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51-514: The promotion was founded in 1978 as a rival to Ron Fuller 's Southeastern Championship Wrestling and Nick Gulas 's NWA Mid-American territory, extending into Verne Gagne 's American Wrestling Association and Dick Afflis ' World Wrestling Association territories by 1981. Later on they'd come in direct competition with Jerry Lawler and Jerry Jarrett 's Continental Wrestling Association as well, operating in their territories and even managed to get several wrestlers to leave Southeastern and

102-575: A railroad station called "Johnson's Depot", Johnson City became a major rail hub for the Southeast , as three railway lines crossed in the downtown area. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Johnson City served as headquarters for the narrow gauge East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (the ET&;WNC , nicknamed "Tweetsie") and the standard gauge Clinchfield Railroad . Both rail systems featured excursion trips through scenic portions of

153-907: A building in downtown Johnson City for use as a new satellite teaching site. Tusculum College has a center on the north side of Johnson City in the Boones Creek area. Within Washington County, the vast majority of the city is in the Johnson City School District , while small parts of the city are in the Washington County School District . The portion in Carter County is within the Carter County School District . The portion in Sullivan County

204-616: A cousin, Jimmy Golden , several times, challenging for the NWA Southeast Tag Team Championship held by the heel team of Arn Anderson and Jerry Stubbs . The Fullers came up on the short end in their title chase, with the storyline being that Robert was injured by Anderson and Stubbs. Ron went through a variety of tag team partners, including André the Giant , to try to beat the Anderson/Stubbs tandem. Fuller finally found

255-471: A household in the city was $ 30,835, and the median income for a family was $ 40,977. Males had a median income of $ 31,326 versus $ 22,150 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 20,364. About 11.4 percent of families and 15.9 percent of the population were below the poverty line , including 18.9 percent of those under age 18 and 12.7 percent of those age 65 or over. Johnson City is an economic hub largely fueled by East Tennessee State University and

306-426: A list of clues to aid in the search for all the animals. Other public art includes banners and art on light poles and traffic boxes, and quote stones along sidewalks and paths. Two annual art events take place in the city. As a regional hub for a four-state area, Johnson City is home to a large variety of retail businesses, from well-known national chains to local boutiques and galleries. The Mall at Johnson City

357-553: A partner in Bob Armstrong and seemed to beat Anderson and Stubbs, but the title was held up by NWA President Bob Geigel , who ordered a rematch. Fuller turned heel on Armstrong, allowing Stubbs and Anderson to keep the belts. As the territory's owner, he created a new singles belt called the NWA Southeast Continental Heavyweight Championship . In the storyline, he named Freebird Michael Hayes

408-597: A pin never occurred), he must leave the territory." In the weeks that followed, The Stud Stable eliminated all of the Armstrongs except for Brad. Brad teamed with 7'7" wrestler Big John Harris. While Fuller fought Harris outside the ring, Golden and Robert were about to "squash" Brad. Suddenly, a masked man ran to the ring and saved him. The man put Robert in the figure-four leglock and Robert screamed in pain. The masked man spoke and said, "You can call me The Bullet!" Hearing him sound like Bob Armstrong, Fuller cried out in anger. In

459-635: A population of 207,285 as of 2020. The MSA is also a component of the Tri-Cities region. This CSA is the fifth-largest in Tennessee, with a population of 514,899 as of 2020. William Bean , traditionally recognized as Tennessee's first white settler, built his cabin along Boone's Creek near Johnson City in 1769. In the 1780s, Colonel John Tipton (1730–1813) established a farm (now the Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site ) just outside what

510-498: A professional wrestler. He started out with his grandfather and father's promotion in Tennessee and eventually bought it out. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Fuller expanded his territory from Tennessee to the Florida panhandle, naming it Southeastern Championship Wrestling and making it a "hot spot" for Southern wrestling. In the early 1980s, Fuller wore a mask and called himself the "Tennessee Stud". He teamed with his brother Robert and

561-505: A small contiguous border with Kingsport to the far north along I-26 and a slightly longer one with Bluff City to the northeast along US 11E. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has an area of 43.3 square miles (112.1 km ), of which 42.9 square miles (111.2 km ) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 km ), or 0.75 percent, is water. Buffalo Mountain, a ridge over 2,700 feet (820 m) high,

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612-620: A storyline to retire as a wrestler. Still working as a manager, he brought in different wrestlers to the Stud Stable. In 1986, he hired Kevin Sullivan to unmask Armstrong, but Sullivan revealed he had used Fuller as a pawn to start his own faction. He brought in the New Guinea Headhunters, Sheik Abdul (Saudi Arabia), and Kris von Kolt (Germany). Fuller and the Stud Stable turned face and put their differences with The Bullet aside. The Bullet,

663-466: Is Cathy Ball. East Tennessee State University has around 16,000 students in addition to a K-12 University School, a laboratory school of about 540 students. University School was the first laboratory school in the nation to adopt a year-round academic schedule. Milligan University is just outside the city limits in Carter County, and has about 1,200 students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Northeast State Community College has renovated

714-579: Is a city park on the south side of town. The Watauga River arm of Boone Lake , a Tennessee Valley Authority reservoir, is partly within the city limits. Johnson City has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cfa ), with warm summers and cool winters. Temperatures in Johnson City are moderated somewhat by its elevation and proximity to the Appalachian Mountains . Precipitation is abundant, with an average of 45.22 in (1,149 mm). Summer

765-490: Is also a lesser known promotion based in Cloverdale, BC . Past wrestlers include Buddy Wayne and Chico Alvarez . International Championship Wrestling held a variety of professional wrestling tournaments between 1980 and 1982 that were competed for by wrestlers that were a part of their roster. The ICW Television Championship Tournament was a single-elimination tournament to crown the first-ever ICW Television Champion . It

816-514: Is now Johnson City. During the State of Franklin movement, Tipton was a leader of the loyalist faction, residents of the region who wanted to remain part of North Carolina rather than form a separate state. In February 1788, an armed engagement took place at Tipton's farm between Tipton and his men and the forces led by John Sevier , the leader of the Franklin faction. Founded in 1856 by Henry Johnson as

867-654: Is the city's only enclosed shopping mall. Much of the new retail development is in North Johnson City, along State of Franklin Road. Johnson City Crossings is the largest of these developments. Several Minor League Baseball teams have been based in Johnson City. Professional baseball was first played in the city by the Johnson City Soldiers in the Southeastern League in 1910. The city's longest-running team

918-568: Is the elder brother of Robert Fuller ("Col. Robert Parker"). The brothers co-owned Continental Championship Wrestling for a time. At 6'9", Fuller was a basketball stand-out at Briarcliff High School in Atlanta and won a scholarship to the University of Miami where he was a three-year letterman. Upon graduating from the University of Miami, Fuller followed in his family's footsteps and became

969-399: Is typically the wettest part of the year, while early autumn is considerably drier. Snowfall is moderate and sporadic, with an average of 15.6 in (40 cm). As of the 2020 United States census , there were 71,046 people, 30,724 households, and 15,904 families residing in the city. As of the census of 2000, there were 55,469 people, 23,720 households, and 14,018 families residing in

1020-683: Is within the Sullivan County School District . Schools in the Johnson City School System include: Elementary schools Middle schools High schools Johnson City is served by Tri-Cities Regional Airport ( IATA Code TRI ) and Johnson City Airport (0A4) in Watauga. Johnson City Transit operates a system of buses inside the city limits, including BucShot, a system serving the greater ETSU campus. The Southern Railway used to serve Johnson City with several trains:

