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Ron Simmons, aka Faarooq, is widely regarded as one of the toughest wrestlers of his generation. In a recent interview, Ahmed Johnson revealed he deliberately hurt his former WWE in-ring rival as payback following a previous altercation between the two.
On March 23, 1997, Johnson and The Road Warriors defeated The Nation of Domination (Crush, Faarooq, and Savio Vega) at WrestleMania 13. The Chicago Street Fight featured a spot where Johnson bodyslammed Simmons through a table at ringside.
The Pearl River Powerhouse confirmed on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast that he tried to injure Simmons during the match:
"That's why I took him through that table the way I did, and it broke his ribs and punctured his lung (…) So we kinda settled down from there. Once I got my payback, we kinda settled down," Johnson said. [50:21 – 50:42]
Johnson briefly joined forces with Simmons and the rest of The Nation of Domination in 1997. However, his run with the group only lasted two months.
Why did Ahmed Johnson hurt Ron Simmons?
On the July 22, 1996, episode of RAW, Ahmed Johnson teamed up with Shawn Michaels to challenge The Smoking Gunns for the WWE Tag Team Championship. The match abruptly ended when the debuting Ron Simmons (w/Sunny) kicked Johnson at ringside.
According to the former Intercontinental Champion, Simmons tried to hurt him on purpose:
"Faarooq kicked me in it [kidneys] when he came down," Johnson said. "The very first introduction to Faarooq, him and Sunny, I fell out the ring and he came rushing down. I am trusting this dude, so I open my body up to him. The old veteran. And, brother, he laid a kick there that you wouldn't soon forget." [49:28 – 49:55]
Johnson previously claimed Simmons was jealous of him after he became the first African-American Intercontinental Champion in WWE history.
What do you make of the Ahmed Johnson and Ron Simmons rivalry? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
