendance that night, powerslammed the 450-pound giant. As the crowd cheered in ecstatic disbelief, the referee made the fateful three-count. History was made -- there was a new champion. But more than that, Ron Simmons became the first black man to win a World Heavyweight title.
(At this point, let me preempt those of you who will mention Bobo Brazil in 1962. Not only did Brazil not beat the champion -- Rogers claimed injury and was forced by NWA officials to forfeit -- but Brazil refused to be named as champion without winning the belt. In the rematch between Buddy Rogers and Brazil, the original Nature Boy won back the title he never lost. It should be noted that NWAwrestling.com gives Brazil an asterisk and only recognizes Rogers as having had one reign, not two as he would have had Brazil been champion. Further, Brazil is not recognized as NWA Heavyweight Champion in his WWE Hall of Fame profile. Therefore, Brazil did not break the color barrier officially; Simmons did.)
Ron Simmons should have had this monumental event carry him to immortality in wrestling. However, since WCW was in charge -- more specifically, Bill Watts -- this wasn't the case. Rather than give Vader a rematch at Clash of the Champions in September, the rematch went to Cactus Jack, who was a year away from meaning anything in wrestling. Simmons won the match -- and in the process, nearly crippled Foley. At Halloween Havoc, with Sting and Roberts headlining, Simmons was inexplicably put against Barbarian. The inexplicability continued at Starrcade when, with no other real matches scheduled and a Battlebowl the only other thing drawing the show, Simmons defended against Steve Williams -- who for most of 1992 had been a tag champion.
At this point, Eric Bischoff took over WCW booking. The first order of business was to put the belt back on Vader -- which happened on a TV show that aired around New Year's 1993 -- before shunting Simmons back to the midcard. This had the cumulative effect of ruining any chance Simmons had of returning to the World Title scene while in WCW. However, when Simmons jumped to the WWF in 1996, he was able to make up for lost time.
Ahmed Johnson was riding a wave of popularity, but Simmons, now re-christened Faarooq Assad as a convert to Islam, claimed that Ahmed was no man of the streets. Faarooq became a black militant, soon forming the Nation of Domination and accusing WWF higher-ups of latent discrimination, noting that there had never been (at the time) a black WWF Champion. In fact, Mabel was the only black challenger for the title since before Hulkamania began -- a fact that annoyed Faarooq to no end as he saw Sid, Vader, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and other whites rotate among the champion/challenger slots. He vowed to make the WWF officials notice and used Ahmed Johnson, a "color boy" in his words, as a stepping stone.
All this led to one of the most heated rivalries of its time in the WWF, and indeed around WrestleMania 13 it was second in intensity only to the runaway train that was Bret/Austin. At that WrestleMania, the Nation of Domination (Faarooq and fellow dissidents Crush and Savio Vega -- ironically, neither of whom were black) faced Ahmed Johnson and hometown heroes Legion of Doom. With the Street Fight environment one that seemed poised for a train wreck, the result was pleasantly exciting. There was never a moment when nothing was happening, the use of weaponry kept the crowd's interest, and LOD's very presence meant that every move got a reaction. While Ahmed and LOD won the battle, it would be Faarooq who won the way, pinning Ahmed Johnson in a #1 Contender's match in May 1997 to get a chance at the WWF Championship first.
While Faarooq would not beat the Undertaker, he was not yet out of the spotlight. He fired Crush and Savio and re-formed the Nation of Domination. The names he chose for this incarnation -- including smark favorite D-Lo Brown and future WWE PPV main eventers Mark Henry and the Rock -- would lead to a renaissance of the Nation, bringing them full circle and renewing the rivalry with the Legion and with newcomer Ken Shamrock. Unfortunately for Simmons, the Rock's notoriety had passed anything he could hope for, and Simmons was turfed after WrestleMania XIV.
Attitude-and-later fans will only remember Simmons as one-half of the APA -- the lesser half, thanks to JBL's singles exploits. While Layfield's accomplishments are on par with or better than Simmons', to dismiss him as such would be a mistake. Simmons has been involved in PPV World Title matches for both the WWF and WCW -- a sure sign of something working in his favor. Plus, his title win came at a time when being champion meant something -- arguments can be made today that belts are props, but no one would dare suggest it back then.
Above all, though, Simmons was a first. While it should not have taken until 1992 for such a thing to be official, it did. It was 15 years ago today that Simmons became the first black World Heavyweight Champion, and for that reason, his place in history is secure. So some time today, raise a glass to Simmons and share the beer he and Bradshaw would for the occasion. Ron Simmons has a well-earned place as part of history.
And it happened 15 years ago today.
As Simmons himself would say, "Damn."
