By paNOW (Nigel Maxwell)

Former pro wrestling champion “for hire” coming to Red Deer

May 17, 2018 | 5:25 PM

WWE Hall of Famer Ron Simmons is joining Canadian Wrestling’s Elite on its next Canadian tour across five provinces, including a visit to the Springrook Multiplex this Monday.

Simmons, a former world champion, U.S. champion and tag team champion, recently caught up with Nigel Maxwell with our affiliate paNOW.

Nigel Maxwell: One of the factions many people will know you for is the Nation of Domination during the WWE’s Attitude Era.  Was there ever any concern by you how you might be received by the crowd?

Ron Simmons: When you are doing things of that magnitude you have to be a little careful and not step on too many peoples’ toes. I don’t know if that would actually work in today’s society where people have their emotions on their sleeves. People had an open mind back then about what we were doing, what the business was about, and they came to enjoy themselves.

NM: At one point in time Owen Hart was a member of the faction. Did you know Owen well, and what was it like working with him? 

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RS: I was very fond of Owen and I still, to this day, miss him. He was a great friend to me and I can’t think of anyone that had a dislike in any way for Owen. He was always friendly to everyone, kind to everyone. He was just an all-around great guy.

NM: You and John Bradshaw Layfield held the tag-team titles on multiple occasions, both as the Acolytes and the A.P.A. A lot of what people saw on screen seemed very natural and unscripted. What was that experience like for you?

RS: In order to make a tag team work it’s not just sticking two people together. There has to be a connection between the two individuals that are involved, things in common that are shared. JBL and I had almost the absolute identical personalities when it came to in-ring personalities, and out of the ring and that’s what really made that click. We understood each other, we knew each other very well and we got along exceptionally well.

NM: I’ve read a few articles that claimed you and JBL were told to be a bit stiffer on some teams who were not acting professionally, as a way to teach them a lesson. Is any of that true?

RS: Some of it was, yes, and some of it we didn’t have to be told. Some people can handle success and some can’t. When some people get before the cameras their personalities change and, you know, sometimes you have to be brought back to Earth. You’re not in there as an individual to get all the fame yourself. When you get in there with people who don’t want to work and don’t want to have the business flourish other than themselves, you have to find a way to bring them back around.

NM: Prior to professional wrestling you played professional football both for the NFL and the CFL. Were you always a wrestling fan?

RS: My grandmother was a big fan of professional wrestling and so I grew up watching that because of her. Something there was always in the back of my mind but football was my first love since I was just a pre-teen.

NM: In 1992, you defeated Vader for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, making you the first black world champion. What are your thoughts on winning the title?

RS: That has to be, without a doubt, the highlight, the top of my list as far as my career goes. You know I can tell you there isn’t a month that goes by that I don’t think about that as if it happened yesterday, and it really didn’t dawn on me until after that happened the impact it had.

NM: What can fans expect from you during the CWE tour? Will you be involved in the matches?

RS: Well of course. I’ve watched the guys that come before me like Dusty Rhodes, Hiro Matsuda, Ric Flair, all of these guys, I’ve watched them come now and give back to the fans when they got to this point. I said one day if I’m ever fortunate enough in my career to go this long, I would like to be able to travel and to go back and say to the people in person how much I appreciate them and thank them for coming to watch me over the years.

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell