Trip Johnson

Trip Johnson
	; Johnson performing live with The Accidents in 2013.
Birth name	Trip Eric Johnson Rikhotso
Born	April 13, 1973 (age 42)
Resides	Scottsdale, Arizona
Spouse(s)	Amelia Myers (divorced) ; Kairi Quinn (divorced) ; Emily Johnson (divorced)
Children	Britta Johnson ; Alex Johnson ; Ophelia Johnson ; Jenna Johnson ; Katarina Johnson
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Trip Johnson
Billed height	5'9
Billed weight	225 lbs
Billed from	Scottsdale, Arizona
Trained by	Heath Williams
Debut	2011

Trip Eric Johnson Rikhotso (April 13, 1973 - November 21, 2015) was an American-born South African musician, professional wrestler and television personality best known by his stage/ring name Trip Johnson. Over the course of his career, Johnson worked for federations such as World Turmoil Federation, Future Bebo Wrestling and Online Wrestling Alliance, the latter of which he was the owner for an extended period of time.

In addition to his work in wrestling, Johnson has hosted the talk show Trip's Corner, and is the founder of the TYA Wrestling Academy. He played rhythm guitar and sang in his band The Accidents.

Early life[]

Rikhotso grew up in South Africa, born to his mother and father Robert and Carleen -- his father was South African and his mother originates from North America. His sister Ellie Johnson was born after him, and the family relocated to Scottsdale, Arizona when Trip was a teenager. Following his parents' divorce, Rikhotso began training to become a professional wrestler while working full time. He also started his first band in high school, in which he was the lead guitarist.

Professional wrestling[]

Upon beginning to wrestle for American audiences, Rikhotso soon changed his ringname from Trip Rikhotso to Trip Johnson (taken from his second middle name) after noticing many American fans and commentators had trouble pronouncing his surname correctly.

Alliance with Preston Scott, formation of TYA[]

Johnson made his major promotion debut in Future Bebo Wrestling, where he was victorious against Chuck Jones. He wrestled against Daniel Richards at a WTF house show, where he won -- however, he suffered a minor injury in the contest, and was advised to step away from the ring in order to recouperate.

Upon his return, Johnson forged an alliance with fellow wrestler Preston Scott, who was also looking to make a name for himself in the world of wrestling. Dubbing themselves TYA, the pair defeated Craig Adams and Dwayne Cray in their tag team debut on an episode of Unbreakable. Johnson would go on to compete in The Equalizer at New Year's War to crown a new Galaxy Champion -- Johnson was eliminated early in the contest, which was won by Ricky Maine. He also competed for the Trifecta Championship in another Battle Royal, but was again eliminated and William Black was the eventual winner.

Johnson continued to compete in singles competition in addition to his tag team career, and he fought Magico to a draw in a #1 Contender's Match. As a result, both men received a title match at Locked and Loaded, where Johnson defeated Magico and champion Dwayne Cray in a Steel Cage Match to win his first professional title, the K-Division Championship.

Galaxy Champion, feud with Preston[]

At Elimination Finale, Johnson was one of six wrestlers competing for the Galaxy Championship in the Elimination Chamber Match. He won the match by last eliminating his partner Preston Scott to win the championship. This led to a highly-anticipated match between Johnson and another top wrestler, Angel, where the two fought to a draw. Feeling as though Scott was bitter to his success, Johnson confronted him on the matter. Scott assured him that things were fine, and also announced that he had entered TYA into a Tag Team Turmoil for the World Tag Team Championship. They were unsuccessful in achieving their goal, as they were eliminated by eventual winners Team Emosewa. Following their elimination, Scott angrily left the ring, refusing to speak to Johnson.

The following week, Scott was defending his Massacre Championship when Johnson came out to the ring to prevent an attempt at interference. This distracted Scott, and caused him to lose his championship in the

Trip-johnson-galaxy-champion — Johnson during his reign as FBW Galaxy Champion.

match. Scott attacked Johnson out of frustration, thus turning heel and setting up a match between the two for the Galaxy Championship at Futurefest II. At the event, Johnson defeated Scott via count-out, leading many to believe he could not defeat Scott soundly. However, he defeated Scott via pinfall on an episode of Beatdown. The two put aside their differences, to the point where they became the World Tag Team Champions.

Johnson, as Galaxy Champion, continued to defeat the likes of Craig Adams and Zack Richards before he lost the title to Angel in a Steel Cage Match at Concussion. He failed to regain the title, and an injury soon put him out of action once again.

Johnson returned to action in Online Wrestling Alliance, where he wrestled his first match against TK Jones at Chained, where he was defeated. He was soon entered into the 2012 King Of The World Tournament, where he advanced to the finals by defeating Daniel Kennedy and Messiah in the first round and semi-finals, respectively. He was set to face his long-time rival Preston Scott in the final at Stairway To Stardom III, with the winner earning themselves a World Heavyweight Championship Match at any time they chose. However, TYA made a shocking return during a Tag Team Turmoil to determine the Tag Team Champions on the pre-show -- this turned out to be a plan devised by Scott to injure Johnson before their match, as he smacked his own partner in the face with the chair to cause his team to lose. Scott would later defeat Johnson for the King Of The World crown, and then later win the World Heavyweight Championship from TK Jones. Scott would leave the company soon after, and their feud was axed.

