Tony Schiavone Reflects On Bill Watts’ ‘Bold’ Move Giving Ron Simmons WCW World Title

On the latest episode of What Happened When with Tony Schiavone, the AEW broadcaster reflected on the historic moment when Ron Simmons defeated Vader to become the first recognized African American World Heavyweight Champion in WCW.  You can check out some highlights below:

Tony Schiavone on Watts putting the belt on Ron Simmons: “Bill was always successful using African American wrestlers back in Mid-South Wrestling. Junkyard Dog obviously comes to min. I guess Butch Reed. And therefore he had his — I always saw Bill, having Ron Simmons become the world champion was quite a bold move. And anybody that knows Ron Simmons, knows it’s probably was the right move because he legitimately was one of the baddest men out there.”

On Simmons being a tough man: “Ron Simmons, in that type of mold — I’m thinking of like, let’s say Brock Lesnar or a Rick Steiner, or even a Bill Goldberg, Harley Race. Gosh, I can name some other ones. Samoa Joe. Gys that in real life you probably really wouldn’t want to f**k with, right? And it’s not to say there weren’t some other tough guys out there, but those are the ones that come to mind.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit What Happened When with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.