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It is well known that Ron Simmons did not have a good relationship with former Nation of Domination stablemate Ahmed Johnson. In a recent interview, Johnson recalled how the WWE Hall of Famer allegedly hurt him deliberately.
On the July 22, 1996, episode of RAW, Johnson joined forces with Shawn Michaels to challenge The Smoking Gunns for the WWE Tag Team Championship. The match ended via disqualification after the debuting Simmons, aka Faarooq, kicked The Pearl River Powerhouse in the kidneys at ringside.
Asked about the incident on the Pounding the Meat podcast, Johnson accused Simmons of injuring him on purpose:
"Yeah, I think he did [deliberately cause injury]. I think he was also jealous and upset because here he was, the first black champion in WCW, and then here I was becoming the first Intercontinental black champion in WWF [WWE]. I think there was some jealousy there." [0:53 – 1:09]
In 1992, Ron Simmons became the first black WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Four years later, Johnson made history by becoming the first African American to win a WWE singles title.
Ahmed Johnson claims Ron Simmons cost him the WWE Championship
Shawn Michaels was supposed to defend the WWE Championship against Ahmed Johnson once their brief tag team partnership ended. However, creative plans changed due to Johnson's kidney injury.
The former Intercontinental Champion added that WWE's higher-ups wanted him to beat Michaels for the world title before his injury:
"The recovery set me back a little ways, man," Johnson continued. "It messed my shot up at the world title with Shawn, which I heard I was gonna get the belt then. It really set me back, man. He really threw my career off track when he did that." [2:05 – 2:18]
Johnson left WWE in 1998 after three years with the company. The 59-year-old said he has not spoken to Simmons since their days together in WWE.
Do you think Ron Simmons deliberately hurt Ahmed Johnson? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Pounding the Meat and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
