Ahmed Johnson burst onto the WWE scene in 1995 and rapidly rose to the top of the promotion, winning the Intercontinental Championship. With that victory, he became the first African-American singles champ in WWE. He seemed to be on the cusp of breaking through to the main event, even winning a battle royal for the number one contenders spot for the WWE Championship. However, kidney problems kept him out for four months, forcing him for forgo his title opportunity. When he returned, he feuded against the Nation of Domination, then joined NOD, then got injured again. By the time Johnson returned, it was over a year removed from his near-brush with greatness. He feuded against the Nation of Domination during the next few months before leaving WWE in early 1998. All told, Johnsons rise, fall, rise and fall lasted less than three years, but in early 1996, he was red hot. If you were a betting man, you would have put a few chips on Ahmed Johnson being a big deal in WWE.