Anthony Norris
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| Anthony Norris | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | Moadib[1][2] Ahmed Williams Ahmed Johnson[1][2] Black Superman Big T[1][2] Tony Norris[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 305 lb (138 kg/21.8 st)[2] |
| Born | June 6, 1970 [2] St. Louis, Missouri |
| Billed from | Pearl River, Mississippi[2][1] |
| Trained by | Ivan Putski[2] Steve Casey[2] |
| Debut | 1995 |
| Retired | March 7, 2003 |
Anthony (Tony) Norris (born June 6, 1970)[2] is a former American professional wrestler known for his appearances with the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Big T and most notably World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Ahmed Johnson. In WWF, Johnson was a 1 time Intercontinental Champion and was the first-ever wrestler of African American descent to hold the title.[3][4]
Contents |
[edit] Professional wrestling career
[edit] Global Wrestling Federation (1995)
During the early 1990s, he fell into the training school run by Steve Casey and Ivan Putski in Houston with fellow trainees Booker T and Stevie Ray. Norris started wrestling in 1995 in the Global Wrestling Federation (GWF) as Moadib.[1] He was part of Skandor Akbar's heel stable Devastation, Inc.
[edit] World Wrestling Federation (1995-1998)
[edit] Ahmed Johnson (1995)
After GWF closed, Norris signed a contract with World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the summer of 1995. His first appearance in a WWF ring was at In Your House III in September 1995 when he defeated Skip under the name Ahmed Williams in a dark match.[5] He was sent to WWF's developmental territory, United States Wrestling Association (USWA) where he won the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship on November 6, 1995, defeating Jerry "The King" Lawler.[1][6][7]
Norris made his televised debut in WWF as Ahmed Johnson on an edition of Superstars in September.[8] On October 30, 1995 edition of Monday Night RAW, he made his first RAW appearance by becoming the second man in WWF history to body slam Yokozuna (Lex Luger being the first), who was attacking 1-2-3 Kid.[9] He made his pay-per-view (PPV) debut at Survivor Series 1995 in a "Wild-Card" Survivor Series match which put both babyfaces and heels on the same teams. During the match, he teamed with Shawn Michaels, Sycho Sid and British Bulldog against Yokozuna, Owen Hart, Razor Ramon and Dean Douglas. Sid was the only person to be eliminated from Johnson's team.[10] At In Your House 5, he made short work of "Nature Boy" Buddy Landel, defeating him in forty-two seconds.[11] Johnson destroyed him with ease, but in a post-match interview with Jerry Lawler, he was attacked by Jeff Jarrett, setting up their feud. This culminated in a match at Royal Rumble 1996, which Johnson won by disqualification.[12]
His first WrestleMania appearance was at WrestleMania XII where he teamed with Yokozuna and Jake "The Snake" Roberts against Camp Cornette (Vader, Owen Hart and The British Bulldog) in a six-man tag team match which Cornette's team won.[13] Johnson and Roberts had a chance to take revenge from Hart and Bulldog at In Your House 7 but they lost.[14] On May 27, 1996 edition of RAW, Johnson lost to Vader in a King of the Ring qualifying match.[15]
[edit] Intercontinental Champion (1996)
At King of the Ring 1996, Johnson defeated Goldust to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship.[16][17] As the first African American Intercontinental Champion, most assumed it was only a matter of time before he climbed to main event status. He was soon paired on-screen with Shawn Michaels in several tag team matches and often helped Michaels against Jim Cornette and his men, known as "Camp Cornette". At International Incident, Johnson along with Sycho Sid and Michaels lost to Vader, Owen Hart, and the British Bulldog.[18] On August 5 edition of RAW, Ahmed won an 11-man battle royal, last eliminating the man whom he beat for the IC title, Goldust to be the #1 contender for the WWF Championship.[19]
On July 22 edition of RAW, Michaels and Johnson teamed again and challenged The Smokin' Gunns (Billy and Bart) for the WWF Tag Team Championship. During the match, Faarooq Asad debuted and attacked Johnson.[20] This was supposed to lead to a match at Summerslam for the Intercontinental Title. Soon after, he was diagnosed with legit kidney problems.[2] As a result, he was out for 4 months and to keep the storyline going the attack by Farooq was said to be the cause of the kidney damage.[2] By the time the news was made public on WWF programming, the 3rd (out of 4) showings of Raw from Seattle taped on the same night as the attack had not been broadcast, and it included an 11-man battle royal which Ahmed Johnson won. Voice-over correction was done such that Ahmed's participation in the battle royal was said to be against doctors' orders when in reality his kidney problem had yet to be discovered. The injury forced him to vacate his Intercontinental Championship, which was subsequently won in a tournament by Marc Mero. His World title shot went to the battle royal's runner-up, Goldust.[2]
[edit] Feuding with Nation of Domination (1997-1998)
He returned to enter a feud with Faarooq in 1997 (who had a new gimmick and formed the Nation of Domination). Finally, the two had an encounter at Royal Rumble 1997, where Johnson won by disqualification.[21] Two days later, Johnson and The Undertaker defeated Faarooq and Nation member Crush in a No Holds Barred match at a show Triple Threat.[22] He began teaming with the Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) and engaging in a Chicago Street Fight with the entire Nation at WrestleMania 13.[23] At A Cold Day In Hell, he defeated Crush and Savio Vega in a Gauntlet match before losing to Faarooq.[24] However, mired in the angle and losing popularity with the fans, Johnson turned into a shadow of his former self.
Johnson eventually turned on WWF Champion The Undertaker and joined the New Nation, along with Kama Mustafa, D'Lo Brown, and Faarooq.[25] Johnson was injured soon after this; it was said that he was to fight the Undertaker at In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede for the WWF title but injuries meant the spot went to Vader.
The Nation turned on him after he recovered and returned in November 1997, which solidified another babyface turn for Ahmed. He restarted feuding with Nation and reunited with Legion of Doom and joined forces with Ken Shamrock. At Survivor Series 1997, they defeated Nation in a Survivor Series match.[26] His last WWF pay-per-view appearance was at No Way Out of Texas in February 1998, alongside Shamrock and Disciples of Apocalypse (Chainz, Skull & 8-Ball) vs. the Nation.[27] Norris walked off the set of a Raw Is War in 1998 without explanation.[28] In May of 2008, he revealed the reason for this departure, when he said ""When I left, the reason I did leave, and the reason I didn't tell Vince McMahon is because I'm not a crybaby, is that my sister was dying and she died like three days after I walked out the door and they didn't know I was dealing with that, you know?"[29]
[edit] World Championship Wrestling (2000)
In late 1999, Norris signed a contract with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and debuted at Souled Out 2000 as a heel Big T. He interfered in a match between Harlem Heat tag team partners and real-life brothers, Booker T and Stevie Ray. He attacked Booker, leading to a disqualification victory for Booker.[30] Big T and Stevie reformed the tag team Harlem Heat 2000.[30][31] At SuperBrawl 2000, he defeated Booker to earn the rights to Harlem Heat name.[32] At Uncensored 2000, he and Stevie lost to Booker and Billy Kidman.[33] At Spring Stampede 2000, they participated in a 5-team 10-man tag team tournament for the vacant WCW World Tag Team Championship where they lost to the eventual winners Shane Douglas and Buff Bagwell in the semi-finals of the tournament.[34] He was shortly after released by WCW. Johnson's performances had also declined due to him putting on excess weight.
[edit] Retirement
Norris stayed away from wrestling after his release from WCW until, on March 7, 2003, Norris returned to action in a match at a Maximum Pro Wrestling show, teaming with Monty Brown against Sabu and Gangrel. Norris and Brown lost the match.
[edit] Personal life
Norris is divorced and has a son.[35]
Norris also had a brief career as a linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys. Norris appeared in the 2001 movie Too Legit: The MC Hammer Story as Marion "Suge" Knight.
