Faarooq Asad

[TheOneBigWill]

I've been wanting to do something with this character for the longest time. I've wanted to discuss him for quite a while, and it took me ages to fricken find a picture remotely close to what he debuted as.

Keep in mind, this is Ron Simmons (incase someone's lived under a rock) and this gimmick began in July of 1996, only to end in November of 1996.

Ron Simmons debuted in the W.W.F. (to my knowledge this was his debut) as what was being called "A Modern Day Gladiator". He was brought in by Sunny, and on the night he debuted (I believe) he attacked Ahmed Johnson, which put Ahmed out with a kidney injury.

Originally I believe he was meant to have a lengthy feud with Ahmed Johnson, over the Intercontinental Championship that would've started at Summerslam of 1996. However due to the injury, they had to strip Ahmed, and as a result, Faarooq's direction turned a bit clouded.

Over the following course of the weeks to come, an Intercontinental Championship tournament was held, in which Faarooq made it to the finals, only to lose to Marc Mero. (thanks in part to Sunny and a loaded purse) That was roughly the end of his relationship/partnership with Sunny.

In November, the "Modern Day Gladiator" was dropped, and the Nation of Domination was started. However that is where we stop, because this thread is actually about Faarooq Asad.

I'd like to know what everyone thought of this gimmick? Does anyone feel it would've made it, had Ahmed Johnson not suffered the injury he did? This was (afterall) one of several "colorful" gimmicks that the W.W.F. played off during this time. (Along with the likes of 'The Stalker', 'The Goon', 'The Who', and 'T.L. Hopper')

I believe Ron Simmons career likely wouldn't of gone anywhere had it NOT been for the character change, however I would've honestly liked to see where they meant to go with the Gladiator gimmick. In closing, while I was torn on it and it didn't last long enough for me to have a true opinion.. I must say the chants of "Power Ranger" toward today's M.V.P., didn't hold a candle to what could've been during this time for the outfit Faarooq wore.

So, what is everyone's thoughts on this gimmick? Could it of gone further? Or even at only being barely 4 monthes old, was it already too old and stale to continue any longer? Please add detail and explain why you feel how you do. Thank You.

 

[AnthonyMango/NoFate007]

Honestly, I think it could've worked if they used a different attire. Tacky teal plastic armor just looked terrible and cartoonish.

Gimmicks as a whole, in my mind, depend on one of two things: either they're meant to be taken serious and must be presented as such, or they're meant to be comedic and must be presented as such.

Santino is clearly a comedic character, and he gets over by doing comedic things. Umaga is meant to be a serious character, and he gets over by destroying people in the ring and not doing things that are too comedic. His outfit looks like it should and it isn't over the top.

Faarooq suffered from having worn a terrible costume that appeared as if its out of a low-budget fanboy film. No true modern day gladiator, if they existed, would be wearing something like that. Does anybody remember seeing history books that showed Achilles or Odysseus in teal or hot pink? Lol.

The best thing for him was dropping that gimmick, as the Nation of Domination helped him become someone that could stick around.

 

[Davi323]

I am inclined to agree with NoFate007. As the gimmick existed, it was a failure. It was the wrong costume, being worn by the wrong guy. First, how many black gladiators were there? Maybe there were black slaves being thrown into the Coliseum, but, how many of those were actually given the prestige of being a gladiator. I don't want to sound racist, but, if you are going to have a Roman gladiator gimmick, it really should be portrayed by a white wrestler. His character was different than Akeem the African Dream, which was intended to be totally tongue in cheek. Farooq was intended to be serious. There is nothing serious about a gladiator gimmick. Its cheesy, and needs to be done by a wrestler that can play the cheesiness aspect up. Ron Simmons was the wrong choice to do that. Further, if you look a the colorful gimmicks listed along side him, 'The Stalker', 'The Goon', 'The Who', and 'T.L. Hopper' (don't forget Duke the Dumpster Droese) none of them lasted long at all.

The Nation of Domination saved Ron Simmons' career. Instead of being a goofy gladiator nobody believed, he became a militant black nationalist. THAT I believe Ron Simmons in. Farooq Asad stops being a gladiator name, and becomes a Muslim name, like Muhammed Ali to Cassius Clay, or Kareem Abdul Jabbar instead of Lou Alcinder. It was believable. Farooq the gladiator was simply ridiculous.

 

[Shocky]

Fucking Terrible, that's all that can be said. God I remember the night he debuted. It looked like a Giant Blackdude in a blueberry suit. What the fuck was the WWF honestly thinking? Sure they pissed all over Dusty Rhodes and other former champions from other companies, but this was Ron Simmons, a legit bad ass athlete, the "First" Black world champion. This guy should have came in as pissed off Faarooq.

By the Way, the Kidney shots on Ahmed from Simmons were legit. Simmons was pissed that Johnson was getting a push without paying his dues. So being old school, he went stiff on Johnson's lower back, and that as they say, was that. Simmons and johnson would have been a nice feud, because Johnson was white hot at the time. However, I begin to think that Ahmed would have won the feud, and Simmons would have been largely forgotten.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

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good god this was bad. BAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDD. I was watching My SummerSlam anthology a couple weeks ago, and saw this ridiculous shit. For goodness fucking sakes. Possibly one of the biggest fuck ups EVER by WWE. He looked absurd. With the little helmet, and the nakie pants, and what have you. This was RON SIMMONS for fuck sake. They couldnt do ANYTHING better with the guy?? I cant even descirbe how silly he looked, one of the most legit badass guys in wrestling. Absurd.