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 line 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.