Norris came from an abusive home, where his father would beat him and his siblings. Norris' and his siblings at one point were forced to eat out of trash cans that belonged to neighbors because his father would lock the fridge and cabinet telling them that they would only eat when he ate.
[edit] In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Ahmed Johnson's Bio. Accelerator's Wrestling Rollercoaster. Retrieved on 2008-05-19.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Ahmed Johnson's Profile. Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-05-19.
- ^ a b WWE Intercontinental Championship official title history. WWE. Retrieved on 2008-05-19.
- ^ a b Lopez, Richard (2008-05-24). Ahmed Johnson's Title History. Blogger. Retrieved on 2008-05-24.
- ^ In Your House 3 results. Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved on 2008-05-20. “Ahmed Williams pinned Skip”
- ^ a b U.S.W.A. Unified World Heavyweight Title. The Great Hisa's Puroresu Dojo. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ a b USWA Unified World Heavyweight TItle History. Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ WWF Superstars of Wrestling Results (1986-1997). Angelfire. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ Podsiadlik, Kevin (1995-10-30). WWF Raw: October 30, 1995. The Other Arena. Retrieved on 2008-05-20. “Yokozuna, I'd like you to meet Ahmed Johnson (as plain as day). You know, Ahmed they once gave away a 4x4 truck to any man who could successfully body slam Yokozuna here. Yokozuna, knowing when he's been upstaged, rolls out”
- ^ Survivor Series 1995 official results. WWE. Retrieved on 2008-05-20. “Wild Card Team One: British Bulldog, Sycho Sid, Ahmed Johnson & Shawn Michaels def. Wild Card Team Two: Owen Hart, Yokozuna, Dean Douglas & Razor Ramon. Survivors: Shawn Michaels, British Bulldog & Ahmed Johnson”
- ^ In Your House 5 results. Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved on 2008-05-20. “Ahmed Johnson pinned Buddy Landell (0:42)”
- ^ Royal Rumble 1996 official results. WWE. Retrieved on 2008-05-20. “Ahmed Johnson def. Jeff Jarrett via DQ”
- ^ WrestleMania XII results. WWE. Retrieved on 2008-05-20. “Owen Hart, British Bulldog & Vader w/ Jim Cornette def. Yokozuna, Jake "The Snake" Roberts & Ahmed Johnson”
- ^ Good Friends, Better Enemies results. Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved on 2008-05-20. “Davey Smith & Owen Hart beat Jake Roberts & Ahmed Johnson (13:47) when Smith forced Roberts to submit”
- ^ Podsiadlik, Kevin (1996-05-27). WWF Raw: May 27, 1996. The Other Arena. Retrieved on 2008-05-20. “Owen Hart climbs to the top rope, lines up his cast, and makes a beeline for the back of Ahmed's head. The referee, who of course had assigned top priority to the well-being of Jim Cornette, missed the best part, but showed up just in time for the ending, an easy three-count for the Man They Still Call Vader.”
- ^ King of the Ring 1996 results. Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved on 2008-05-20. “Ahmed Johnson pinned Goldust (15:34) to win the WWF I-C Title”
- ^ Ahmed Johnson's first Intercontinental Championship reign. WWE. Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ International Incident results. Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved on 2008-05-23. “Vader, Owen Hart, & Davey Smith beat Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson & Sycho Sid (24:32) when Vader pinned Michaels”
- ^ Podsiadlik, Kevin (1996-08-05). WWF Raw: August 05, 1996. The Other Arena. Retrieved on 2008-05-23. “Raw Invitational Battle Royale (for a WWF title shot) involving: Bradshaw, Bulldog, Austin, Vega, Owen Hart, Mero, Mankind, Ahmed, Goldust, Sid, and Undertaker. At the last second, Goldie's feet catch Ahmed, and send him over the top rope. Well, no, as one of the participants managed to hook his legs over the top rope, thus saving himself while the other crashed to the floor. And your winner is.... Ahmed Johnson”
- ^ Podsiadlik, Kevin (1996-07-22). WWF Raw: July 22, 1996. The Other Arena. Retrieved on 2008-05-23. “The Smoking Gunns (w/Sunny Gunn-Bodydonna-Godwinn and cake) vs. Shawn Michaels and Ahmed Johnson (w/Jose Lethargio) for the WWF Tag Team championship. At this point, the only thing that can save us is a cheesy ending, and here he comes, in even cheesier headgear. This oddly-dressed fellow makes a beeline for Ahmed and starts putting the boot to him. This fellow, whose gimmick seems to be on a sort of Roman gladiator theme, tries ramming Ahmed's back into the ring post and comes within two feet of hitting the mark. Jerry Lawler, much to our surprise, correctly identifies the newcomer as Ron Simmons.”
