Ahmed Johnson Claims Shawn Michaels Didn't Want Him To Be WWE Champion
Ahmed Johnson was highly pushed by WWE in 1996 - when Shawn Michaels was WWE Champion
May 26, 2022
From the moment Ahmed Johnson step foot in a WWE ring he was pushed as a star, with Johnson becoming the first African American Intercontinental Champion in WWE history during his short run with the company.
During his time with WWE, it was plausible that WWE could have easily pushed Johnson into the world title scene, but according to Johnson himself then WWF Champion Shawn Michaels didn’t want him to be champion, telling Gregory Iron on Iron-On Wrestling:
“In the beginning, I really thought that he was behind me and going to give me this great push, but as I went on, I found out it wasn’t Vince that didn’t want to give me the world title, it was other wrestlers like Shawn Michaels,” Johnson stated. “They didn’t want to see me pushed that high. I don’t know [why], personal reasons? I was green, I’ll say that. I was still green and learning, but I think I was ready for the world title shot. Because Shawn had the belt and everything, he basically got to pick who he was going against, he was running the show back then and he was basically picking who was going against him.”
It’s no secret that Michaels was very difficult to work with during this time (1996/97), but Johnson continued, making a bold claim as to why HBK didn’t want Johnson to hold the gold:
“From my understanding, what I heard, he didn’t think it was time for a black man to be World’s Champion. I didn’t hear him say that when I was Intercontinental Champion and popping the house everywhere we went,” Johnson continued.
HBK was usually backed up backstage by the notorious Kliq, but Johnson says the group never messed with him… to his face anyway:
“They didn’t mess with me for some reason,” Johnson said. “They probably did behind the scenes, like I told you. I didn’t become world champion because Shawn Michaels didn’t think I was ready for whatever reason, but they never messed with me. They never tried to ‘ha ha’ me, or bully me, or any of the things they did to other guys. They knew their place, and knew who to mess with and who not to mess with.”
H/T: Wrestling Inc.
