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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2015 7:50:20 GMT -5
I remember wondering why everyone liked Ahmed when he was over but didn't officially have "it".
This was before everyone was a smark and wrestling fans were still stupid.
I'm thinking much of his popularity was manufactured. Vince probably wanted a "black Hulk Hogan" and figured Johnson was gigantic enough.
When I mentally time travel back to the 90's my spider sense tells me it was Goldust's kiss that was the kiss of death for Johnson. It was socially acceptable to be homophobic in the mid 90's.
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Post by Nivro™ on Aug 16, 2015 16:22:28 GMT -5
There's a difference between having "it" and just simply being over. Ahmed was a big guy in an era where big guys had been phases out. He was something new, something fresh. Plus he got a rub from HBK. Ahmed never had "it" though. That's just silly. That's like saying Ronnie Garvin had "it". How dare you! How dare you mention " Rugged" Ronnie Garvin in the same sentence as that loser! Oh wait he is two sentences apart...Well, that doesn't change the fact that "Mr Hands of Stone" wasn't totally over. Go watch him in those 20-30 fan TV tapings the NWA did...he was totally over!   haha Garvin had some good pops and crowd reaction but he was one of those guys that was fit to be a chaser. When he took the strap from Flair everyone was just like.......huh? Hell, thats just from me watching it back on On Demand 24/7. No telling what the real life reaction was. |
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Post by PJ on Aug 16, 2015 16:26:29 GMT -5
How dare you! How dare you mention " Rugged" Ronnie Garvin in the same sentence as that loser! Oh wait he is two sentences apart...Well, that doesn't change the fact that "Mr Hands of Stone" wasn't totally over. Go watch him in those 20-30 fan TV tapings the NWA did...he was totally over! haha Garvin had some good pops and crowd reaction but he was one of those guys that was fit to be a chaser. When he took the strap from Flair everyone was just like.......huh? Hell, thats just from me watching it back on On Demand 24/7. No telling what the real life reaction was. He was a guy I watched, but couldn't understand why he was in a main event. He was very boring to me. lol (but those TV tapings loved him. lol) But hey even the Mulkey brothers would get pops on those TV tapings. lol |
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Post by Planktung on Aug 16, 2015 16:29:28 GMT -5
I thought this was going to be about Ahmed Johnson's virginity.
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Post by mikey1974 on Aug 16, 2015 19:27:46 GMT -5
let's not kid ourselves - Ahmed Johnson was MEGA over in the summer of 1996, so he most certainly had "it" at one point. I saw him live at several house shows, and the crowd popped BIG TIME for him! not to mention he always got a great reaction on TV and PPV.
plus I always loved him for the whole Goldust feud and angle. that was good s#$t! I'm still convinced to this day that he dropped several F-bombs on live TV after Goldust kissed him on the gurney.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2015 21:23:16 GMT -5
Ugh.
Being over for a short period of time and having "it" are NOT the same thing. Stop trying to make the comparison. It's absolutely ridiculous.
Ahmed never had "it". Period.
Stop trying to make "it" a thing.
Was he popular for a VERY short period of time? Yes.
Could he cut a promo? No.
Could he work? No.
Could he stay healthy? No.
Did he become a permanent main event talent? No.
Was he world champion? No.
Ahmed never ever had "it" in any way, shape or form.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2015 22:42:39 GMT -5
Couldn't cut a coherent promo
Was dangerous in the ring
Yet he got over....eh.
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Post by Himmy! on Aug 17, 2015 3:59:17 GMT -5
He was pretty injury prone wasn't he? I couldn't understand a word he said either when I was a kid. He had intensity and was getting some great reactions though.
Absolute joke when he turned up in WCW. Poor guy looked horrendous.
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Post by Emerald Enthusiast on Aug 17, 2015 5:42:30 GMT -5
Ok so this dude was over, HUGELY over in 96, like crazy, he was easily the number 2 top guy behind Michaels. He was IC Champ, and had a good run, but you fast forward a year and the guy is a throw-away, a generic heel that moves like a slug and seems to have every sort of support brace on his body. Where did he lose all his momentum? ! It was the kidney issue that killed the near-main event momentum he was building in '96. When he came back, he didn't look much different, but his cardio was suffering. He went from being extremely athletic to another plodding bodybuilder who couldn't stay on TV due to his health. I agree that he was arguably the 2nd hottest talent in the company for part of '96. Fans reacted to him because in some ways, he was a forerunner to the Stone Cold/Goldberg characters--a big, bald, no-frills bruiser. He was built more like an 80s WWF wrestler, but without the cartoonish aspects of guys like Hogan and Warrior. Fans were responding well to that type of character back then. I also remember many female fans back then who thought he was a "hottie". I can't comment on that, but perhaps that helped too. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2015 12:27:35 GMT -5
Anybody who wears 4 knee pads doesn't have "it".
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Post by T R W on Aug 18, 2015 14:04:15 GMT -5
haha Garvin had some good pops and crowd reaction but he was one of those guys that was fit to be a chaser. When he took the strap from Flair everyone was just like.......huh? Hell, thats just from me watching it back on On Demand 24/7. No telling what the real life reaction was. He was a guy I watched, but couldn't understand why he was in a main event. He was very boring to me. lol (but those TV tapings loved him. lol) But hey even the Mulkey brothers would get pops on those TV tapings. lol I liked Ronnie Garvin a lot, but even at the time, I was like, "what? Really? Well OK." But whatever "it" is, Garvin had a ton more of "it" than Ahmed ever did. Ahmed never had anything. |
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Post by PJ on Aug 18, 2015 14:32:11 GMT -5
He lost me when he wrestled at Starcade 85 as "Miss Atlanta Lively" vs the Midnight Express.
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Post by marino13 on Aug 18, 2015 15:46:49 GMT -5
I remember watching a show and Jim Ross was just tearing him apart while doing commentary. JR even made fun of the fact Ahmed had an earring in. It was brutal.
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Post by Next Man’s Knowing Rock on Aug 18, 2015 15:47:17 GMT -5
He never regained it after that first injury, really. That cut him off right when he was on the climb. I doubt he'd have made it anyway, though. Michaels and Bret would've played politics to keep him from taking their spots.
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Post by T R W on Aug 18, 2015 17:03:54 GMT -5
He lost me when he wrestled at Starcade 85 as "Miss Atlanta Lively" vs the Midnight Express. You know the never really explained why he was in drag for that. I still don't know why. I was there for the event and was just as confused then as I am now. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2015 12:40:42 GMT -5
Ron Simmons nearly killed him in a fit of insecure and weak jealous rage. I lost all respect for Ron Simmons, he intentionally hurt Ahmed by kicking him in the kidney as hard as he could. That was the death blow to his career. A lot of times when you have one minority in the workplace, you'll get another minority in the door and the first one will feel jealous or insecure about his "spot" being taken. It happens all the time, it's a self-destructive pattern of pulling your perceived competition down and jockeying for position as the sole token black "boy". It's a raw nerve I'm striking but it's true in the black community. I had high hopes for Ahmed as a kid in 1996 we didn't see too many "different" faces on TV let alone becoming a huge star. So I was a huge fan and I remember my best buddies dad took us to KB toys in '96 and he bought me the new Jakks Ahmed figure, those were the days! I miss Ahmed but he would've never made it because if it wasn't jealousy coming from his own people, it was the racist political climate in the wrestling business.
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