Today in History: A ‘Nole Breaks a Barrier
August 2, 1992. That date will forever be associated with a former Florida State Seminole standout, but not for a football accomplishment. Instead, that date, today's date, is significant in the realm of professional wrestling. Ron Simmons, the College Football Hall of Famer, defeated Big Van Vader to become the World Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion. Simmons delivered a powerslam to secure the 1-2-3, and the Baltimore, Maryland crowd erupted.
The reason that matters so much, is because with that victory, Simmons became the first African-American to ever hold the world title in professional wrestling's history. That's right. He not only became the first black champion for WCW, but the first of any promotion.
The Rock, Booker T, Kofi Kingston and others have all followed the path that Simmons paved.
We can get into the discussion or debate about pro wrestling another time. The fact that it's scripted only adds to the honor bestowed upon Simmons with that title reign. In a business that has had an ugly reputation as far as race equality, Bill Watts, who was making the booking decisions for WCW at the time, chose Simmons to be the first champion, and that was a huge step forward in race relations in the business.
Simmons would go on to hold the title for nearly five months, and followed that up with a very admirable and impressive career in the "squared circle" that ultimately landed him in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012.
While at FSU, Simmons was a two-time Consensus All-American, and finished ninth in Heisman voting in 1979; a very impressive feat for a defensive tackle. Simmons was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
