Kenneth Wayne Johnson (born December 8, 1957) is an American retired

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

, better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

, Slick. He is best known for his appearances with the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(WWF) in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is the son of professional wrestler Rufus R. Jones.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

At the start of his career, Johnson did a stint in Texas All-Star Wrestling, managing Madd Maxx and

Lord Humongous Lord Humongous is a professional wrestling character also known as a "gimmick" that was originally introduced in Memphis' Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) in 1984. The character was based on a gang leader called "the Humungus" or at times ...

. He left TASW for

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

's Central States Wrestling to become "The Doctor of Style", Slick, characterized by his smooth attitude, confident speech, and dancing as he accompanied his wrestlers to the ring; among the wrestlers he managed in Central States were

Art Crews Art Crews (born January 3, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler who competed in North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance, particularly the Central States, Mid-South and Pacific Northwest territor ...

, Timothy Flowers,

Bobby Jaggers Robert Francis Jeaudoin (January 8, 1948 – September 30, 2012) was an American professional wrestler and civil engineer, also known by the ring name of "Hangman" Bobby Jaggers. Most of his renown as a wrestler came from his appearances in vari ...

, "Bulldog" Bob Brown, and

Butch Reed Bruce Franklin Reed (July 11, 1954 – February 5, 2021) was an American professional wrestler and football player, better known by the ring name Butch Reed. He played college football at the University of Central Missouri, was a star in Mid-So ...

. Slick and his stable feuded with Kansas City mainstay Rufus R. Jones and other fan favorites before he and Reed were forced out of the territory after dropping a "Loser Leaves Town" match to

Bruiser Brody Frank Donald Goodish (June 18, 1946 – July 17, 1988) was an American professional wrestler who earned his greatest fame under the ring name Bruiser Brody. He also worked as King Kong Brody, The Masked Marauder, and Red River Jack. Over the yea ...

World Wrestling Federation

Slick debuted in the WWF alongside Reed in August 1986. Soon after, he purchased a "half interest" in "Classy" Freddie Blassie's heel stable. The aging Blassie was experiencing declining health and was being slowly phased out of storylines. Slick eventually took over all managerial duties from Blassie, initially managing

Nikolai Volkoff Josip Hrvoje Peruzović (October 14, 1947 – July 29, 2018), better known by his ring name Nikolai Volkoff, was a Yugoslav-American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Although Volkoff often p ...

and

The Iron Sheik Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri ( fa, حسین خسرو علی وزیری, romanized: Hossein Xosrô 'Ali Vaziri; born March 15, 1942), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, is an Iranian retired professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and a ...

. During this time, Slick also (

Kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...

) sold the contract of

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

(another wrestler of Blassie's former stable) to fellow heel manager

Bobby "The Brain" Heenan Raymond Louis Heenan (November 1, 1944 – September 17, 2017) was an American professional wrestling manager, color commentator, wrestler, and comedian. He performed with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation ...

for a "pile of money". 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 Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

and

WWF Champion The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDown ...

"Macho Man" Randy Savage,

The Mega Powers The Mega Powers was a tag team in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1987 to 1989, consisting of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, and managed by Savage's wife, Miss Elizabeth. Lust and jealousy surrounding her led to the team's demise and subs ...

. 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. The song is actually an obscure cover. It was originally recorded by an equally obscure hip-hop artist named Captain Chameleon as "Jive Ol' Fo". Slick would also manage

The Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from late 1987 until the spring of 1990. The team was composed of Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov portraying a pair of Soviet Communist bad guys. Volk ...

(Volkoff and

Boris Zhukov James Kirk Harrell (born December 13, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Boris Zhukov ...

Rick Martel Richard Vigneault (born March 18, 1956) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler, trainer, and television presenter, better known by his ring name, Rick Martel. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association, the ...

Power and Glory Power and Glory was a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1990 to 1991. The team consisted of Hercules (Power, strength) and Paul "Romeo" Roma (Glory, looks). The team was managed by Slick. History In ...

(Hercules and

Paul Roma Paul Centopani (born April 29, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Paul Roma. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling between 1984 an ...

), 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 backstage tension as both managers and referees were generally smaller so as to make the wrestlers seem bigger and more imposing to the public. In November 1991, Slick went on an extended leave of absence after being powerslammed by

Davey Boy Smith David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler. Born in Golborne, Lancashire, Smith is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Bo ...

