Ron Simmons (born May 15, 1958) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and retired American football player. He was the first African American to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, and was thus the first officially recognized African American World Champion. (Bobo Brazil, who won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1962, was not officially recognized for his win.) He is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment where he does public relations work, appears in backstage segments on RAW, known for his catchphrase, "DAMN!" and occasionally wrestling on the RAW brand.

Simmons was a two-time consensus All-American football playerpdf/p_hotos/s_chools/fsu/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/ConsensusNCAAAll-Americans" target="_blank">http://seminoles.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/fsu/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/ConsensusNCAAAll-Americans at _Florida State University, and played for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League and the Ottawa Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League. He became a professional wrestler in 1986, and went on to wrestle in World Championship Wrestling under his real name and in the World Wrestling Federation under both his real name and the ring names Faarooq Asad and Faarooq (sometimes spelled Farooq).