WWE Hall Of Famer Explains Why Ron Simmons Is Special

WWE Hall of Famer Ron Simmons is an extremely successful football player turned professional wrestler — becoming the first-ever Black world champion in the business. Through his ascent up the card in WCW, Simmons became a trailblazer who paved the way for future athletes of color. Simmons has received much praise over the years for his career and while on "ARN," fellow HOFer Arn Anderson addressed what he believes made Simmons the special wrestler and performer that many believe him to be.

"Ron Simmons has got about 10 Hall of Fame rings from different, different, you name it," Anderson said. "Sometimes when he's in a goofy mood, he'll have about six rings on there signing and the thing is though, he earned every one of them. He's, he's a special athlete that comes along just every, every 20 years, maybe, that can just, is just so exceptional in every facet of what he does ... He's a class A gentlemen. You know, I've gotten to be pretty good friends with Ron over the years and he's just, he's just a special athlete."

While Simmons achieved WCW World Championship success as a singles star — many fans today know him best for his work in tag teams such as Doom in WCW and the APA in WWE. With Doom, Simmons, along with Butch Reed, held the NWA World Tag Team Championship; with Bradshaw in the APA, Simmons found himself holding the WWE Tag Team Championship on three occasions. Simmons last wrestled in 2012, but has continued to make occasional appearances for WWE since, often showing up to share his signature catchphrase — "DAMN."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "ARN" with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.