news-engine

JBL and Ron Simmons have looked back on the end of their famous Acolytes Protection Agency (APA) run, explaining why they felt it was the right time to go their separate ways. During their recent appearance on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, the WWE Hall of Famers talked about their six-year run, how the APA gimmick came together, and how their real-life friendship helped make the team so popular. JBL and Ron Simmons reflect on the APA’s six-year WWE run JBL and Simmons first teamed up as The Acolytes in The Undertaker’s Ministry of Darkness. They later changed things up and became the beer-drinking, poker-playing APA. According to both stars, their chemistry came naturally. Both had played football at a high level before getting into wrestling, which gave them something in common from the start. JBL explained that one of the biggest reasons for their success was that they did not try too hard. While members of large wrestling groups often fought for attention during promos, their relaxed personalities and natural chemistry shined through to garner fan interest. However, APA officially split in 2004 when then SmackDown GM Stephanie McMahon fired Simmons on-screen. The breakup gave Bradshaw a chance to reinvent himself as a rich and arrogant heel. Looking back, Simmons believes the timing was perfect. He explained that the APA had already reached the top of the tag team division. At the same time, JBL was ready to take the next step in his career. “We did it for like five or six years. It was good though, at that point, to where it had come to that because… it had come to the point where we were on top with doing it, and we had a lot of success with it. And myself having already gone through being world champion, had good singles thing behind me. He had been through the ropes. His thing was struggling coming up through the ranks, man. The time… was perfect for him to go on and do his thing. It was perfect timing for him to go on from there, from that momentum we had, and to go on and do what he did,” Simmons said. JBL and Simmons also believe the APA could have another WWE Hall of Fame moment. Both men are already Hall of Famers as individuals. Simmons was inducted in 2012, while JBL joined him in 2020. When asked if the APA could eventually earn an induction together, Simmons answered, “I don’t see why not. Why wouldn’t it be?” Read More: Ron Simmons Shut Down WWE’s Race-Based Idea for the APA