What Happened to WWE’s Nation of Domination

In what came to be known as the Attitude Era in WWE in the mid to late 1990s, faction warfare became commonplace. The WWE started to form several different factions, such as D-Generation X, The Ministry of Darkness and The Corporation.

The Nation was one of WWE’s first stables, alongside DX, which formed one of the earliest structures of factions in WWE, with both parties feuding constantly from 1996 to 1998. The Nation’s run was only a short one with the faction only existing for just over two years. However, their legacy lives on with some of the biggest names inside and outside professional wrestling.

This faction became well-known due to their prominence of black representation, but also for the potential shown by many of their younger members. The Nation, in hindsight, has shown the calculated move it was with the amount of success many of its members had following the disbandment of the faction.

We’ve looked at D-Generation X previously, so now it’s time to look at the Nation of Domination becoming a famous chapter in the history of WWE and what happened to the five main members of one of WWE’s most successful stables.

Farooq

Ron Simmons, also known as Farooq, was the founder and leader of the Nation of Domination. Becoming the first black World Champion in American professional wrestling when he was a member of the WCW roster, Farooq was an apt choice to be the leader and mentor for the rising talent WWE had to offer.

After losing the leadership of the Nation to The Rock, Farooq swiftly left and moved to the Ministry of Darkness, where he became a tag team enforcer for the stable with Bradshaw. The tag team, which became known as the Acolyte Protection Agency, or APA for short, went on to become one of WWE’s most successful tag teams, feuding with the likes of the Hardy Boyz, the Dudley Boyz, Edge & Christian, and the New Age Outlaws.

Simmons went on to work backstage in WWE after his partnership with Bradshaw ended, while still making the odd cameo appearance for WWE to this day.

D’Lo Brown

D’Lo Brown was seen as one of the brightest young stars in WWE in the late 1990s. Debuting in the WWE as a member of The Nation of Domination, Brown’s in-ring prowess was shown throughout as a member of the stable. Brown went on to form a tag team within the faction with lesser member Mark Henry near the end of the stable’s life.

After leaving the stable, D’Lo Brown went on to win both the European Championship and Intercontinental Championship at the same time, a feat only done by Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, and Jeff Jarrett.

Brown left the WWE in 2003 after a struggling singles career at the turn of the Millennium. After he departed from the WWE, he went on to wrestle for promotions such as TNA and New Japan Pro Wrestling until 2022, when he retired from wrestling.

Kama Mustafa

Charles Wright returned to the WWE in 1997 after an infamous run as Papa Shango years prior. While the Shango gimmick hadn’t worked and is known mostly for his gaffe in the WrestleMania VII main event, Wright came back as Kafa Mustafa and joined the Nation of Domination.

Kama became known as the Nation of Domination’s “Supreme Fighting Machine” during his year-long tenancy in the stable. However, the Kama character also didn’t last too long, with Wright being turned into The Godfather shortly after the dissolution of the Nation of Domination.

Arguably going down as one of the Attitude Era’s most memorable and liked characters, the Godfather went on to win the Intercontinental Championship and was immortalised in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016.

Owen Hart

Arguably the most confusing addition to the Nation of Domination, the late Owen Hart joined the faction in April 1998, becoming co-leader until the end of the faction in October of the same year.

Becoming known as the “Black Hart”, the younger brother of Bret Hart made the Nation of Domination his home and seamlessly joined the faction without many people questioning the partnership not too long after. His tenure with the Nation of Domination allowed him to escape the constant rumours of backlash surrounding the exit of his brother Bret, who infamously left the WWE after the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series in 1997.

His wealth of experience as an in-ring wrestler and ability to cut comedic, as well as serious promos, helped the Nation of Domination stay prominent throughout the end of its run and was only split up due to the majority of the members becoming successful singles stars.

Hart tragically passed away during the live Over The Edge pay-per-view in May 1999, falling from the rafters of Kansas City’s Kemper Arena. His death was ruled officially as internal bleeding from blunt force trauma, with Hart being aged just 34 years old.

The Rock

Easily the most successful member of the Nation of Domination, if not all of professional wrestling, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson joined the Nation shortly after his failed singles push at the start of his career within the WWE. Starting his career as “Rocky Maivia”, Johnson became so disliked by the WWE crows that you could hear chants of “Die Rocky, Die”.

Upon joining the Nation of Domination, the Heel turn for The Rock allowed his cocky side to reveal itself to the crowd and ultimately became the leader due to the sheer rise in his popularity. His rise through the Nation of Domination allowed him to have one of his most iconic feuds when Triple H and The Rock feuded over the Intercontinental Championship, with both wrestlers swapping the title multiple times.

After leaving the Nation, The Rock went on to win nearly everything there is in the WWE. But more success came to Johnson in Hollywood, where he became one of the biggest movie stars on the planet.

His investment in TKO holdings over the past 18 months has seen him return more to the WWE, including being in the main event of WrestleMania 40 in a tag-team match with Roman Reigns against Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes.