Shawn Michaels has often been regarded as one of the most influential superstars backstage, especially at the height of his superstardom in the mid-90s. The extent of his powers remain uncertain, but Ahmed Johnson recently claimed that Michaels ruined the plans for him to win the WWE Championship.
Johnson signed with WWE in 1995 and became the first African American Intercontinental Champion a year later. He was given a huge push afterward and was even scheduled to have a WWE Championship match after SummerSlam 1996.
Injuries prevented him from competing in the match. However, Johnson claimed in an interview with Steve Fall of WrestlingNews.co that Michael sabotaged the plans for him to become the first African American WWE Champion.
“I believe Vince [McMahon] had a change of mind,” Johnson said. “All the junk that Shawn Michaels and some of the other boys put in his head, you know? ‘They’re not ready for a black champion’, but you’ve just seen me win the Intercontinental belt, so I’m ready. You know the fans are already.”
He added that the Hall of Famer was the one who led the pack as he was very influential backstage.
“But Shawn Michaels man, he kind of ran the coop back then. He was like the head dog back then, so whatever he says, you know, kind of went.”
Ahmed Johnson left WWE in early 1998 before appearing in WCW more than a year later. Johnson also wrestled on the independent circuit until 2003, when he retired from the industry.
Shawn Michaels admitted to being hard to work with back in the 1990s
The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels was very open about the issues he had back in the 1990s. Michaels admitted to being hard to work with back then, and he told The Miami Herald in a 2012 interview why he acted that way.
“If I’m putting on my psychiatrist’s hat and you dig all the way down to the root of it has nothing to do with wrestling or anything else,” Michaels said. “It just has to do with a young man’s insecurities with himself. … I was a young guy full of piss and vinegar, excuse my language, and I felt I had a very good idea of where the business needed to go and things that needed to be done.” [H/T SEScoops]
Michaels cleaned up his act and returned to WWE in 2002 after retiring four years earlier due to a back injury. His second run was full of great matches with stars such as Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, and The Undertaker. He now works as WWE’s Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative and handles creative for NXT.
Would you have liked seeing Ahmed Johnson win the WWE Championship back then? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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