• Home
  • Movies
  • Music
  • TV
  • Video Games
  • Wrestling
  • Topics
  • Latest Comments
Search
Cult of Whatever logo
  • Movies
    Featured
    • The Living Daylights: Timothy Dalton as James Bond

      The Living Daylights is still awesome, thirty-five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 28, 2022
      Movie Blogs
    Recent
    • Elvis: Austin Butler

      REVIEW: ELVIS beautifully mythologizes the King of Rock and Roll

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 25, 2022
    • The Black Phone: Ethan Hawke as The Grabber

      REVIEW: THE BLACK PHONE is a flat, dull, rushed non-horror movie

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 25, 2022
    • Jurassic World Dominion Logo

      REVIEW: Jurassic World Dominion – Here we go again…again

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 12, 2022
    • Three Men and a Baby: Tom Selleck and Ted Danson

      Three Men and a Baby is still awesome thirty five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 31, 2022
    • The Bob's Burgers Movie Poster

      REVIEW: Bob’s Burgers The Movie is Bob’s Burgers The Show, which means it’s great

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 28, 2022
    • Top Gun Maverick: Tom Cruise

      REVIEW: Top Gun Maverick is a sequel that soars!

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 27, 2022
  • Music
    Random
    • Elvis 1969 Bg

      Elvis's 40 Year Reign (1969-70)

      By Matthew Martin
      | September 3, 2017
      Music Blogs
    Recent
    • The Beatles: Get Back

      What GET BACK reveals about the Beatles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 15, 2021
    • Simon And Garfunkel at Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam1982

      The Boxer is a song about being conned

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 4, 2021
    • Lady Gaga: Chromatica Album Cover

      Lady Gaga’s discography is totally out of order

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 3, 2021
    • Michael Jackson Thriller Album Cover

      Thirty years ago music fans said “Nevermind” to Michael Jackson

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 21, 2021
    • Queen II Album Cover

      On Queen’s The Miracle, and the importance of track ordering

      By Matthew Martin
      | February 16, 2021
    • Linda Paul Mccartney 1976

      50 years ago, McCartney dropped “Lennon” and went solo…

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 5, 2020
  • TV
    Featured
    • Nancy Drew S03e01: Kennedy McMann as Nancy

      Nancy Drew S03E01 Review: The Warning of the Frozen Heart - Uh-oh!

      By Salome G
      | October 10, 2021
      TV Blogs
    Recent
    • Riverdale S06e18: Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge

      Riverdale S06E18 Review: Biblical – Spooky chaos!

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04e04: Heather Hemmens and Sherri Saum as Maria and Mimi DeLuca

      Roswell, New Mexico S04E04 Review: Dear Mama – Emotional?

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Evil S03e03: Katja Herbers and Aasif Mandvi as Kristen Bouchard and Ben Shakir

      Evil S03E03 Review: The Demon of Sex – Contrived?

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Dark Winds S01e03: kinaaldá Ceremony

      Dark Winds S01E03 Review: K’e – Swoon!

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04e03: Sibongile Mlambo, Lily Cowles and Michael Trevino as Anatsa, Isobel and Kyle

      Roswell, New Mexico S04E03 Review: Subterranean Homesick Alien – Treading water?

      By Salome G
      | June 23, 2022
    • Obi-Wan Kenobi Series: Ewan McGregor and Vivien Lyra Blair as Obi-Wan and Leia

      REVIEW: Obi-Wan Kenobi had a good season and little else

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 22, 2022
  • Video Games
    Featured
    • Arkham Knight

      Batman: Arkham Knight - A fitting end to a trilogy

      By Tom Farr
      | July 18, 2015
      Video Game Reviews
    Recent
    • Legend Of Zelda

      Can a Legend of Zelda movie work?

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 6, 2022
    • Super Mario 64

      Which system had the better launch: A battle of four Nintendo consoles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 1, 2021
    • Luigi's Mansion

      Happy twentieth to Nintendo’s underrated gem, the Gamecube

      By Matthew Martin
      | November 18, 2021
    • Metroid Dread

      Metroid Dread – Post Game analysis and sequel needs

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 29, 2021
    • Mario Headphones

      The SNES Turns 30: A look at some of the system’s best soundtracks

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 22, 2021
    • Metroid Dread Poster

      REVIEW: Metroid Dread reawakens the old gamer in me

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 11, 2021
  • Wrestling
    Featured
    • Wwe Payback 2017 Poster 2

      Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE Payback 2017

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 30, 2017
      WWE Blogs
    Recent
    • AEW Double or Nothing 2022: CM Punk vs Adam Page

      REVIEW: AEW Double or Nothing 2022 delivered an up-and-down show

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 30, 2022
    • MJF on AEW Dynamite 17th November 2021

      Getting AEW to the next level…

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 29, 2022
    • Raw 210501: Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

      May 21, 2001 – A (forgotten) date that will live in WWE infamy

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 20, 2022
    • WWE WrestleMania 39 Logo

      Your WAY TOO EARLY predictions for WWE WrestleMania 39!

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 20, 2022
    • WWE WrestleMania 38 Poster

      Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE WRESTLEMANIA 38!

