Former WWE IC Champion says Vince McMahon has been mad at him for 25 years
Vince McMahon watched hundreds of superstars join and leave WWE during his 40 years as the company's creative figurehead. In a recent interview, Ahmed Johnson claimed the WWE Executive Chairman still has an issue with him over the way he left.
Johnson worked for WWE between 1995 and 1998. The 60-year-old is best remembered for being the first African-American Intercontinental Champion. In February 1998, he walked out of a RAW taping shortly after being told that McMahon wanted him to be "hung from a rope" on television.
On Developmentally Speaking, Johnson said he left abruptly because someone close to him was battling a serious illness:
"He [Vince McMahon] was mad. He's still mad at me for leaving when I left (…) I didn't tell Vince what was going on in my life. I kept my life very private. I didn't tell him I had a sick sister, and this, that, and the other. She's my play sister [close friend], but she was like my sister. She passed away a day after I left." [14:53 – 15:25]
Long-time WWE creative team member Bruce Prichard discussed Johnson on a 2020 episode of his Something to Wrestle With podcast. According to Prichard, Vince McMahon once viewed The Pearl River Powerhouse as a future world champion.
Ahmed Johnson reflects on working for Vince McMahon
At the start of his career, Ahmed Johnson defeated several unknown names before moving up the card to work with high-profile talents.
Johnson believes many of his co-workers were envious of the way he quickly became one of WWE's most prominent stars:
"I worked with a bunch of jobbers [enhancement talents] to begin with. A lot of guys were so jealous of me, which I don't know why, but they were very, very jealous of me getting the push that I was getting (…) Vince didn't have anybody with that kind of intensity and that kind of animal magnitude." [4:24 – 5:06]
Johnson previously said on the Pounding The Meat podcast that he had a real-life altercation with The Rock during his time in WWE.
What are your thoughts on Vince McMahon's booking of Ahmed Johnson? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Developmentally Speaking and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.