During a recent interview with ‘Developmentally Speaking’, former WWF Intercontinental Champion Ahmed Johnson discussed several topics, including his 2000 run in WCW.
Here’s what he had to say about his time as one half of Harlem Heat 2000:
“Stevie Ray called me one day and was like ‘I need you to come tag with me and be my tag team partner’. And I was like ‘Nah’. At first, I was through with it. But then, I was just sitting at home, eating bonbons, getting fat, and not thinking about going anywhere else.
But then, Vince Russo called me and I was like ‘Okay. They both called me’. We went out to eat, and from that point, I decided ‘Alright, I’m going to give it a shot. I’m not in shape, I’m out of shape, I’m not really ready to go. But if you need me, I’m there’. Because Stevie and I had been friends for ages, ages.
We worked together and everything. It didn’t seem like too much more bull in WCW. I mean, WWF guys were like ‘Man, you hit me too hard’, or ‘Man, you’re rough with me’. Definitely, not one guy complained [in WCW]. I don’t know if that made the WCW guys tougher, or if it just shows that the guys who were complaining in WWF were full of sh*t.”
In 2022, Ahmed told a similar story during an appearance on the ‘Iron-On Wrestling’ podcast:
“The difference, it was the guys. Like in WWF, they cry a lot about, ‘Oh, you hit me too hard’, or this, that, and the other. I was not even in shape when I went to WCW and I was hitting them guys and nobody ever complained, ever cried about it or anything.
And I know a couple of them maybe thought that I was shooting on them. I didn’t mean to do it on purpose but it came out that way and they never did cry, did complain, or anything. So, guys seem to be a lot tougher from WCW.”
Ahmed Johnson wrestled for the WWF from July 1995 until February 1998, but would later show up in Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling, where he was known as ‘Big T’ and formed the short-lived Tag Team known as ‘Harlem Heat 2000’ with Booker T’s brother Stevie Ray from January 2000 until he was fired from WCW in April 2000.
His biggest accomplishment was becoming the first ever black Intercontinental Champion, when he defeated Goldust for the title at the King of the Ring 1996 PPV.
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