Bobby Lashley & Big E Talk Ron Simmons' Influence As One Of Wrestling's First Black Superstars

Big E and Bobby Lashley have expressed admiration for legendary African-American star Ron Simmons.

The former WCW and WWE superstar, who also wrestled under the name Farooq, had a remarkable career as an in-ring performer, winning several championships en route to a Hall of Fame induction in 2012. He was also a member of the famed Nation of Domination.

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WWE has been celebrating their black stars, both past and present, during this Black History Month. E and Lashley, both former WWE Champions in recent times, discussed Simmons’ impact on them as aspiring wrestlers and fans in their earlier years.

"In so many different aspects he was the kind of athlete I wanted to be, and obviously it's hard to have a discussion about black performers in wrestling without talking about him beating Vader in WCW for the world championship and seeing the locker room clear out and celebrate with him was pretty incredible,” the New Day member told Byron Saxton in an interview.

Lashley revealed using lots of moves from Simmons when he started out with WWE.

"When I first came in, I copied a lot of his moves. I loved his style,” he remarked. “As I was growing up, I used to hit the weights a lot. I liked to work out and watching him being a strong black man on TV, of course I loved that."

Bobby Lashley's Other Idol

The ex-Hurt Business enforcer also spoke quite highly of Booker T, another former superstar of color he looked up to.

"When I first got in and a little bit before when I came in, Booker was my guy. I enjoyed watching Booker. I liked how he was. I liked his personality. When I first came in, I had the opportunity to start working with him first, and I just fell in love with Booker ever since then."

Booker is one of the most popular wrestlers ever, as well as a multiple championship winner and one of the few who can boast being a two-time Hall of Famer with WWE.

Transcription credit: Sportskeeda.com