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 30, 2022
    • Wrestlemania 31 Paige Aj Lee 2

      BOOK REVIEW: The Women of WrestleMania is a balanced take on an under-valued slice of history

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 16, 2022
  • Topics
    • site logo
    Latest
    • Riverdale S06E18 Review: Biblical - Spooky chaos!
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04E04 Review: Dear Mama - Emotional?
    • Evil S03E03 Review: The Demon of Sex - Contrived?
    • Dark Winds S01E03 Review: K'e - Swoon!
    • REVIEW: ELVIS beautifully mythologizes the King of Rock and Roll
    • REVIEW: THE BLACK PHONE is a flat, dull, rushed non-horror movie
    • Latest Comments

    Ahmed Johnson Interview

    By Josh Modaberi
    | March 7, 2014
    Wrestling Interviews

    Ahmed Johnson became the first African American to win a singles title in WWE.  The 48-year-old from Houston, Texas worked with the likes of Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker during his tenure in the WWF. Johnson also had a spell in WCW teaming up with long time friend Stevie Ray to form Harlem Heat 2000.

    We caught up with Johnson to talk about racism in WWE, the infamous Goldust kiss, why he doesn’t watch wrestling any more plus lots more.

    Ahmed Johnson

    How did you first get into the sport of professional wrestling?

    I started off playing American Football, and that was my dream, that is what I wanted to do and what I enjoyed doing. However, I had an accident that crushed my shoulder pretty bad so that kind of ended my football career.

    Ivan Putski’s then opened a wrestling school down here in Houston, and myself, Stevie Ray and Booker T all went to his school. Wrestling for me, it was very unusual, it was scary because I was used to playing team sports then when I switched over to professional wrestling you are by yourself and it was totally different to anything that I had experienced before.

    Where you a fan of wrestling growing up and who were some of the wrestlers you enjoyed watching?

    I was a fan a little bit, I enjoyed watching the tag team of, Dick The Bruiser and Crusher, I also enjoyed watching guys like Hercules. I wasn’t a massive fan but I did have certain guys that I liked.

    What was it like making your WWF debut in 1995?

    It was fun, but there was a lot of jealousy, a lot of guys were jealous because I was a big man, I could do a lot of high flying stuff like they could but they were little. It was rough getting in there and getting started.

    You became the first African American to win a singles championship in the WWF by becoming Intercontinental Champion, what was that like?

    That was a great achievement becoming the first African American Intercontinental Champion in history. That was a great honour but it was short-lived and it quickly became disgraced, someone had scratched some racial words, ‘Congratulation Ni**er’, into my car and the treatment I got was pretty bad. I hadn’t experienced any racism in wrestling until I made it to the big leagues, the WWF.

    I think there is still a lot of racism there now and it is there big time. At least when I was there I stood up against it and none of the black guys there before me had ever done that, no one had ever stood up against the machine because they were always scared to.

    When I was part of the Nation of Domination, I stood up and confronted Vince [McMahon] about having a black champion on national television and he didn’t like that and that was the beginning of the end of our relationship.

    Ahmed Johnson Figures and Magazine Covers

    A selection of magazines and figures released by the WWF featuring Ahmed Johnson

    What have you made of Booker T, Mark Henry, and Big E. Langston winning titles in WWE?

    It makes me kind of sick in a way, because if I hadn’t stood up to Vince and if I hadn’t carried the title, I was the first black person they gave the title to and if I hadn’t carried it well, I didn’t do anything to get in trouble, I didn’t do anything stupid, I was one of the most grossed wrestlers overseas…

    If I didn’t carry the title that well there would be no Booker T, Mark Henry, Bobby Lashley or Big E. Langston, none of them would exist, so all of them guys held the title after me. Becoming the first black Intercontinental champion, it did some good, it did a lot of good, it changed the outlook of professional wrestling.

    Were you surprised there wasn’t ever a black singles champion before you held the title?

    Yeah, I was very surprised, I’ve spoken to a few of the old-timers, I spoke to Earnie Ladd and Junkyard Dog before they passed away and they thanked me for getting that title and carrying it the way I did.

    Before me there were a lot of black men that should have been either Intercontinental or World Champion, Junkyard Dog for me being number one, he should have been a champion.

    What is your story of the infamous incident when Goldust kissed you on Raw?

    I didn’t know what to do, to be honest with you, I was lost, I didn’t expect that from another grown man, I didn’t expect that to happen at all. When it happened I was like, what the hell is going on, I knew it was live TV so I knew I had to play my role because if I was to chuck up and beat the hell out of him then people would have been like, what is going on. I played my role but I was pissed, there is a limit to a joke and you kiss another grown man that crosses the line.

    Goldust and I went over the incident again and again during the pre-tape. I told him not to put his lips on mine and to put his hand over my mouth as the camera wouldn’t be that close and people wouldn’t know. So I was lying there and the part was coming up and I feel his mother f**king lips.

    He tried his best to explain himself, but I wasn’t taking any of it, there is no excuse for what he did. Goldust was AC/DC anyway, he liked guys and girls, I didn’t have a problem that he was bisexual but at the same time it pissed me off and I didn’t expect that from him.

    Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party.

    YouTube privacy policy

    If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh.

    You also worked with the likes of The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, what was that like?

    The Undertaker was alright, he seemed to be a pretty cool guy and was great to work with. As far as Shawn Michaels goes he was one of the people that I believe was jealous and very racist, I don’t know what he is like now but he claims to have found the lord and has changed his life, but back then he called me to his office, he had a little office in Vince’s office, and he told me I had to stop doing all the high flying stuff that I was doing.

    When I first began in WWE, I used to dive over the top rope and do moonsaults, and for a man that weighed 340lbs, that was incredible. Shawn didn’t like me doing any of that and told me those moves were for the little guys and it was taking away from what he did in the ring, so right off the bat, he tried to put a stumbling block in my way.

    What was it like working with Stevie Ray in WCW as part of Harlem Heat 2000?

    After I left WWE I was kind of done with professional wrestling and I didn’t want to do it anymore, I was just enjoying myself sat at home playing Playstation. Then I got a call from Stevie Ray saying that he really wanted me to come to WCW to tag with him because him and Booker T had a real falling out.

    Stevie Ray was like a brother to me and I kept saying no to him but he kept on calling and asking and I couldn’t keep telling my best friend no. I eventually ended up going to WCW but I was so ashamed.

    How would you compare your two bosses, Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff?

    The god honest truth is WCW had the best talent with the exception of a few people like, The Rock and Shawn Michaels and they could have gone to WCW. WCW had a very good and tough talent pool, whereas WWF had a more sissy, crybaby type of talent pool.

    However the WWF treated their guys better, and Vince was a better boss, so if you could have taken the guys from WCW and put them in the WWF you would have had one hell of a wrestling organisation. I preferred working with the guys from WCW because they were tough but I would rather work for Vince over Eric.

    Do you watch much wrestling today from WWE or TNA?

    I don’t watch wrestling at all these days, to be honest with you, I tried to watch some wrestling about a year ago but after watching it about three times I found it so boring and it turned me off.

    Share this article:

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit

    Tags

    ahmed johnson

    COMMENTS

    Please read our Commenting Policy before you join in with the discussion.

    Note: If you have email notifications enabled, please check your email spam folders to ensure emails are not missed.

    Subscribe
    Connect withD
    I allow to create an account
    When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
    DisagreeAgree
    Notify of
    guest
    Connect withD
    I allow to create an account
    When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
    DisagreeAgree
    guest
    4 Comments
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments
    Henry Higgins III
    Henry Higgins III
    8 years ago

    He’s also morphed into Abdullah the Butcher.

    0
    Reply
    Henry Higgins III
    Henry Higgins III
    8 years ago

    That guy is a delusional prick.

    0
    Reply
    NYJ
    NYJ
    8 years ago

    “If I didn’t carry the title that well there would be no Booker T, Mark Henry, Bobby Lashley or Big E. Langston, none of them would exist”
    Ron Simmons was a WORLD champ years before Johnson even broke in.

    “Goldust was AC/DC anyway, he liked guys and girls”
    Dustin Rhodes is a 100% hetero Texas redneck in real life and was devoted to his wife the entire time Johnson was there.

    “WCW had the best talent”
    no comment necessary

    He’s delusional AND a homophobe.

    0
    Reply
    DeicideHD
    DeicideHD
    3 years ago
    Reply to  NYJ

    Ron Simmons “Faarooq” was introduced to the WWF after Ahmed Johnsons title reign. I’m sure Ron Simmons held WCW Championship prior to Ahmed holding WWF IC gold, but guess what WCW wasn’t worth 2 bags of shit during the time. It isn’t a secret that WCW was falling apart before the monday night wars that were the attitude era, and really during the 80s-96~ time frame WWF is the only wrestling brand that was seen nationally, rather than regionally.

    0
    Reply

    You might also like

    • Booker T Interview

      By Josh Modaberi
      | October 10, 2012
    • Interview with former WWE Superstar: Bobby Lashley

      By Josh Modaberi
      | November 11, 2011
    • WWE Intercontinental Title Belts: A Guide to the Gold

      By The Beltster
      | February 19, 2011

    FIND THE TOPICS YOU WANT...

    Wrestling Topics

    Recommended for you

    • REVIEW: AEW Double or Nothing 2022 delivered an up-and-down show

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 30, 2022
    • Getting AEW to the next level…

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 29, 2022
    • May 21, 2001 – A (forgotten) date that will live in WWE infamy

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 20, 2022
    • Your WAY TOO EARLY predictions for WWE WrestleMania 39!

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 20, 2022
    • Money in the Bank and making a main-eventer

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 31, 2017
    • What we want from an AEW video game

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 31, 2021
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Affiliate Disclosure
    • Cookie Policy and Settings
    • Terms of Use
    • Photo Credits
    • RSS
    All Cult of Whatever articles, logos, illustrations and graphics are copyright CultOfWhatever.com. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. © 2021 CultOfWhatever. All Rights Reserved.
    • facebook
    • twitter
    wpDiscuz