In 1996, Ahmed Johnson was one of the then WWF’s fastest rising stars.
Johnson had become the Intercontinental Champion and looked to be groomed for a run at the top. He had been working with the company’s then-top talent like Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, and several top heels like Yokozuna, Owen Hart, and others. The man had charisma and the superstar appearance Vince McMahon loves, and yet never quite made it. So what happened?
This was something discussed on a recent Something to Wrestle With podcast, and Bruce Prichard was willing to talk about the former IC Champ and his potential run at the top.
“Yeah, there were big plans for Ahmed Johnson and with him coming in. That son of a bitch just oozed charisma when he came out and looked like he would kill you. So, very athletic. Could do some sh*t. Did not know his own strength. Was not the greatest worker in the world by any stretch of the imagination.”
“However, he was exciting and he was unpredictable. So, those were things that you could harness. We were hopefully going to be able to mold some of the unpredictability about him at least in the ring. Ahmed had the look.”
“Ahmed was one of those guys that were on the shortlist of ‘I could see him as WWE Champion’, and no, he was never promised that. But he was one of those guys that internally, we looked at and down the line, could you get Ahmed as WWE Champion? Yes.”
Ahmed Johnson also had several injuries that derailed his career and eventually revealed that some health issues involving his sister were part of the reasons behind his eventual departure. However you look at it, Johnson will always remain a “what if?” to some in the history of the WWE.
h/t to Wrestling Inc for the quote
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