World Wrestling Federation
Slick debuted in the WWF in September 1986 after he purchased a "half interest" in "Classy" Freddie Blassie's heel stable. Blassie was not in the best of health, and was being slowly phased out of storylines. Slick eventually took over all managerial duties from Blassie, initially managing Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik.
Slick's biggest success as a manager came when he took Akeem (previously known as the One Man Gang) and the Big Boss Man, the Twin Towers, to main event matches against Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, The Mega Powers. The theme song "Jive Soul Bro" (written by David Wolff, Vernie "Butch" Taylor, and Jeff Batter) was the subject of a music video featuring him. Slick would also manage Butch Reed, The Bolsheviks, Rick Martel, Power and Glory, and The Warlord. While Slick's billed height was only 5'11, he was actually 6'4. In later shoot interviews, Slick mentioned that he was often as tall as (or, in the case of Power and Glory, taller than) the wrestlers he managed, which created some tension.
In November 1991, Slick went on an extended leave of absence after being powerslammed by Davey Boy Smith. He returned a month later as the face "Reverend Slick", denouncing his shady past and striving to become a better man. This gimmick was a take on his real life, as Johnson was a born-again Christian. He sometimes appeared on WWF programming to give a "sermon" that was usually a simple, uplifting message; he rarely (if ever) mentioned Jesus Christ or God. His main storyline under this gimmick was to take Kamala from the hands of Harvey Wippleman and Kim Chee to convince him that he was not just a Ugandan monster who deserved constant berating, but a man, and he tried to instill Kamala with self-respect (including a memorable segment where Slick and Kamala went bowling).
Read more about this topic: Ken Johnson (wrestling)
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