The APA may have become one of WWE’s most memorable tag teams, but Ron Simmons says the pairing didn’t come together because of some carefully crafted creative plan. According to Simmons, Vince McMahon looked at what he and JBL were already doing outside the ring and decided WWE might as well put it on television.
During a fan Q&A with JBL, Simmons and The Godfather at River City Wrestling Con, Simmons was asked how he and Bradshaw eventually became the Acolytes and later the APA. Simmons admitted the two were already friends before WWE paired them together, but then decided to give the crowd what he called the real story. Simmons said their reputation for drinking, getting into trouble and raising hell was a major reason McMahon decided to stick them together.
“You want the truth, man? Here’s the truth. We were friends before we got into the Acolyte and APA thing. And you know the reason they stuck us together? Because we were just total fuckups. We were drinking and raising hell and doing the same shit we do in those bars.”
Simmons then explained that McMahon essentially decided to turn their real-life chemistry into a wrestling act and see what happened.
“Vince thought, ‘You know what? Let’s just put their ass together and see what happens.’”
JBL immediately backed up Simmons’ version of the story, making it clear this wasn’t just Simmons exaggerating for the audience. That decision worked out better than anyone could have imagined. Simmons and JBL went from the Ministry of Darkness to becoming the Acolytes Protection Agency, with their beer-drinking, bar-fighting personalities becoming part of what made the APA feel different from almost every other team on WWE television at the time.
The wild part is that, according to Simmons, WWE didn’t have to invent much of it. Vince McMahon simply saw two friends already drinking, fighting and causing chaos together and decided there was money in putting that chemistry on television.
What do you think about Ron Simmons revealing the real reason Vince McMahon paired him with JBL? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
