Vader/Simmons Title Switch
By Scott Keith on 31 January 2014
Hey Scott,
Curious about the Vader/Simmons title switch in 1992. WCW/NWA always had long heel runs as chance, or at least normally. The face runs seemed to be pretty short. So why the Vader/Ron Simmons switch? Vader had just destroyed Sting not even a month prior and was a huge monster. In less than a month, Ron Simmons wins giving us him vs. Barbarian at Halloween Havoc? Doesn't make any sense. My only guess was either a: Vader's Japan schedule, or b: Watts was so sick of the racist talk that Simmons was given the strap as political play (not saying Simmons didn't deserve a run, the pop was pretty big after he won the belt).
He was trying to recreate the magic of the Junkyard Dog from 10 years before in Mid-South, where the black champion turned the territory around. Needless to say, Ron Simmons did not have the charisma that JYD did. Plus, as you noted, Watts was trying to show how not racist he was. As with most things in Bill's reign in WCW, the whole deal didn't go very well for him.