What could have been- Ahmed Johnson.

[Johnny Dangerous]

Recently while doing some You tube browsing, I came across some old videos of Ahmed Johnson.

For those of you who don't remember Mr. Johnson, he was a big part of the WWF from about 96 to 98. He was the first black IC champion, and was a big part of getting the Nation of Domination over in their early days. He was built up hugely and many people expected him to be a future world champion.
Unfortunately he was extremely injury prone and couldn't seem to build much momentum without getting hurt.

He later went on to WCW and had a horrible feud over the Harlem Heat name with Booker T. After a forgettable stint in WCW[ I had actually forgot he was ever there], he pretty much disappeared from Pro wrestling.

While Ahmed was never a great wrestler, he was extremely popular and the WWF seemed to be solidly behind him. He is only 39 years old today.

My question is what do you think Ahmed Johnson would have done if he had a longer career in the WWF and had been able to stay healthy.

I think he would have had at least one reign as WWF champ and probably had a feud with a heel Rock. Although he wasn't a great technical wrestler this is around the same time that Vince McMahon was champion.

 

[WWEWrestleFest]

i don't think he was anything special. he had a good look, but not much of a gimmick or personality. the nation was at it's best when it was the rock, mark henry, d-lo brown, the godfather, and owen hart. johnson's most successful run in the wwf came at a point when wcw was killing them.

 

[CraigThe13th]

I was a MASSIVE Ahmed Johnson mark when I was about 12 or 13 but I think the reason WWF fired him was because he was very sloppy and stiff in the ring. I think Ahmed could have clung around the midcard during the attitude era maybe made it into the mid 2000's doubt he would get a world title or anything like that but I think and would have liked to have seen him stay in the WWF a bit longer.

 

[CobraVenom]

Ahmed was extremely popular? Not in my circle of wrestling fans. lol

The guy was boring. His matches were boring. The Rock would have sent him packing one way or another. There is no "what if..." here. The guy did all he could do. He would have made a horrible champion. When Ahmed Johnson was gone from the WWE, I was happy.

I think he would have had at least one reign as WWF champ and probably had a feud with a heel Rock.

Ron would have been the better choice to feud with heel Rock over the WWE strap since he had a little thing called talent.

 

[waylonmercy]

Ahmed Johnson in the mid 90s had THE look. Not just a good look or a great look but he had THE Vince McMahon cream in his pants look. He was RIPPED with huge muscles and a great build overall. Had Ahmed Johnson stayed away from injuries and worked his ASS off to be better in the ring he would have gotten a Hulk Hogan push. He wouldn't be even close to Hogan's overall league but he would have gotten a monster title run push. He would have been the focus of the WWE and probably still be around getting a Batista type of push. Its sad that he was missing 1 key element which caused his downfall... passion.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

I actually some parallelisms with Mr. Kennedy and Ahmed. Both were pushed really huge with main event/world title prospects down the line. However both were Injury Prone and caused injuries to others (Mr. Kenned apparently nearly injured Orton and injured Lashley and Cena).

However back to your topic, I guess regardless if Johnson got fired or not I don't think he would have made it to the main event status with that of The Rock, Foley, Austin, or Triple H since many of these became super huge almost by accident. Ahmed was manufactured to be a main event player the same way Debiase or McIntyre are built right now.

I could see Ahmed, though, as a great heel to work with guys like Austin or The Rock. I am thinking Ahemd would have a similar mid card/upper enforcer heel role like Test, Mark Henry, Bossman. In 1999 he would probably have a long term role as a bodyguard for either the Corporation or McMahon. Ultimately though I don't see him being a huge maineventer regardless of the circumstances.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Ahmed was never anything special, I never really had anything against the guy but there was nothing about him to write home about either (personally I think Farooq AKA Ron Simmons was way better and deserved a push A HELL OF A LOT MORE than Ahmed did), he was just kind of there and was only pushed because Shawn Michael's was their only face at the time (Bret went on vacation, Diesel turned heel, Yoko got fat, Razor went to WCW, ect), the fans were decently behind Ahmed so he got a really good push, but the push had nothing to do with his skill, more of a right place, right time deal (SIDE NOTE: you know why WCW was so much better than WWE in '96, because guys like Ahmed Johnson were all the WWE had, him, 5 heels and Shawn Michaels, that was it and poor Shawn gets shit on because the ratings are in the toilet).

