Ahmed Johnson facts for kids

Anthony Norris (born June 6, 1963) is an American who used to be a professional wrestler and a football player. He is best known by his wrestling name, Ahmed Johnson. He wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1995 to 1998. During this time, he was one of the most popular stars in the WWF. He even won the WWF Intercontinental Championship.

Early Life and Sports

Anthony Norris was born in Kokomo, Indiana, on June 6, 1963. He grew up in Auburndale, Florida, before moving to Texas.

When he was in high school, he was very good at many sports. He played American football, basketball, and was good at amateur wrestling and track and field. After high school, he joined the United States Army. He later left the army early.

Professional Wrestling Career

Early Career (1989–1995)

Anthony Norris learned to be a professional wrestler from Skandor Akbar, Scott Casey, and Ivan Putski. He started wrestling in 1989. For a few years, he wrestled for different smaller wrestling companies.

In 1993, he joined the Global Wrestling Federation (GWF) and was known as Moadib. In 1995, he wrestled in Japan for Big Japan Pro Wrestling.

World Wrestling Federation

Becoming Ahmed Johnson (1995–1996)

Norris first appeared in the WWF on July 15, 1995. He wrestled at a live show in Houston, Texas, as Tony Norris. After signing with the WWF, he got his famous wrestling name, "Ahmed Johnson."

His first televised match was on October 23, 1995, on Raw. He made a big splash by slamming Yokozuna in a fight. He then made his pay-per-view debut at Survivor Series. His team, which included Shawn Michaels, won the match. Ahmed Johnson even eliminated two opponents, Owen Hart and Yokozuna.

At Season's Beatings in December, he quickly defeated Buddy Landel. After this match, Jeff Jarrett attacked him, starting a rivalry. At the 1996 Royal Rumble, Ahmed Johnson beat Jarrett by disqualification.

At WrestleMania XII, Ahmed Johnson teamed with Yokozuna and Jake "The Snake" Roberts. They faced Camp Cornette (Vader, Owen Hart, and The British Bulldog) and lost. Later, Ahmed Johnson won the first WWF Kuwait Cup Tournament in May 1996. He beat Hunter Hearst Helmsley in the finals.

Intercontinental Champion (1996)

At King of the Ring, Ahmed Johnson defeated Goldust to win the Intercontinental Championship. He was the first African American to hold this title. Many people thought he would soon become a top star in the WWF.

He often teamed up with Shawn Michaels. They worked together against Jim Cornette and his group, Camp Cornette. At International Incident, Ahmed Johnson, Sycho Sid, and Michaels lost to Vader, Owen Hart, and the British Bulldog.

On July 22, Michaels and Johnson challenged The Smoking Gunns for the Tag Team Championship. During the match, Faarooq Asad attacked Johnson. This attack was planned to start a new rivalry.

Ahmed Johnson later won an 11-man battle royal. This win made him the number one challenger for the WWF Championship. However, he had to miss his big match because of health issues. He was out of action for four months. The WWF said Faarooq's attack caused his health problems. Because of his injury, he had to give up his Intercontinental Championship.

Rivalry with the Nation of Domination (1996–1998)

Ahmed Johnson returned in late 1996. He started a big rivalry with Faarooq, who had formed a new group called the Nation of Domination. They finally faced each other at Royal Rumble 1997, where Johnson won.

He then teamed up with The Undertaker and later with Legion of Doom. They fought against the Nation of Domination many times. At WrestleMania 13, Ahmed Johnson and the Legion of Doom fought the entire Nation in a street fight.

In June 1997, Ahmed Johnson surprised everyone by joining the New Nation. He turned against WWF Champion The Undertaker. However, Johnson got injured again soon after this. He was replaced in a big match against Undertaker.

The Nation of Domination later turned on Ahmed Johnson. They replaced him with Rocky Maivia (who later became The Rock). This made Johnson a fan favorite again. He restarted his rivalry with the Nation. He teamed up with the Legion of Doom and Ken Shamrock. At Survivor Series 1997, they defeated the Nation.

Leaving the WWF

Ahmed Johnson's last WWF appearance was in February 1998. He was part of a big match at No Way Out of Texas.

He later shared that he left the WWF due to family issues. He also mentioned that he started to notice "a lot of racism" behind the scenes. These reasons made him not want to be there anymore.

World Championship Wrestling (1999–2000)

In late 1999, Anthony Norris joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He debuted as a bad guy at Souled Out. He had gained a lot of weight and was called Big T.

He joined Stevie Ray to form a tag team called Harlem Heat 2000. They had a rivalry with Stevie Ray's brother, Booker T. At SuperBrawl, Big T defeated Booker T to win the rights to the Harlem Heat name.

Big T and Stevie Ray later competed for the WCW World Tag Team Championship. They lost in the semi-finals of a tournament. Norris was released by WCW shortly after this.

Independent Circuit and Retirement (2002–2003)

After leaving WCW, Norris took a break from wrestling. He returned in 2002 for a match in Texas. He wrestled his final match in 2003. He teamed with Monty Brown but lost to Sabu and Gangrel.

Personal Life

After retiring from wrestling, Anthony Norris went back to college. He earned a degree in criminology from Huston–Tillotson University. He lives in Houston, Texas, with his daughter.

Media

Ahmed Johnson was a character you could play in the video games WWF In Your House and WWF War Zone.

Filmography

• Witness to the Execution (1994) as Reggie Foster
• Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story (2001) as Marion "Suge" Knight

Television Appearances

• Walker, Texas Ranger (1993) in episode "Unfinished Business" as Bruno

Championships and Accomplishments

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him No. 5 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1996
  • PWI ranked him No. 380 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003
  • PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (1996)
• Texas All-Pro Wrestling
  • TAP Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• United States Wrestling Association
  • USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• World Wrestling Federation
  • WWF Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
  • Kuwait Cup
  • Slammy Award (1 time)
    • New Sensation of the Squared Circle (1996)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Worst on Interviews (1996, 1997)

See Also

In Spanish: Anthony Norris para niños