1071-762: The Birmingham Special (ended 1970), the Pelican (ended 1970) and the Tennessean (ended 1968). Johnson City serves as a regional medical center for northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia, along with parts of western North Carolina and southeastern Kentucky . Johnson City Medical Center includes a level 1 trauma center, the Niswonger Children's Hospital, and Woodridge Hospital, an inpatient psychiatric hospital. Franklin Woods Community Hospital

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1122-530: The Blue Ridge Mountains and were engineering marvels of railway construction. The Southern Railway (now Norfolk Southern ) also passes through the city. During the American Civil War , before it was formally incorporated in 1869, the name of the town was briefly changed to "Haynesville" in honor of Confederate Senator Landon Carter Haynes . Henry Johnson's name was quickly restored following

1173-715: The Great Smoky Mountains National Park . Johnson City, Tennessee Johnson City is a city in Washington , Carter , and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee , mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census , the population was 71,046, making it the eighth-most populous city in Tennessee . Johnson City is the principal city of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area , which consists of Carter, Unicoi , and Washington counties and had

1224-629: The ICW Heavyweight Championship in the 6 years the title existed. While Randy and Lanny were the focus of the federation, it did feature many other stars such as The Original Sheik (Ed Farhat), Ronnie Garvin , Crusher Broomfield (later known as One Man Gang and Akeem), Bob Orton Jr. , Bob Roop , Rip Rogers , "Pistol" Pez Whatley , Ox Baker , George Weingeroff , and the Devil's Duo (Jeff Sword and Doug Vines) with their manager Izzy Slapawitz . Elizabeth Hulette, who would later gain fame in

1275-619: The Johnson City Sessions . Native son "Fiddlin' Charlie" Bowman became a national recording star via these sessions. The Fountain Square area in downtown featured a host of local and traveling street entertainers including Blind Lemon Jefferson . During the 1920s and the Prohibition era, Johnson City's ties to the bootlegging activity of the Appalachian Mountains earned the city the nickname of "Little Chicago ". Stories persist that

1326-483: The National Register of Historic Places . For many years, the city had a municipal "privilege tax" on carnival shows, in an attempt to dissuade traveling circuses and other transient entertainment businesses from doing business in town. The use of drums by merchants to draw attention to their goods is prohibited. Title Six, Section 106 of the city's municipal code, the so-called " Barney Fife " ordinance, empowers

1377-520: The Stud Stable and renewed his feud with Armstrong. In a steel cage tag team match, Fuller teamed with cousin Jimmy Golden against Armstrong and Robert Fuller. Robert turned heel and all three beat up Armstrong. Armstrong's sons Brad, Steve, and Scott came to their father's rescue, but he was already injured. The next week, Fuller revealed a clause in the contract claiming, "Because Armstrong lost (though

1428-463: The WWF and WCW as Miss Elizabeth , got her start in professional wrestling as an on-camera host (using the name "Liz Hulette", as she was known to her friends while growing up) of ICW's weekly TV show where she also started her romance with Randy Savage. They were later married. In 1984 the promotion closed down due to dwindling attendance and its assets were bought by Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler. Due to

1479-514: The Armstrongs and the Stud Stable then formed an alliance to battle Sullivan and his clique. Since Sullivan's faction were foreigners (kayfabe) who hated America, the alliance became American patriots. However, Sullivan brought up that Fuller could not wrestle because he was medically forced to retire, so Fuller set out to fluster Sullivan by donning his Tennessee Stud mask once again. In a throwback to Bob Armstrong's Bullet storyline, The Tennessee Stud arrived to wrestle on behalf of Ron Fuller. After

1530-547: The CWA to join ICW. This, among other issues, would result in a series of lawsuits between Poffo and NWA-affiliated organizations during the late 1970s and early 80s. The main stars of ICW were Poffo's sons Randy (better known as "Macho Man" Randy Savage) and Lanny (better known as "Leaping" Lanny Poffo) who frequently traded the promotion's heavyweight title between each other; in fact only two other men ( Ronnie Garvin and Paul Christy) held