- ^ Royal Rumble 1997 official results. WWE. Retrieved on 2008-05-23. “Ahmed Johnson def. Faarooq via DQ”
- ^ The Triple Threat results. Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-05-23. “NO HOLDS BARRED TAG MATCH: The Undertaker & Ahmed Johnson defeated Crush & Farooq”
- ^ WrestleMania 13 official results. WWE. Retrieved on 2008-05-23. “Chicago Street Fight: Ahmed Johnson & Legion of Doom def. Nation of Domination”
- ^ A Cold Day In Hell results. Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments. Retrieved on 2008-05-23. “Ahmed Johnson pinned Crush (5:38). Ahmed Johnson beat Savio Vega (5:57) via DQ. Farooq pinned Ahmed Johnson (2:10)”
- ^ Petrie, John (1997-06-16). Raw is War: June 16, 1997. The Other Arena. Retrieved on 2008-05-13. “Faarooq promises that the two new members of the Nation that he will be debuting tonight will be "bigger, better, badder, and blacker!" THE UNDERTAKER/AHMED JOHNSON (w/Paul Bearer) vs. FAAROOQ/KAMA MUSTAFA. Faarooq then calls in his newest NOD member: Kama Mustafa! Ahmed drops to the floor and shoves Paul Bearer down. Kama tags in and grabs him around the neck, applying a belly-to-belly suplex. He then covers for the upset pin, beating the current World Heavyweight Champion in his Nation of Domination debut. Ahmed climbs up the ramp and takes his rightful place alongside his Nation and raises his fist into the air.”
- ^ Survivor Series 1997 official results. WWE. Retrieved on 2008-05-13. “Legion of Doom, Ahmed Johnson & Ken Shamrock def. The Nation of Domination. Sole Survivor: Ken Shamrock”
- ^ No Way Out 1998 official results. WWE. Retrieved on 2008-05-23. “Ken Shamrock, Ahmed Johnson & D.O.A. def. The Nation of Domination”
- ^ CANOE -- SLAM! Sports - Wrestling - Ahmed Johnson: Found! [1]
- ^ Club WWI.com[2]
- ^ a b Souled Out 2000. PWWEW.net. Retrieved on 2008-05-23. “Booker T vs. Stevie Ray. During the match, a man comes out (he looks like the former Ahmed Johnson from the WWF with a few pounds put on) and attacks Booker T. The bell is rung. He says that he and Big T are the new Harlem Heat!”
- ^ Harlem Heat Profile. Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-05-23.
- ^ Super Brawl 2000. PWWEW.net. Retrieved on 2008-05-23. “Booker vs. Big T. Big T does a "Pearl River Plunge" on Booker for the win”
- ^ Uncensored 2000. PWWEW.net. Retrieved on 2008-05-23. “Booker & Kidman with Torrie vs. Harlem Heat 2000 with Jay Biggs and Cassius. Kidman does a Sunset Flip on Big T and gets the quick win”
- ^ Spring Stampede 2000. PWWEW.net. Retrieved on 2008-05-23. “Harlem Heat 2000 vs. Shane Douglas and Buff Bagwell Tag Team Tournament Match. After a Vertical Suplex by Shane, he pins Stevie Ray in this quick match to advance in the tournament”
- ^ [Stated in the May 2000 issue of WOW Magazine]
