John Tenta

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"The Earthquake" redirects here. For other uses, see Earthquake (disambiguation).

John Tenta
Vancouver, British Columbia (as Earthquake)[2]
Mount Everett, Washington (as Avalanche)
Great Barrier Reef (as Shark)
Trained byGiant Baba[1]
Jumbo Tsuruta[1]
Great Kabuki[1]
Terry Gordy[1]
Debut1987[1]
Retired2004
Kototenzan Toshimitsu
琴天山 俊光
Tenta as Kototenzan in 1986
Personal information
Height1.97 m (6 ft 5+1⁄2 in)
Weight192 kg (423 lb; 30.2 st)
Career
StableSadogatake
Record21-0-7
DebutNovember 1985
Highest rankMakushita 43 (July 1986)
RetiredJuly 1986
Championships1 (Sandanme)
1 (Jonidan)
1 (Jonokuchi)
* Up to date as of May 2013.

John Anthony Tenta Jr. (June 22, 1963 – June 7, 2006)[1] was a Canadian professional wrestler and sumo wrestler (rikishi) best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation as Earthquake, though initially known as Canadian Earthquake.

After a promising start to his sumo career, using the name Kototenzan, Tenta switched to professional wrestling and became a high-profile star for the WWF, feuding with Hulk Hogan and winning the WWF Tag Team Championship as a member of The Natural Disasters with partner and personal friend, Typhoon.

His professional wrestling career also encompassed runs in World Championship Wrestling, where he was known as Avalanche and The Shark, All Japan Pro Wrestling and a return to WWF as Golga. Tenta died in 2006 after a long battle with bladder cancer.

Early life

John Tenta was born in Surrey, British Columbia. Named after his father, he was a large baby weighing 11 pounds, 3 ounces at birth.[5] Inspired by professional wrestlers Gene Kiniski and Don Leo Jonathan, Tenta decided to pursue wrestling at age 6. He learned freestyle wrestling at North Surrey Secondary, becoming a Canadian junior champion in 1981. Shortly after his 18th birthday, he finished sixth in the super-heavyweight category at the World Junior Wrestling Championships in Vancouver. Tenta won an athletic scholarship to Louisiana State University (LSU), where he competed in NCAA-level collegiate wrestling.[6] At LSU he was nicknamed "Big John" Tenta, lettering on the Tiger varsity wrestling team and participating on the football team. LSU dropped varsity wrestling to comply with Title IX in 1985, forcing Tenta to choose a new sport. Tenta subsequently walked on to the LSU football team, where he participated as a defensive tackle in a few junior varsity contests. While working as a bouncer at The Bengal, a LSU student club, he was also referred to as a "silent giant." Tenta also played rugby union for the LSU Rugby Club.

Sumo career

Tenta then moved to Japan to pursue a career in

sumōtori took the shikona name of Kototenta Toshikatsu (琴天太 俊克, Koto + Tenta), surname translated as Tenta the Harp.[7]

Beginning the sport at age 22, he entered nearly seven years later than many non-college aspirants. The combination of his size—he already weighed 423 lb (192 kg) at a height of 6' 5.75" (197 cm)[8]—and training as a wrestler were to his advantage in learning and advancing in the sport. The novice won all of his 24 bouts in his eight-month active career,[9] and was later renamed Kototenzan Toshimitsu (琴天山 俊光), surname meaning Heavenly Mountain Harp. The novelty of being a rare Westerner rikishi in the mid-1980s, and the third-ever white man, garnered him press coverage, and he earned the additional nickname of the "Canadian Comet".[10]

Despite doing well as a newcomer he soon quit the sport due to the difficulty of the sumo lifestyle and the toll the hard ring surface was taking on his body.

