Ahmed Johnson

[CM Steel]

Ahmed Johnson was one of the best prospects that the WWF/E ever had for a long while when he made his WWF debut in late 1995. And earlier 1996 Ahmed a good run up the WWF rankings. He was involved in a big 6-man tag team match at Wrestlemania 12. He won that years Kuwait cup torney to become a front runner for the WWF IC championship. Had a decent feud with Goldust winning the IC title. He was Shawn Michaels main run-in partner during HBK's first run with the world title. And had a career making feud with Ron Simmons aka Faarooq (Asad) and the Nation of Domination, before joining the NOD a year later. And then getting injured for awhile killing his entire run as a heel. And when he return from his injury as a babyface again we was once at it again against the Nation for jumping him out of the faction.

Ahmed Johnson saw the daylight that was the begining of the attutude era, before getting released by the WWF in early 1998. But had Ahmed Johnson not been an injury prone wrestler. Just how far could the pearl river powerhouse have gone in the WWF/E? Ahmed on-screen was what New Jack was to ECW. And was ahead of Booker T's time over in WCW. Ahmed Johnson was the first african-american to win the IC title. And that was a big deal in those days. Til this very day we still see those Ahmed Johnson-type mode guys like Ezekiel Jackson, Big E, Bobby Lashley, and a Marcus Cor Von become a guy like Ahmed Johnson set the built for those kind of african-american wrestler.

So just what could have Ahmed Johnson to the WWF/E if he wasn't injured all the time? The first african-american to win the WWF/E championship? Because before the Rock, there was Ahmed Johnson.

 

[Just Do It]

He was pushed strong. But what makes him a good prospect? He was so so in the ring, he couldn't talk in the traditional sense, he was hard to understand verbally, he was injury prone and he hurt other wrestlers...

So what makes him a good prospect?

 

[Bobbywoodhogan]

I don't think he'd have made it past the mid-card level I'm afraid, the only interesting thing left to do with him was to turn him heel and they did that before to disastrous results. I just think he was one of those guys that had a shelf life cause ultimately when you got down to it he wasn't that interesting.

 

[J.J.]

He was mid card at best. He couldn't talk a lick on the microphone, he was worst than Brock Lesnar on the microphone.

He was unsafe to work with in the ring on top of being stiff. I'll admit when he won the IC title it was definitely a memorable moment and also the title was still a big deal in comparison to today.

He was teaming with Shawn Michaels and had momentum behind him. He went out with a kidney injury and that halted his momentum. Stuck in mid card feuds from then on out.

So no I don't think he stood a chance at going any further than he did then.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

He was the #2 - #3 babyface during a time where the roster was very thin on high-end talent and the n.W.o. was just getting started in WCW.

If he didn't get injured in 1996, halting his momentum and IC run around SummerSlam that year, I would suspect he would continue to be an upper mid carder, feuding with British Bulldog, Farooq, Vader, Goldust, Mankind etc.

I don't think he ever was going to get pushed to the World Championship level though. Shawn, Vader, Sid, Undertaker, Austin and Bret had those spots all taken up.

I'd guess he would have topped out where British Bulldog did. An upper mid carder who can fill-in as a believable contender to the title, without every winning it. Obviously, that never really happened... it's been speculated he had a lot of drug issues backstage, and by the end of his career was so injured he could barely move.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Ahmed Johnson was all look. There was no promo capability, and he was an inexperienced guy who was liable to injure people in the ring. Beyond that, he also didn't show much drive to improve or bounce back following his own injury. In the end, there were far better talents who showed more promise than a guy like Johnson.

 

[J.J.]

The problem aside from injury was he was pushed to the moon too soon. Think Ryback, just at a quicker pace.

I'd guess he would have topped out where British Bulldog did. An upper mid carder who can fill-in as a believable contender to the title, without every winning it.

Big 'Zeke Jackson has the same body that he has pretty much same style of wrestling and he topped out mid card level.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

One of those prospects who you look back at now and wonder what they ever saw in him, other than his physique. Awful speaker, ok wrestler until his kidney problems around Summerslam 1996, then pretty poor after that.

WWE were obviously positioning him to be a headliner, IMO, as he was pushed to the proverbial moon: his pay per view debut was on the excellent Survivor Series 1995, in the superb 'wildcard' match which also featured Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, Sid, Yokozuna, British Bulldog, Owen Hart and Dean Douglas - basically the entire second level of WWE's pyramid at the time; I believe he was due to face Dean Douglas at In Your House 5, but he squashed Douglas' replacement Buddy Landell, and easily disposed of a returning Jeff Jarrett at Royal Rumble 1996. Maintaining his push he had high profile matches at In Your House 6 and Wrestlemania XII, before finally taking the Intercontinental Title from Goldust.

Following this, he was interjected into the headline feud between WWE Champion Shawn Michaels and the British Bulldog, and this was the beginning of the end for Ahmed Johnson.