You also got to remember that Ahmed got fired in the WWE for 2 reasons:
1) When the WWE started getting real talent Ahmed's push seemed to stop. Injuries didn't help him, but put up against guys like Austin, The Rock, HHH, HBK, New Age Outlaws, Mankind, Taker, Kane,ect. Ahmed looked like garbage, why push Ahmed when they have so much talent that is superior.
2) Ahmed was a sloppy wrestler who had a reputation for hurting the wrestlers, its probably not a good idea to have your best guy on the shelf for 6 months because Ahmed can't properly and safely perform a suplex.

At the end of the day (once again nothing against Ahmed) he would of amounted to what he ultimately did, but by the time late '97 - early '98 rolled around, it was obvious that Ahmed was nothing but a flash in the pan and was going to get buried next to guys like Austin and The Rock. Like I said before, why push Ahmed when there are 30 guys on the roster who are better?

 

[waylonmercy]

Obviously Ahmed was not talented in the ring. Either was Hulk Hogan. The only reason he got a push was becuase of his build. I remember he was getting a main event push before he debuted. There was an advertisement for a card and he was in a tag team main event match and he still hadn't debuted!

 

[hatehabsforever]

What could have been with regards to Ahmed Johnson? A lot, that's for sure.

He could have killed someone in the ring, that's one possibility for what could have been. He could have paralyzed one of his fellow wrestlers or caused some other significant injury, that's another possibility. For sure he would have injured himself, likely in the midst of a push (like Kennedy). He could have resulted in a lawsuit for the WWF for any or all of the above reasons, yet another possibility.

Because while he had the look, the physique, especially in those days and knowing Vince's love for the big man, he was reckless, unskilled, and prone to injuring himself and those around him. He might have had the look of a great wrestler, but he wasn't a great wrestler. He was an injury waiting to happen, a ticking time bomb.

Thankfully the WWF realized this in time and released him. Shortly thereafter, even WCW realized this too, and then he was gone.

 

[DL23]

I remember him well, debuted in the back end of 1995 and from the get go he was pushed as the new kid on the block, mostly hung around with HBK.

From all acounts Ahmed was over with the fans, he built up some steam, from Survivor series 95- King of the Ring 96, and was given the Intercontinental title, which AT that time was regarded as BIG deal, hell Goldust (who in my opinion was the last of the cartoon style gimmicks of mid 90s/first of the attitude era gimmicks) was given a lot of time, and had some decent feuds and matches with Razor, Piper, Bigalow and Jannenty, so their match was pretty much a the big mid card match WWE could have at that point, Johnson won and was in line for a mega push.

Now I'm not ideally sure what happened next but I remember Farooq (asad) attacked him, and the point was of a Summerslam 96 match, which never took place, Johnson vacated the belt and was put in a decent tournament (which was shown on WWE Vintage collection about 9 month ago) Mero won the belt, only to drop it to HHH with help from the Perfect one. Regardless Ahmed never seemed to recover from this set back, when he returned in 1997 (Royal Rumble) they had his match end in DQ, with Nation beating on him which ultimatly lead to Mania 13 street fight with LOD/Ahmed against the Nation, from this point, Ahmed spiralled out of control, he was constantly getting pinned by Farooq and beat down by the nation to the point he joined them, and was in line with a feud with Undertaker then he get reinjured, when he returns the Nation beat on him and now he's face again, with all his credability in tatters, now I'm a firm believer in storylines, making one stronger and that it's all an art form, but the way Ahmed was shown he come off as a pussy, the only time he could fight the Nation (and pinned Farooq was Survivor series 97, and with a team).

So in 15 months he was injured twice, vacated the IC Title, and feuded with the Nation, and joined them and kicked out by the nation, his push was mega then zilch, hell even on Monday night RAW they had Kane come out and tombstone him, which was when Kane would come out once per show in or after a match and tombstone the jobbers (key word JOBBERS at the time). I honestly believe Vince and creative had HUGE plans for him at the start, after all he was given a monster push and looked dominant, then after an injury or two they completely give up on him, shame.

I don't believe he was ever destained for the World title that is for sure, but I honestly believe he was destained for the main event scene, and lengthy IC title runs, maybe even a KOTR tournament (1997, after all HHH was meant to win 96 and it was pushed back a year and Austin was given 1996), either way I think he played a major role in the 1995-1997 years, but 1998 he was pretty much used for one PPV (NWO "of texas") then vanished, when he debuted in WCW he'd put a lot of weight on and in general looked like he'd lost contact with the business and the gym since his release from WWF

 

[assault]

ahmed wouldnthave done shit major cause vince mcmahon dont like black people ahmed to dark to ever wear vinces belt he would have been midcard or chase the title at best

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

My thought on this is he might have ended up being Batista before Batista was. I don't remember everything about Ahmed but I do remember he was an intimidating son of a bitch, he had a good look to him, and that can be enough to recieve a nice push(see Rob Terry) Of course this is just a thought, but it does seem big guys like Ahmed can get a decent push pretty easily so if he would have stayed healthy and worked on his skills a bit more he might have become something more than a what if story.

