'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUH/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAMAgi/8A/8QAHBAAAgIDAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDBAASIQVh/9oACAEBAAE/APJqpBWaw5DJPC+w16qggc+9yVisrgKhAJGf/8QAFxEBAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQACIf/aAAgBAgEBPwCrrP/EABYRAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAA//aAAgBAwEBPwDQAL//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
An ex-WWE figure was responsible for one of the biggest moments of R-Truth's career. However, he admitted that he had no idea who Ron Killings was prior to pushing him.
On the latest episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws, ex-WWE figure Vince Russo spoke to host Dr. Chris Featherstone and former TNA and NWA World Champion EC3 about R-Truth during their time together in TNA in the early to mid-2000s.
Despite Vince Russo and Jeff Jarrett not agreeing on anything, they both decided that R-Truth should become the NWA World Champion. Russo admitted that prior to this, he didn't know anything about Truth from his first WWE stint.
Trending
"I knew nothing of his WWE career beforehand. I wasn't watching then. I knew nothing about him. So the first time I saw him was when he came to TNA. You've got to understand something, man: he was 30 at the time. This guy was in his peak, in his prime, and he was an absolute beast. I could tell you, Jeff Jarrett and I agreed on like, nothing. But that was the only thing we agreed on. We were like, bro, we got to put the belt [NWA World Title] on this guy. That wasn't a big, laid-out plan. The first couple of weeks he was in, we were so impressed that we had to put a title on him." [From 08:00 to 08:52]
You can watch the full video below:
R-Truth made history as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion
Vince Russo revealed that Ken Shamrock, who was the NWA World Heavyweight Champion back then, was expensive to retain as a talent, and TNA officials didn't know how long he would stick around. That's why the decision was made to push Ron Killings in that position.
In the summer of 2002, Ron Killings defeated Ken Shamrock and became the first-ever African-American NWA World Heavyweight Champion. To date, he's the only man to hold this title.
He would go on to win the NWA World Title from AJ Styles a little under two years later, although this time, his run only lasted for two weeks. Still, it was a massive accomplishment, and even R-Truth himself wasn't aware of how big a deal it was until his later years.
Speaking to WrestlingInc, the legend admitted that it was only when he got into his later years as a wrestler that he realized what a big deal it was for him to become the first-ever black NWA World Heavyweight Champion.
Considering that this happened over two decades ago and he had just entered his thirties, it's a testament to his incredible longevity in the wrestling business. Although many come and go, few are able to have such storied tenures that extend for decades.
Interestingly enough, two names also on that NWA World Heavyweight Champion lineage are the current General Managers of WWE. Adam Pearce had five reigns with the title and is the eighth-longest combined NWA World Heavyweight Champion in the title's lineage, while Aldis is sixth. With two NWA World title reigns, his second run lasted for over 1,000 days.
In the unlikely event of R-Truth winning the WWE Championship, he would be one of only four men to win the WWE Title and the NWA World Title. The other three men who have already accomplished this are Buddy Rogers, Ric Flair, and "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles.
If you use any quotes from the article, please provide credit to Sportskeeda Wrestling, and don't forget to embed the episode of The Wrestling Outlaws.
