Former WWE Superstar Ahmed Johnson has accused Shawn Michaels of trying to “hold him down” during his time in WWE.
During the 1990s, Shawn Michaels had a reputation for trying to protect his position at the top of WWE. He and his backstage group known as ‘The Kliq’ – which included Triple H, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Sean Waltman – were often accused of using their considerable influence to hold other wrestlers back while boosting their own careers.
Ahmed Johnson was part of WWE from 1995 to 1998 and during that time became the first Black Intercontinental Champion. In 1996, he won a Battle Royal to determine who would face the WWE Champion on the Raw following that year’s SummerSlam, however, kidney problems caused him to be out of action for several months.
The following year, he was again scheduled for a WWE Championship match, this time against The Undertaker at Canadian Stampede in July 1997, but once again an injury forced him to miss the match.
Following his return, he joined forces with Ken Shamrock to feud with the Nation of Domination for several months. he left the promotion in February 1998 after a final appearance where he, Shamrock, and the Disciples of the Apocalypse were defeated by the Nation of domination.
In a recent interview with Monte and The Pharaoh on the LI#1 Pro Wrestling Broadcast, Johnson spoke about his time in WWE and said he witnessed Shawn Michaels politicking firsthand and that HBK “had his hand on” him for a while.
“Trust me, if Shawn seen anybody trying to go up the ladder, he was gonna hold them back. So yeah, he had his hand on me for a while trying to hold me down. That’s a good question [why he didn’t kick Shawn Michaels’ a**]. I mean, at the beginning I didn’t understand it, but later on I got to see what The Kliq was all about. It was all about President Shawn running the nation.”
However, when asked why he didn’t take his concerns to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, Johnson said he didn’t thing Michaels “went too far” with it.
“No, I just let it play out, because I feel as though if you go too far with it, I’m gonna have to do what I have to do. But he didn’t go too far with me with it.”
Following his departure from WWE, Ahmed Johnson briefly joined WCW as ‘Big T’. During his time there, he teamed with Stevie Ray, who had turned heel on his real-life brother and tag team partner Booker T, to form ‘Harlem Heat 2000’. He now works at Booker T and Stevie Ray’s ‘Pro Wrestling Alliance’ training school.
H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the above transcription.