. 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 Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...

. He sometimes appeared on WWF programming to give a "sermon" that was usually a simple, uplifting message. Then later in November 1991, he joined the crew on ''

Prime Time Wrestling ''WWF Prime Time Wrestling'' is a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It aired on the USA Network from January 1, 1985, to January 4, 1993. A precursor to ''Monday Night Raw'', ''Pr ...

'' as a regular full-time panelist, providing commentary and insight on storylines and matches until the show ended in 1993, as well as the co-host of ''WWF Wrestling Spotlight'' with Gene Okerlund. After ''Prime Time'' ended, his main storyline under this gimmick was to take Kamala from the hands of

Harvey Wippleman Bruno Lauer (born October 27, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, referee, and occasional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Harvey Wippleman and Downtown Bruno. Wippleman began his career working in professional wrestli ...

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).

Post-wrestling career

After retiring from wrestling, Johnson graduated from

Campbellsville University Campbellsville University (CU) is a private Christian university in Campbellsville, Kentucky. It was founded as Russell Creek Academy and enrolls more than 12,000 students. The university offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. In 2 ...

. He received a bachelor's and master's degree and is now an

ordained minister In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church body, church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spir ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. On April 1, 2007, Johnson, reprising his role as Slick, appeared at

WrestleMania 23 WrestleMania 23 was the 23rd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brand divisions. The event ...

, dancing with various WWE wrestlers and legends. Johnson also made several appearances for IHWE, an independent promotion in Fort Worth, Texas in 2009. Johnson was inducted into the IHWE Hall of Fame on October 30, 2009. Johnson also appeared in June 2010 at the promotion's Supercard. Johnson reprised the Slick character on the "Old School" edition of ''

WWE Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television show, television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, ET on the USA Networ ...

'' on November 15, 2010, joining legends the Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff in the ring. In 2012, Johnson appeared for TX Stampede Wrestling where he received a lifetime achievement award. On July 23, 2012, Johnson made a special appearance on ''

Raw 1000 Raw 1000 was a television special that was broadcast live on July 23, 2012, airing on USA Network (in the U.S.) as the 1000th episode of WWE's flagship show '' Raw''. It was held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The show featured f ...

''. He served as the reverend presiding over the wedding that involved Daniel Bryan and

AJ Lee April Jeanette Mendez (born March 19, 1987) is an American author and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE under the ring name AJ Lee. She is currently an executive producer and color commentator for WOW – Wom ...

. On April 2, 2016, Johnson appeared as Slick to induct Big Boss Man into that year's class of the

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously ind ...

. In July 2016, Johnson was named part of a

class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...

lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. The lawsuit was dismissed by US District Judge

Vanessa Lynne Bryant Vanessa Lynne Bryant (born January 27, 1954) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Early life Bryant was born in Queens, New York, and graduated from Howard University wit ...

in September 2018. In September 2019, when asked on a podcast if he has any regrets of being a part of the lawsuit, he stated, "Of course not." In September 2020, an appeal for the lawsuit was dismissed by a federal appeals court. * Wrestlers managed ** The One Man Gang/AkeemSlick's profile, at WrestlingData.com
/ref> ** Big Boss Man **

** Earthquake Evans **

Kamala Kamala refers to: People * Kamala (name), given name and surname, includes list of people and characters with the name ** Kamala Harris, the 49th and current Vice President of the United States * Kamala (wrestler) (1950–2020), American profess ...

(as Ken Johnson) **

"Where Are They Now? Slick", from WWE.com
/ref> **

** The Warlord

Awards and accomplishments

Slammy Award The Slammy Awards is a concept used by WWE, where awards, similar to the Academy and Grammy Awards, are given to professional wrestlers and other individuals within WWE, such as commentators and managers. Introduced in 1986, there have been 13 edi ...

(1 time) *** Best Personal Hygiene (

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

) with

and

* IHW Entertainment Hall of Fame **2009 inductee

References

External links

*
"Where are they now? Slick" at WWE.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Slick 1957 births 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century African-American people African-American Christians African-American male professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from Texas Professional wrestling managers and valets Sportspeople from Fort Worth, Texas