9. Ron Simmons
No matter where he worked, Ron Simmons had more strength, ability, and charisma than most of his better-pushed contemporaries. During his five months as WCW Champion (the first African-American World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion in history), he was new, innovative, a champion youths of any color could look up to. It was disappointing to see Simmons him turn heel shortly afterward. Simmons's WWF gimmicks ranged from strange (that weird, blue gladiator-looking costume) to controversial (the original Nation of Domination), to iconic (the Acolytes/APA). He was always a mid-card guy in the WWF, but he was still fun to watch. He also had a single-word signature catch phrase years before Daniel Bryan's. He still shows up now and then, and every time the crowd goes insane. He's a Hall of Famer now, and deservedly so. Still, he could have been champion at least one more time. Damn.
Forrest Gabitsch
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Check out "The Champ" by my alter ego, Greg Forrest, in Heater #12, at http://fictionmagazines.com.
I used to do a mean Glenn Danzig impression. Now I just hang around and co-host The Workprint podcast at http://southboundcinema.com/.
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