1581-572: The Mountain Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (now the U.S. Veterans Affairs Medical Center and National Cemetery ), Mountain Home, Tennessee was created by an act of Congress introduced by Walter P. Brownlow . Construction on this 450-acre (1.8 km ) campus, which was designed to serve disabled Civil War veterans, was completed in 1903 at a cost of $ 3 million. Before

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1632-454: The champion. The following week, Hayes arrived in Dothan, AL , to defend the belt against Fuller. Fuller won and planned to leave the area to defend it. However, Fuller was "contractually obligated" to stay in the territory. Fuller tore up the contract, but TV announcer Charlie Platt revealed it was a photocopy. Bob Armstrong sneaked up behind Fuller, holding a piece of paper. When Fuller asked where

1683-451: The city's police force to draft into involuntary service as many of the town's citizens as necessary to aid police in making arrests and in preventing or quelling any riot, unlawful assembly or breach of peace. Johnson City is in northeastern Washington County, with smaller parts extending north into Sullivan County and east into Carter County. Johnson City shares a contiguous southeastern border with Elizabethton . Johnson City also shares

1734-533: The city. Johnson City and its metropolitan area had a gross metropolitan product of US$ 9.1 billion in 2019. Public art includes 12 to 15 sculptures that change every two years. Also, 24 bronze statuettes of animals indigenous to the Appalachian Highlands, cast by faculty and students at ETSU, are installed in various downtown locations; staff at the Johnson City Public Library created

1785-479: The city. The population density was 1,412.4 per square mile. There were 25,730 housing units at an average density of 655.1 units per square mile (252.9 units/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 90.09 percent white , 6.40 percent African American , 0.26% Native American , 1.22 percent Asian , 0.02 percent Pacific Islander , 0.69 percent from other races , and 1.32 percent from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.89 percent of

1836-556: The completion of this facility, the assessed value of the entire town was listed at $ 750,000. The East Tennessee State Normal School was authorized in 1911 and the new college campus directly across from the National Soldiers Home. Johnson City began growing rapidly and became the fifth-largest city in Tennessee by 1930. Together with neighboring Bristol , Johnson City was a hotbed for old-time music . It hosted noteworthy Columbia Records recording sessions in 1928 known as

1887-445: The fans' knowledge of the extremely bitter rivalry between ICW and CWA, Randy Savage was able to migrate to the CWA and begin a memorable feud with Jerry Lawler that established Randy Savage as a world-class superstar. In 2023, it was reported that WWE had purchased the ICW video library. Paul Christy , the wrestler who had ended Randy Savage's final reign as ICW World Champion, started a new ICW when Poffo's promotion folded. He ran

1938-485: The feud ended, Golden and Robert turned heel again, but Ron retired as a face. He made on and off again appearances on TV and at arena shows. However, he really worked behind the scenes. In 1988, he sold Continental Championship Wrestling (which became the Continental Wrestling Federation ) and retired from the business. Throughout the 1990s, he helped bring World Championship Wrestling (WCW) shows to

1989-400: The following weeks, Fuller talked with Bob Geigel, who declared on television, "If The Bullet is unmasked as Bob Armstrong, he is banned for life." Over the next two years, Fuller and his stable tried unmasking Armstrong, but never succeeded. In a steel cage match, Armstrong locked Fuller in the figure-four and kept it clamped on. The storyline was that the move broke Fuller's leg, giving him

2040-602: The medical "Med-Tech" corridor, anchored by the Johnson City Medical Center and Niswonger Children's Hospital, Franklin Woods Community Hospital, ETSU's Gatton College of Pharmacy, and ETSU's Quillen College of Medicine . The popular citrus soda Mountain Dew traces its origins to Johnson City. In 2012, PepsiCo announced a new malt-flavored version of the drink named Mountain Dew Johnson City Gold in honor of