Firstly, the third member of his alliance was originally the Ultimate Warrior, but he got fired - again - so Sid was segued in. This curtailed the planned HBK v Warrior title match, and also got Vader's planned World Title run scratched (I have heard/read that the plan was Vader beats Michaels, Warrior beats Vader and Michaels regains from Warrior before dropping the belt to Bret Hart at their Wrestlemania rematch) - had this occurred, I see this as the point in which they pulled the final trigger on Ahmed Johnson, first as a challenger to Vader, then a heel turn and losing to the Warrior. Who knows what would have happened after that? I agree he was probably looked at as a Bulldog rather than a potential champion though.

Obviously plans changed, Sid got the Warrior's spot and Vader never really troubled the main event scene again, but for a couple of In Your House matches. So they needed a new route for Ahmed to take. At the same time he was suffering kidney issues, so they saw an opportunity to introduce Faarooq and give AJ a ready made feud on his return.

I DO think they still wanted AJ to remain in a similar position, hence why his matches with the Nation were given prominent spots on cards (like starting the Royal Rumble match in 1997 and a Chicago Street Fight at Wrestlemania), but the heel turn and joining the Nation came out of the blue, and his final opportunity of getting to main event level was lost when he got injured before his advertised championship match against the Undertaker at Canadian Stampede (which turned out to be one of WWE's best EVER cards), replaced by Vader.

After this he never regained his momentum, was quickly displaced in the Nation by Rocky Maivia, who connected with the fans more than ever before, and better than AJ, and WWE were likely put off by this, his worsening matches and his injury-prone nature.

Two injuries, the second of which inadvertently led to the birth of the Rock, plus the firing of the Ultimate Warrior cost Ahmed Johnson ultimately, and he clearly didn't have the mental strength to deal with it, as just look at his hugely obese appearance in his short WCW run as Big T in the new Harlem Heat

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I can't say that I was ever all that impressed with Ahmed Johnson. Sure, he was a big guy, he was strong, had a good look about him but I've seen a ton of guys come through wrestling like that. Inside the ring, he was okay, but nothing particularly noteworthy. I've seen a lot of big, strong, brawler types come along since then that've been far more impressive in the ring than Johnson was.

On the mic, I can't say that there was anything remotely interesting or intriguing about him. Some of the few times I can remember him on the mic typically involved him screaming at the top of his lungs trying to be all intimidating and intense.

Even if Johnson hadn't been prone to injury, I don't see him rising any further than he ultimately did. I could've seen him having a longer run with the Intercontinental Championship, maybe more than the single 50 day over the next few years, before dropping it to Triple H in Late October '96 or The Rock in February '97. As has been mentioned, this is during the days when the Attitude Era were really kicking off. Guys like Taker, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and the New Age Outlaws were being elevated into the upper mid-card to main event spots, were generally just making a lot of waves, generating tons of buzz among fans, etc. by the time Ahmed Johnson's IC title run began and the injuries started. Johnson wasn't remotely in the league of those guys, though I think he would've been given more of a chance had he not kept getting injured. However, I personally think that his limits really would've been obvious and fans wouldn't buy into him as a main eventer. Looking back on it, I think it's pretty obvious that if given a choice between Ahmed Johnson being elevated over Taker, The Rock or Stone Cold, 99% would be sickened at such a prospect.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I remember the first time he debuted and JR point blank called him a "future WWF Champion" so he WAS intended for pretty big things.

Mic wise he was bad but a good manager could have gotten round that, but his push coincided with the Summer of 3:16 and Austin's abilities completely overshadowed him, within a year The Rock was cooking and his window was more than gone. He got never got over the injury he got from Ron Simmons and his weight ballooned... basically he stopped trying, took the WCW money and pissed a potentially good career away.

He wasn't injury prone...get that idea out your minds... he got a severe injury, far more severe than most... a damaged Kidney is not somethign you recover from quickly and has a myriad of other problems... that part is a misnomer and not his fault... what was his fault was the sheer laziness he displayed once others moved ahead of him in the pecking order.

Best modern comparison is BNB... if Barrett had sulked and quit trying after his two injuries he'd be gone too... he didn't and is workign his way back... Johnson didn't do that, he was expecting to pick up right where he left off, despite being heavier, out of shape and not improving. There is no excuse for him to have gotten to 400lbs injury or not... and by then they had Mark Henry for that role, paying him a million a year for 10... so Ahmed was more than done.

 

[HatchetMan84]

Some have pointed out his weight gain and what not, i remember hearing in an interview with him that he had some kind of a health problem that led to him collecting fluid and being unable to shed the excess weight. This interview was around 2003 or so. I don't know if thats true or not. Someone on here showed a picture of him from 2010 and honest to god he looked more like Big Daddy V (rip), he was unrecognizable to me until i read the thread...

FWIW - He claims that they (WWF) were setting him up to win the world title right before he suffered his kidney injury.....

 

[Pedigree1]

Ahmed was always someone who should have done more IMO.. Great potential in the ring,but SCSA and the Rock making their debuts ran circles around poor Ahmed.. True he had a okay run with the IC title but he is just a footnote in the annuals of wrestling..

He got injured which in no way was his fault.. A damaged Kidney indeed is something severe and should not be messed with.. Being out for four months and missing Summerslam and having to vacate his IC title killed his career in WWE.. But what was his fault was not keeping in shape,and his weight getting out of control.. That showed laziness imo.

Mic wise he was bad just real bad.. But a manager could have easily fixed that for him..