John Richardson (born November 21, 1958) is an American retired

professional wrestler 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 or ...

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 projectin ...

Johnny Rich. He wrestled for the

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Natio ...

in the early 1990s,

Mid-South Wrestling The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level rival ...

Continental Championship Wrestling Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dothan, Alabama from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller. The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship Wr ...

Continental Wrestling Association Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually re ...

in Memphis,

Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades before, the National ...

and other Southern promotions.

Professional wrestling career

Rich made his debut in 1981 in Memphis as Roy Rogers. He later worked for Mid-South Wrestling from 1982 to 1983. He made his debut for Continental Championship Wrestling in 1985. In 1984, he won the

NWA Southeast United States Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA Southeastern Junior Heavyweight Championship was a secondary title for wrestlers considered "Junior Heavyweights", that is weighing under 230 lbs. It was promoted in the Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Mississippi region from 1975 un ...

defeating

Rip Rogers Mark Sciarra (born February 7, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Rip Rogers. Early life Sciarra was born in Seymour, Indiana on February 7, 1954. He graduated from Seymour High School in 1972 and ...

. Rich was part of the Rat Patrol with Tonga Kid and

Steve Armstrong Steven James (born March 16, 1965), better known by his ring name Steve Armstrong, is an American professional wrestler. He is the son of fellow wrestler "Bullet" Bob Armstrong, and has three brothers who also wrestled: Scott, Brad, and Brian. ...

where he won the

NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship The NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship was the major tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's Alabama territory known as Southeastern Championship Wrestling. It existed from 1974 until November 1986, when it became the NWA Continent ...

four times with them. Later he won the titles again with his real-life cousin

Tommy Rich Thomas Richardson (born July 26, 1956) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tommy “Wildfire” Rich. He is a one time former National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion and Smoky Mountain Wrestling ...

as the Riches twice. In 1988, he teamed with Davey Rich (David Haskins) billed as his cousin as the Riches and later the Party Patrol in the South and

Smoky Mountain Wrestling Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, wit ...

until 1992. In 1989, he made his debut in

with Davey Rich as a team. In 1990, Rich would go on his own. He participated in the

WCW Light Heavyweight Championship The WCW Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that was contested in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1991 and 1992. Conceived in 1991, the championship was first awarded as the result of a single-elimi ...

tournament where he lost to Richard Morton in the quarter finals in August 1991. He would also team with

Joey Maggs Joseph Magliano (1968/1969 – October 2006), better known by the ring name "Jumping" Joey Maggs, was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1991 to 1998. Professio ...

as The Creatures, a masked tag team which appeared at

Halloween Havoc Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE for the company's developmental brand, NXT. As the name implies, it is a Halloween-themed show held in October. It was originally produced as an annual pay-per-view (PP ...

that year, losing to

Big Josh Matthew Wade Osborne (July 27, 1957 – June 28, 2013), known professionally as Matt Borne, was an American professional wrestler. Osborne was a second generation wrestler, the son of Tony Borne, and is best known as being the first wrestler t ...

and

P. N. News Paul Neu (born July 9, 1966) is an American professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known under the ring name P. N. News and for his stints in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Early ...

on October 27, 1991. They would continue as a team until 1993. In 1994, Rich left WCW. He would work in the independent circuit until retiring in 2007.

Championships and accomplishments

* Southeastern Championship Wrestling/Continental Championship Wrestling **

( 1 time) **

(6 times) - with Tonga Kid (3),

(1) and

(2) **

NWA Alabama Heavyweight Championship The NWA Alabama Heavyweight Championship was created in October, 1962. Since its creation, the championship has been defended in a number of NWA territories throughout the decades. Initially, the title was a part of Gulf Coast Championship Wrestl ...

( 1 time) **

AWA Southern Tag Team Championship The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' from its ince ...

( 1 time) - with Davey Rich *USA Wrestling **USA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Davey Rich

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Johnny American male professional wrestlers Living people 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers 1958 births Professional wrestlers from Tennessee Sportspeople from Nashville, Tennessee