Ahmed Johnson was this week’s guest on Why It Ended… with Robbie E and Matt Koon.
Johnson talks about how tough training with Ivan Putski and Johnny Valentine was, what being the first-ever African-American Intercontinental Champion meant to him and more. (transcription credit should go to @DominicDeAngelo of WrestleZone):
Ahmed Johnson on training at Putski’s school and how tough it was:
“It was me, Stevie Ray, Booker T. That was about it for the school. Then I got hooked up with Global [Wrestling Federation] – you know, me, Bradshaw and a bunch of people.”
“That was harder than football. Harder than a Dallas Cowboys football tryout. I mean it was harder. At first I was like ‘man, this is just too much.’ I mean hitting the ropes and after that, I thought we was just about done and we were just warming up.”
On Johnny Valentine (father of Greg “The Hammer”) slapping the hell out of him and how he loved training with old-timers:
“He [Valentine] watched my matches all the time and you know, give me the big man moves. I remember one time I came back there and guess I didn’t do something right, sat me between his legs, ‘come here, come here son.’
I sat between his legs, he said, ‘I told you when you come across somebody’s chest you open-hand…’ and he hit me so hard I swear my heart stopped for a minute. That’s how hard that old man hit me. My heart stopped for one second. He said, ‘okay, that’s how you come across somebody’s chest.’ I was like ‘oh my God, that’ll kill him.’ I was trained by a bunch of hardcore old-timers.”
“You got these boys crying now because you might potato them or hit them a little hard. They couldn’t last in Global cause them old men came at you.”
“That’s when I fell in love with it is when I hit Global. Cause I love contact anyway. Contact sports. And with Global, I mean, like I say, with them old men, man they was like playing football with no pads on.”
On becoming the first African-American Intercontinental Champion:
“Yes it did. Yes, it meant a lot, but you know what man? It was funny, like I announced right after I won the belt – I didn’t win it just for one particular race. I won it for everybody out there who thought they couldn’t do something and you know, be something. It was more so that in my heart than it was I’m doing it just for one race, you know? I know a lot people got upset when I said that, but hey, that’s how I feel, and if they don’t like it, they know where to find me.”
You can listen to the entire episode of Why It Ended by going here.
