The following was written By Alex Marvez, Scripps Howard News Service:
When he learned of his 2008 College Football Hall of Fame selection, Ron Simmons could have responded with his World Wrestling Entertainment catchphrase: “Damn!”
Instead, Simmons wanted to use spicier language. When he was contacted last month by the National Football Foundation, he almost hung up the telephone.
“I was like, ‘It’s too early in the morning, and I don’t have time for these games,’ ” he said. “I let the guy talk, but I didn’t think it was true. But when I saw a package on the door a few days later that said ‘NFF,’ I was thinking, ‘Wait a minute … ‘
“There was a football inside with my name on it and a letter of congratulations. Then I could believe it.” He’ll be inducted in December.
Simmons was a star nose tackle at Florida State University from 1977 to 1980. He still holds two school records and was FSU’s first defensive player to have his jersey retired.
The 6-foot, 235-pound Simmons reached such heights despite being grossly undersize for his position.
“Most of the guys outweighed me by 50 pounds and were four inches taller,” said Simmons. “My strength and quickness became my biggest assets, as well as studying film to know the players I was going against.”
He brought the same intensity to wrestling after a short pro football career, becoming the first black world champion for a major promotion when he beat Leon “Vader” White for World Championship Wrestling’s title in 1992.
Simmons said he’ll never forget his peers’ post-match reaction.
“Guys that had been there for me and helped me coming into the wrestling business had tears in their eyes after seeing something so monumental,” said Simmons.
Simmons found greater fame after joining WWE in 1996. He led the Nation of Domination, a vehicle to stardom for member Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, then formed the long-running APA tag-team with John Bradshaw Layfield.
The duo’s chemistry, combined with their roughhouse in-ring approach, helped Simmons and Layfield click in and out of the ring.
“We had similar backgrounds when it came to football (Bradshaw played at Abilene Christian in Texas), and we enjoy doing a lot of the same things,” said Simmons.
Simmons retired from competition in 2004 but returned two years later, making cameos in wacky skits that usually ended with his saying “Damn!” Simmons said the gimmick stemmed from his expression backstage when watching “younger guys do something in the ring that was really crazy where they could be injuring themselves.”
Simmons almost lost his dream job when he began to suffer from some of the personal problems that have afflicted other wrestlers.
After the murder/suicide of Chris Benoit and his family (the one-year anniversary is Tuesday), WWE began paying expenses for current or former employees to attend a rehabilitation program. Simmons enrolled and returned to WWE TV last month after completing it.
Besides his recurring role on Monday Night Raw (7 p.m., USA Network), Simmons makes public and charity appearances for WWE.
But he doesn’t consider himself fully retired from wrestling. “I had back problems and some other injuries and was trying to give my body a rest,” he said. “I’m 49, and you’ve had guys wrestling until their late 50s.”
Simmons already is on top of the world from his College Football Hall of Fame selection. “I’ve gotten a lot of awards in my lifetime,” Simmons said. “But I think this one says it all.”
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