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In 1998, the late independent wrestling promoter Dennis Coraluzzo booked Ahmed Johnson on two shows in New Jersey. Dennis sent referee Fred Rubenstein to pick Johnson up at the hotel. Fred was driving his new Nissan Altima and when Johnson saw the vehicle he said, "You expect me to ride in this?" He then demanded they get him a limousine. Coraluzzo turned down that demand and Johnson refused to leave the hotel and come to the show. When the show started, Coraluzzo got on the mic and told the fans the story, and also claimed Johnson said, "Fuck the fans" to him, which may have not been an accurate quote. Coraluzzo then told the fans the phone number to Johnson's hotel room, told fans to write it down and call him and tell him what you think about his no-showing. He later had a ring card girl walk through the crowd with a giant sign with Johnson's phone number. There was a lie of fans at the pay phone in the lobby of the venue calling Johnson and yelling at him for no-showing. The next day, Johnson called up Coraluzzo and was furious, saying his phone kept ringing all night, well past 3 a.m., and that he couldn't get any sleep. The big question is why Johnson just didn't tell the front desk to block all calls to his room.
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LOL @ dude having such a big ego that he refused to ride in a new Nissan. Geez.Comment
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Ahmed Johnson. Ah, memories. I was a fan when I was a kid. He was hot as can be at one point, before the whole Nation bull. I was sure he was going to be the champ at one point. And apparently he was supposed to get a title shot but got injured. He was like the angry, black Cena; little kids just ate that guy up. Didn't know he was a douche for the longest time, because he was only relevant for those 2/3 years....
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Johnson was careless in the ring and routinely got hurt whenever they tried to push him.
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A poll from the Observer website...
LOL. Embarrassing indeed. Mark Henry over Tanahashi. MARK HENRY over anyone on the list (well, Garza sucks, maybe I can buy that).Who is the best wrestler of the current world champions?
Davey Richards 44.4%
Mark Henry 16.3%
Hiroshi Tanahashi 12.3%
James Storm 9.3%
Alberto Del Rio 7.5%
Jeff Jarrett 3.4%
Go Shiozaki 1.8%
Masaaki Mochizuki 1.8%
Hector Garza 0.8%
Suwama 0.4%
Well, that's quite embarrassing
And m'fers need to watch some Go Shiozaki and Masaaki Mochizuki.
/elitistComment
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Here is how I would rank 10 world champions using 90% workrate, 10% everything else (the poll says best wrestler, not biggest draw, biggest star, etc, but I'll give some leeway for intangibles here) Based on where they stand TODAY:
1. Davey Richards - I rank him ahead of Tanahashi because he works a more intense, realistic style. This was close.
2. Hiroshi Tanahashi - He's had a great year, and should probably be Wrestler of the Year.
3. Go Shiozaki - Solid as they come. This generations Jun Akiyama, because I don't think he will ever reach the full 'Ace' status people thought he would.
4. Masaaki Mochizuki - very underrated Dragon Gate wrestler who isn't as flashy as the likes of Masato Yoshino, Naruki Doi, or YAMATO, but is as technically sound as anyone on the globe. If Dragon Gate has a "lunch pail" guy, this is it. Never has a bad match.
5. Alberto Del Rio - Has really improved ten fold since the Dos Caras Jr days, when he was barely passable in the ring. One of the most shocking transitions in recent years due to a gimmick change. Still isn't great, but went from pretty bad to mediocre. His charisma went from mediocre to excellent sans the mask.
6. Jeff Jarrett - The AAA Super Mega Heavyweight Champion of the Universe (what a great title name) would be much higher if this was five years ago. His AAA matches are sloppy brawls, but that's the style so I can't kill him.
7. James Storm - I don't get James Storm (or Bobby Roode) and never will. I've found Storm to be dull since the America's Most Wanted days. Now that I think about it, he should probaby be ahead of Jarrett, though.
8. Mark Henry - Still fat, still plodding, still has the same bad matches. The only difference is those matches are higher on the card now. He's over, so i'm in the minority, but plodding "monsters" aren't my cup of tea so it's whatever.
9. Hector Garza - Probably the 20th or 30th best performer on the CMLL roster. Old and boring. CMLL is weird, the champ is hardly ever featured anyway, so it's an odd dynamic. I don't think anyone would think "Hector Garza" when CMLL comes up. Odd champion.
ABSTAIN: Suwama - I don't watch enough All Japan these days to properly grade him. I was never a big fan, but I hear good things lately.Comment
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I'd put Storm over Jarrett and Del Rio just for the MCMGs best of 7 series. The better part of those being really good work all-around, even if carried by Sabin and Shelley to an extent. Roode and Storm held their own in there a lot more than I thought they were capable of, and the matches were pretty creative for being in TNA.
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That is a really weak list of World Champs...damn.Comment
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7:30 minutes of wrestling on the 2 hr Impact Wrestling show....
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Always fun to take a look back at champions from yesteryear on this date...threw in NWA for shits and giggles
October 1995
CMLL - Apolo Dantes
ECW - The Sandman (lost it to Whipwreck days later)
NWA - Dan Severn
New Japan - Keiji Mutoh
All Japan - Mitsuharu Misawa
WWE - Diesel
WCW - Hulk Hogan (lost it to The Giant days later)
October 2001
New Japan - Kazuyuki Fujita
All Japan - Keiji Mutoh
NOAH - Jun Akiyama
WCW - Chris Jericho
WWE - Steve Austin
NWA - N/A (Was held up until Shinya Hashimoto won it in December)
CMLL - Universo 2000
October 2007
TNA - Kurt Angle (beat Sting days earlier)
ROH - Nigel McGuiness
NOAH - MItsuharu Misawa
New Japan - Hiroshi Tanahashi
Dragon Gate - CIMA
CMLL - Dos Caras Jr.
NWA - Adam Pearce
WWE - Randy Orton & Triple H (they traded the belt on PPV)
AAA - El Mesias
All Japan - Kensuke Sasaki
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