Heel turn, OWA Chairman[]

Johnson faced Paul Benzema in the main event of the inaugural episode of Fusion, where he was defeated. Johnson became OWA Chairman after purchasing the company from the former owner. In one of his first acts as the boss, at the Ramifications pay-per-view, Johnson turned heel when he interfered in the main event and cost Benzema a chance to become World Heavyweight Champion. Following Benzema's departure from the company, Angel feuded briefly with the corrupt chairman. Johnson would later apologise for his actions, making him a babyface once again, before disappearing from in-ring competition for a while.

He made his in-ring return when he was selected by Zack Richards to be his partner in a match against Angel and Craig Anderson, in which the latter team won. On an episode of OWA, Johnson almost got into a fist-fight with a returning Preston Scott before it was avoided by Johnson's wife Amelia. Johnson faced and defeated Scott at Chained, although he suffered an injury during the contest. It was then revealed that Amelia had been cheating on Johnson with Scott, and in Johnson's abscence from the company to rehabilitate his knee, the two ran OWA their own way.

Johnson once again returned several weeks later, assaulting Scott with a steel chair. He announced that Scott would face him at Stairway To Stardom IV in the first-ever Four Corner Massacre Match. In the weeks leading up to the event, Johnson and Angel defeated Scott and Anderson, and then was forced to team with Scott to face Angel and Anderson, who were also feuding at the time. This contest ended in a double count-out.

At the Stairway To Stardom IV pre-show, Angel and Johnson became the Tag Team Champions when they won a Battle Royal. Johnson won the Four Corner Massacre Match against Scott, suffering a heavy lacerations and second-degree burns over most of his body in the process. The Tag Team Championship was retired, and Johnson battled with Zack Richards over the World Heavyweight Championship.

Return to wrestling[]

Johnson made his return to wrestling in October 2014, where he signed a full-time contract with Future Facebook Wrestling. In his debut with the company, portraying a heel, he defeated Jamo in a singles match. He also appeared in OWA for the first time in many months, where he assaulted Sarinyde with a steel chair for attacking his family. Johnson and Sarinyde clashed in a Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match at Borrowed Time for the European Championship, where Sarinyde was victorious.

Solid Studios Wrestling[]

Johnson made his debut in Solid Studios Wrestling on the first episode, where he lost to Heath Williams in the main event. The following week, he defeated El Ese in the show's opening contest. After Johnson and Williams teamed up to defeat Tony Flow and Grant Ward in tag team action, it was announced that they would face each other at SSW Ground Zero in a 2 Out Of 3 Falls Match to determine the inaugural SSW Champion.

In the lead-up to the event, Johnson defeated Ward, and then went on to defeated Williams to become the first man to hold the SSW Championship; however, his celebration was cut short when he was assaulted from behind by the newly-named #1 Contender, Tony Flow. Flow sent a threatening tweet to Johnson on Twitter, warning him that he would take his championship very soon. Johnson responded with a tweet of his own, suggesting that he and Flow settle their differences that coming week, with Johnson's championship at stake. The title match came to a close with no determined winner, due to outside interference from Grant Ward.

Johnson went on to enter a feud with Ward and Flow over the SSW Championship, where Flow and Ward attacked him continuously. Johnson would retain the title against both men in a Triple Threat Match, and would then again defeat five challengers in an Elimination Chamber Match to retain his title.

Johnson defended the SSW Title at Stairway To Stardom VI against Heath Williams and Cash Morgan in a Three Way Dance; Johnson was the first man eliminated, by eventual winner and new champion, Williams. Following the match, Johnson announced on his official Facebook that he was entering retirement.

Death[]

Johnson was found dead in his hotel room on November 21, 2015. It was later revealed that he was killed by his eldest daughter Britta, whom was later convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Music[]

Johnson grew up as a major fan of punk rock music. A self-taught guitarist and singer, Johnson formed The Accidents in 2012 with Tahlia Walker. The band was originally a duo, with Walker as the lead singer and Johnson playing guitar and providing back-up vocals. Walker would soon leave the project, and Johnson repackaged the band as a four-man punk rock band.

Personal life[]

Johnson has five children in total -- two sons; Alex Johnson and Austin Tejas, as well as three daughters; Britta, Ophelia and Jenna Johnson. Johnson's first two marriages ended in divorce.

In wrestling[]

Entrance themes

"Wasting Away" by Tonight Alive
"Still Waiting" by Sum 41 -- (Used as a member of TYA)
"Patrolling Days" by The Hives
"Revenge And Its Thrills" by Tonight Alive
"America (Fuck Yeah)" by Team America -- (Used while representing USA in the World Cup)
"Pig" by Seether -- (Original Saron Gas mix, used on the independent circuit)
"Firewater" by Sinister Growley
"Suffer It All" by Seether
"The Impression That I Get" by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones