August 2nd, 1992 - The Night Ron Simmons Broke the World Championship Color Barrier
In professional wrestling, many great African-American athletes have captured the imaginations of audiences throughout the history of the business. Bobo Brazil was a top draw for decades while winning many regional championships in an illustrious career. The Junkyard Dog was one of the most popular men of all-time while selling out arenas around the world. “Soul Man” Rocky Johnson won regional championships and electrified audiences while “Mr. USA” Tony Atlas amazed crowds with his spectacular strength for decades. “The Big Cat” Ernie Ladd dominated and terrorizes territories as one of the most ruthless heels of his generation. “Bearcat” Wright was the Jackie Robinson of professional wrestling as he won regional championships while pushing for desegregation in cards and crowds in the business. However, in the annals of professional wrestling history, none ever reached the pinnacle of the sport. Nobody won a World Championship until August 2nd, 1992.
On August 2nd, 1992 in Baltimore, Maryland, Ron Simmons won an eight-man raffle to determine who would replace the injured Sting in the WCW World Heavyweight Championship match that night against Vader. Then, after ten minutes of heavy-handed wrestling between two of the strongest men in the business, Simmons escaped a power bomb attempt and caught Vader with a scoop power slam. Three seconds later, history occurred. Ron Simmons became the first African-American world champion in the history of the business. His victory broke the proverbial glass ceiling that held down many wrestlers of color when promoters refused to push an African-American as the face of their promotion. For five months, Simmons held the WCW World Heavyweight Championship with pride.
Since his victory, many African-Americans have reached the top of the mountain in the wrestling business. Despite being half-Samoan, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is one of the greatest African-American champions in WWE history with nine World Championships. Booker T is a six-time World Champion (five in WCW and one in WWE), Ron Killings is a three-time NWA World Champion, and Mark Henry most recently won the World Heavyweight Championship in the WWE for the first time in 2011. While Simmons never won another World Championship, his title win 20 years ago paved the way for many others.
Enjoy this historic match and remember a time when the crowd was always on fire, Jim Ross’ passionate play-by-play made every match special, and Ron Simmons was more than just a catchphrase. Damn! August 2nd, 1992 was a glorious day in wrestling history.
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