on SmackDown!. Sporadic appearances, "Damn!" and Hall of Famer (2006–present) In 2006, during a rebroadcast of the 1981 Orange Bowl on Sun Sports, Simmons stated that since his retirement from professional wrestling, he would like to continue or even improve his role within WWE. Starting on October 23, 2006, he began making short cameos on Raw to say his catchphrase "Damn", often in awe of or shock at odd occurrences. On the November 20, 2006 edition of Raw, Simmons was chosen by Ric Flair to replace the injured Roddy Piper at the Survivor Series to take on the Spirit Squad. He was the first to be eliminated, via countout. On the January 15, 2007 episode of Raw, he was seen in the ring with Chris Masters in the "Master Lock Challenge", which ended prematurely after interference from Super Crazy. Simmons's escaping the Master Lock, was not recognized. On the July 27, 2007 edition of SmackDown!, Simmons was named the best man for Theodore Long and Kristal's wedding. Simmons also feuded with Santino Marella. On the September 10, 2007 episode of Raw, Simmons was attacked by Marella. On the September 24, 2007, edition of Raw, Simmons returned to the ring and defeated Santino Marella by countout after Marella left the ring and walked out. Simmons occasionally competed on WWE Heat, taking on jobbers from the town in which the show is being taped. At the end of each match, Simmons held a microphone, pulling it toward and away from his mouth while the crowd cheered him until he eventually uttered his catchphrase. On the December 3, 2007 episode of Raw, Simmons and Bradshaw were hired by Hornswoggle to help him in a no disqualification handicap match against Jonathan Coachman and Carlito. On Raws 800th episode on November 3, 2008, Simmons interrupted wrestlers, who were dancing in the ring, with his catchphrase. During the 2008 Slammy Awards, he gave The Great Khali the award for the DAMN Moment of the year. Simmons was released from WWE on January 13, 2009, due to budget cuts but repeatedly reappeared on various WWE events to interrupt awkward situations with his catchphrase. Occasions include episodes of WWE Old School Raw (November 15, 2010 and January 6, 2014) and Raw (May 2, 2011 and January 28, 2013), Hell in a Cell 2012 and WrestleManias 30 and 31. Simmons would wrestle in the independent circuit from 2008 to