 

[zman21]

i honsetly dnt think he would of been wwe wordl champion. he would of been mutliple time i.c. champion and maybe tag team champions with ken shamrock. he would of got released during the 2001 wcw invasion. wwe had the rock to puh as there african-american champion so ahmed would of got lost in the mix

 

[harrythem]

ahmed wouldnthave done shit major cause vince mcmahon dont like black people ahmed to dark to ever wear vinces belt he would have been midcard or chase the title at best

The racism card? Really? The Rock and Booker T never main evented then?

Ahmed was shit and had an ego to put HBK to shame but without the talent, charisma, work ethic, co-ordination, timing and care towards others to get anywhere. I'll admit I liked him but, then The Ultimate Warrior came back and did his gimmick of being a useless muscle-head much better and, from that point onwards, Ahmed was where he deserved to be, propping up the card, waiting to be fired

 

[Suffy]

My take...

I remember Ahmed pretty well and in my younger days I felt he was destined for success. They also made a pretty big deal about him being the first black male to win the IC title. He was definitely getting the Bobby Lashley treatment, but unlike Lashley- Ahmed was pretty over with the fans. He was even featured in one of the "Ted Turner" sketches displaying WWF's "talent". I also remember his matches while nothing memorable featured a barrage of power moves that the audience really got into. No doubt he had a world title shot in set for him.

Then it happened.. he got injured.

Then he came back with his heel turn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INtDh7kfCXI&feature=related

Perhaps they were just testing the waters with this one, but his Ultimate Warrior-esque promos were laughable. Ahmed looks completely out of place here. However McMahon wasn't giving up on this guy. From what I remember and read Ahmed was going to "get anotha shot at da bell" against the "other taker".

Then he got injured again. Now unfortunately for Ahmed WWF was entering a transitional period where if you were not on TV you could easily get lost in the shuffle as so much was going on. Most notably was the rise of DX, The Rock, Austin, and the inevitable departure of Bret Hart.

So now realizing his heel turn was a complete bust and that there were other superstars that had far more potential in the company now Ahmed sort of took a backseat upon his return. There honestly was nothing for him now. The only thing was for him to job and start back from the way bottom. Ahmedjust stopped trying at this point.

Also from what I read Ahmed had some legitimate heat backstage between him and some of the roster. Specifically with Farooq who was angered that Ahmed was receiving such as huge push when Farooq had been with the company longer. Not only were his injuries a problem, but he also had family problems which he cites as what left him to lead the company.

Now rewinding back and lets presume his first and even second injury did not happen. It is very likely Ahmed would somehow be thrown into a feud during the main event scene. Perhaps in the many triple threat or four way matches we had at the time. However I question whether or not he would capture the title. Chances are it could of happened eventually had luck been on his side and the timing was right. However it would of been a very short and forgettable title reign comparable to that of Kane's. I also do not believe Ahmed could of adapted to the standards that the latter end of the attitude era had set or the standards we have today. Not to mention Vince knew with Austin and The Rock he would have instant long lasting success which would inevitably put the Ahmed experiment in the shuffle either way.

 

[harrythem]

And in Kurt Angle's many shoot style interviews he claims he asked for his release from WWE as well. Ahmed was fired and, to finish it off when he went asking after a job in WCW they, in one of the few good moves they made at the time, saw he offered nothing and sent him packing

 

[god-soldier]

I think if Ahmed Johnson stayed healthy in the WWE he would have been great. In 1996 when he first won Intercontinental Championship and earned a WWF Championship match never been injured he probablly would of beat that LAME HBK for the WWF title at Survivor Series and had a run at maybe even been the defending champion by wrestlemania 13. Now if he would have not got injured during mid 97 he might have had gotten a chance to Finally have a 1 on 1 match with Ron Simmons or gained the IC title back. Ahmed might have been bigger than the Rock because his superstardom in the Black Community would have been huge cause he is fully African American and a WWF champion being champion of one of the most racist and steriotypically companies towards African Americans would have made him an International superstar and a hero too the Black Community in the U.S. Ahmed could have been great PEARL RIVER PLUNGE!!

 

[ncwriter2908]

The comparasions between Hogan and Kennedy are really not needed. Mr. Kennedy was better in the ring and is entertaining on the mic. As for Hogan he was probably the most entertaining of his era.

Johnson however was over hyped because he was a big guy. I think he reminds more more of a lackluster Batista. It is simple he wouldnt have amounted to anything.