World Wrestling Insanity interview with Ron Simmons
Host: James Guttman
Interview available at WorldWrestlingInsanity.com via ClubWWI.

In a business full of two-sport superstars, few have come close to achieving success in both wrestling and football as this week's ClubWWI.com guest. That's right. The man who has made wrestling and football fans alike stand up and say, "DAMN," Ron Simmons has come to the Club for an uncut shoot that looks at his entire career.

A longtime WWE star, Ron's successes were piling up long before he ever came to New York. Ron discusses many of those successes with James Guttman including his records at Florida State, being the only defensive lineman to be nominated for the Heisman Trophy, being the first defensive player to have his number retired at Florida State, incorporating football into his wrestling style, transitioning from football to wrestling, and more. One topic that's still on the minds of many ClubWWI.com listeners is the recent Simmons induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Just last weekend, the induction is a huge honor and it's importance mean a lot to Ron.

"Oh yeah, man. I tell you. It was quite an honor and like I told when I was at the induction ceremony, it was such a thrill and I don't think I'm ever going to get used to it. Because what other way to be told you're the best you can be than to be honored by the National Football Foundation and be in the Hall of Fame with other great athletes that have already been in there. I tell you what, man. I am thrilled to death."

Simmons goes on to talk about his time after football and his wrestling training under Hiro Matsuda. Ron talks about Matsuda's techniques, waiting a full year before getting in the ring, learning to go from full-contact to pro wrestling, and more. One thing Simmons picked up from his football days is importance of teamwork. JG points out that Ron has had a great deal of tag success with Doom and the APA in his career. He asks if learning to be part of a team early on played a part in that. Simmons says it did.

"Oh yeah. I mean, you don't even have to think about it. Sometimes you're on the road, man, four to five days out of the week and believe me, you can get under each other's skin. And if you have a dislike for each other, it's not gonna work. That's just the bottom line. It won't work and I'm sure you and the other fans out there have seen some guys who get introduced together and then they just fade away and sometimes it's not due to their in-ring work. Sometimes it's due just to their out-of-the-ring that the characters couldn't get along with each other. But with my experience with both the successful tag teams I've been in with both Butch (Reed) and Bradshaw (a/k/a JBL), I can tell you that we genuinely like each other and we got along very well outside the ring. Still, we're very good friends. That goes beyond the ring. We'll just be friends forever."

Ron goes into detail about the importance of tag team chemistry and getting along with the people you're teamed with. He also speaks about some early partners in his career and why those pairings never worked out. While those didn't pan out, there's one that stands out as being the most successful of his career - The APA with John "Bradshaw" Layfield. James asks the question that all ClubWWI.com members have been wondering. Is there a chance of a possible APA reunion at some point?

"That might be somewhere down the line. You know, there might be some form of a reunion. A slight and very brief reunion, you know. (laughs) If that did happen, I'd be looking forward to it. I miss those days myself."

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