2091-638: The old territory, but never worked full-time for the promotion. Following that he ran a series of shows in Knoxville at the Homer Hamilton Theater that ended up being a short-lived developmental area for WWE. Initially, Fuller retired to Tampa, Florida , but later moved to Tennessee, where he currently resides. In 2017, Fuller started a podcast called the Studcast reliving his family history in professional wrestling. On January 25, 2020, Fuller returned to

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2142-454: The original copy was, Platt replied, "Right behind you." When Fuller turned, Armstrong punched him and he fell over the announcers' table. Armstrong then gained his revenge on Fuller by winning the Continental title. In 1985, Fuller changed the name of the territory to Continental Championship Wrestling , to compete with Vince McMahon 's World Wrestling Federation . At that time, he created

2193-439: The population. There were 23,720 households, out of which 25.0 percent had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1 percent were married couples living together, 11.6 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.9 percent were non-families. 33.9 percent of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.5 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

2244-672: The promotion for a few years with little publicity or success before closing it down in the late 1980s. Another promotion called International Championship Wrestling operated out of Boston in the late 1980s, promoted by Angelo and Mario Savoldi, and Mario's son Joe Savoldi . After forming a working agreement with World Class Championship Wrestling , the Boston-based ICW was renamed International World Class Championship Wrestling (IWCCW). It included such stars as: The Russian Brute, Tom Brandi , Mike Kahula, Tony Rumble , and Nikolai Volkoff . International Championship Wrestling (ICW)

2295-477: The revamped league designed for rising college freshman and sophomores. In the United States House of Representatives , Johnson City is represented by Republican Diana Harshbarger of the 1st district. Johnson City is run by a five-person board of commissioners. The mayor is Todd Fowler, the vice mayor is Aaron Murphy, and the commissioners are Jenny Brock, Joe Wise, and John Hunter. The city manager

2346-556: The ring at the age of 72 teaming with his cousin Jimmy Golden to defeat the Dirty Blondes (Leo Brien and Mike Patrick) at Continental Championship Wrestling in Dothan, Alabama . In 2020, he added a new chapter to his business accomplishments, that of author, when he released his first book titled "Brutus". Unlike previous wrestlers, this book wasn't about the business. It's a fictional adventure, about an African lion that escapes into

2397-399: The town was one of several distribution centers for Chicago gang boss Al Capone during Prohibition. Capone had a well-organized distribution network within the southern United States for alcohol smuggling; it shipped his products from the mountain distillers to northern cities. Capone was, according to local lore, a part-time resident of Montrose Court, a luxury apartment complex now listed on

2448-539: The war, with Johnson elected as the city's first mayor on January 3, 1870. The town grew rapidly from 1870 until 1890 as railroad and mining interests flourished. However, the national depression of 1893 , which caused many railway failures (including the Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad or "3-Cs", a predecessor of the Clinchfield) and resulting financial panic, halted Johnson City's boom town momentum. In 1901,

2499-429: Was 2.20, and the average family size was 2.82. In the city, the population was spread out, with 19.8 percent under the age of 18, 13.7 percent from 18 to 24, 28.1 percent from 25 to 44, 22.5 percent from 45 to 64, and 15.9 percent who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males. The median income for

2550-516: Was held in the fall, with the finals occurring on September 9, 1980. The ICW U.S. Tag Team Championship Tournament was a one-night tag team tournament held in Johnson City, Tennessee on January 5, 1982, for the vacant ICW United States Tag Team Championship . Ron Fuller (wrestler) Ronald Welch (born March 3, 1948) is a retired professional wrestler and manager better known by his ring names Ron Fuller and Tennessee Stud . He

2601-798: Was the Johnson City Cardinals , who played in the Appalachian League as the Rookie affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals from 1975 to 2020. In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball beginning with the 2021 season, the Appalachian League was reorganized as a collegiate summer baseball league , and the Cardinals were replaced by the Johnson City Doughboys , a new franchise in

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