15 WWE Matches You Didn't Know Featured Landmark Firsts

5. Ron Simmons Becomes The First Black World Champion - WCW 1992

The struggle for race equality continues to this very day. In the world of professional wrestling, race relations have had their share of ups and downs throughout many promotions over the years. For the longest time, a black man was not seen as World Champion material. That all changed for WCW back on August 2, 1992. President Bill Watts set up a raffle for a number one contender to Big Van Vader€™s World Championship after Vader had injured Sting earlier in the evening. Ron Simmons, a man best known for being a member of the APA with John Bradshaw Layfield, won the raffle and went on to defeat Vader to become WCW€™s first black World Champion. WWE has since honored Simmons with being the first black World Champion within their own archives once WWE bought out WCW. The fans loved it, Simmons had a good run with the title, and it was a positive step in the right direction for showing that anyone, no matter what their color, was capable of being a World Champion in professional wrestling.