• OLD SCHOOL VIDEO HISTORY (December 12, 1992) – WCW Worldwide
On this day in 1992, Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling aired an episode of their weekly TV show ‘WCW Worldwide’.
This episode was pre-taped at the Municipal Auditorium in Columbus, Georgia and featured matches, interviews & storyline segments on the road to the ‘WCW Starrcade 1992’ PPV.
The card of the show can be found here:
– 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Joe Cruz
– Van Hammer vs. Vader (Arm Wrestling)
– Barry Windham vs. T.A. McCoy
– Brian Pillman vs. Brad Armstrong
– Shane Douglas & Ricky Steamboat vs. Tony Atlas & The Barbarian
• WWE Hall Of Famer Recalls Facing Racism In WCW, But Not In WWF
In this flashback article, we take a look at an old shoot interview with WWE Hall Of Famer Ron Simmons (a.k.a Faarooq), where he recalled facing racism in WCW, but not in the World Wrestling Federation.
Below are the highlights:
Host: I’ve asked this question to every black wrestler that we’ve interviewed. We’ve done a few and everybody has given me a ‘yes’, they have experienced at one time or another. Did you sense any sort of racism?
I’m going to ask specifically about that particular period. Any of the decision-making during that time, when you were a member of Doom, did you feel like any of those decisions were based upon your race?
Ron: I would like for you to ask me not as a member of Doom, but as a professional wrestler while I was at WCW.
Okay, when you see a black man on Beverly Hillbillies or on Andy Griffith, then….Have you ever seen one on that? No, right? Okay. So now put that into the form of a ‘yes’.
Hell yeah. Are you kidding me? Big-time, yeah. Experienced it. During the time that I was there, with some f***ing unknown reason, it was taken away from me… three to four my primary f***ing years that I was down there.
Host: That same racism, did you sense any of that when you went to work with WWF?
Ron: No. Not at all. Pure business. You know, strictly business. And if there was any way possible that I could have had any say or had any control over what I was doing from that point on, I would have wanted to start my career working for Vince McMahon and I would have ended my career working for him.
I mean, the man is a promoter and he does a great job of doing it. Of course, he can’t come around you and put a diaper on your a$$ and pamper you all the time, but one thing for sure, he’s fair and he’s honest about what he’s doing and he’s not afraid to come to you and tell you this is what’s happening. But you gotta respect somebody for that and understand that it’s a business and if you’re not delivering, then you got to go.
But don’t be a coward behind the scenes and hide behind racism and all other kind of politics and wait just until something comes up to give some old lame-a$$ excuse why you don’t want to be here.
The man is fair. His whole family is. I like all of them, Shane, Mr. McMahon, Stephanie. It’s been very good. I’ve had a good time with them and still there with them being in a way involved with them and it’s been good. I wish I would have started there and ended with them.
Host: Bill Watts was fired because he made some statements that Hank Aaron read in a paper and said that these were racial comments and we don’t want you working for our company.
One of the defenses that Bill Watt uses that he’s not a racist is: “I took Ron Simmons and I was the first guy to put him in a position that no other promoter would do”. Since your name was brought up by him as a defense, what’s your response to that? Was there anything that Bill did that puts him on one side of the fence, he either was or was not (a racist)?
Ron: I just never saw him with the hood on. That would have been the only other way that I would have (laughing)… He never wore the hood right in front of us.
Host: That’s a fair enough answer.