Tochinishiki), said Tenta had become arrogant after his run of consecutive victories. "He thought it would be easy. But there is no job in this world that is harder. It is better for him to leave."[12] He was, and remains, the rikishi with the most wins without a single loss.[citation needed
]

Sumo career record

Kototenzan Toshimitsu[14]
Year January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo		 March
Haru basho, Osaka		 May
Natsu basho, Tokyo		 July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya		 September
Aki basho, Tokyo		 November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
1985 x x x x x (Maezumo)
1986 West Jonokuchi #40
7–0
Champion
 		 East Jonidan #54
7–0–P
Champion
 		 West Sandanme #53
7–0
Champion
 		 East Makushita #43
Retired
0–0–7		 x x
Record given as wins–losses–absencies    Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation

Playoff
(s)
Divisions:
Jonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks: 
Maegashira

Professional wrestling career

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1987–1989)

NWA All Star Wrestling where he first competed as a babyface, but later turned heel
when he began being managed by "Gentleman" Jonathan Sayers. Tenta left AJPW in September 1989.

World Wrestling Federation (1989-1993, 1994)

Various feuds (1989–1991)

After making two

big splashes on the prone Warrior. Both then celebrated as Tenta was inaugurated into the WWF as a heel with Hart as his manager.[16] Tenta was pushed as The Canadian Earthquake – and by WrestleMania VI, simply Earthquake – an unstoppable monster heel
who often sent his opponents out on a stretcher after repeatedly hitting them with his sitdown splash.

Earthquake's first PPV appearance was when he replaced

sell Earthquake's attacks and shot on him. The match ended when Kitao was disqualified for kicking the referee. After the match, Kitao immediately grabbed a microphone and began telling the audience that wrestling is fake and that Tenta never could really beat him, as other Japanese wrestlers attempted to restrain him. The incident led to Kitao being fired from SWS.[22][23]

After WrestleMania VII, Earthquake instigated a feud with

Lord Alfred Hayes
; later, Earthquake revealed that the meat was ground from Damien's carcass. Heenan had already eaten three or four of the Burgers and Hayes was curious about the meat. Earthquake mentioned the animal from which the meat was taken rhymed with quake and Hayes said they were snake burgers. Hayes got sick and nearly threw up. Vince was angry over this and knocked the tray out of Earthquake's hands which knocked all the burgers onto the floor. Roberts and Earthquake feuded throughout most of late-spring and into the summer.

Natural Disasters (1991–1993)

Main article: The Natural Disasters

Later in 1991, Earthquake formed a tag team with Typhoon (Tenta's friend,

CMLL
in late 1993.

Singles run and departure (1994)

He returned to the WWF in January 1994 when he assisted Bret Hart in a match with Shawn Michaels by countering Diesel's interference. He defeated Adam Bomb in a quick squash match at WrestleMania X.[24] He then engaged in a short feud with Yokozuna, with whom he had a sumo match on Raw (the early days of Tenta's Sumo training were also revealed). Tenta won the sumo match. Earthquake was scheduled to face Owen Hart in a King of the Ring qualifying match. However, during a May 14, 1994 house show in San Jose, California, Earthquake had been injured by Yokozuna and Crush. Footage of Yokozuna hitting a Banzai Drop at the show was televised before the qualifying match to explain his absence in which Doink the Clown was his replacement. He again disappeared from WWF thereafter and returned to Japan for WAR.[25]

World Championship Wrestling (1994-1997, 1999)

Various alliances (1994–1996)

Main articles:
Dungeon of Doom

Personal financial difficulties led Tenta to contact

Meng with The Taskmaster) to face The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Lex Luger and Sting) in a WarGames match where they lost. On the October 9, 1995, edition of WCW Monday Nitro, Shark lost to Sting in a match for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. on the November 20 episode of Nitro, Shark lost to Scott Norton. Shark competed in the WCW World War 3 (60 Man Battle Royal in Three Rings) for the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship
which was won by Randy Savage.

Singles competition (1996–1997, 1999)

He eventually left the Dungeon of Doom and wrestled under his real name after delivering a

gimmicks he'd been forced into in the past, including the line "I'm not the Shark. I'm not a fish. I'm not an Avalanche. I'm a man".[5][27] On the May 27 episode of Nitro, Shark lost to The Giant in a match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. On the June 3 episode of Nitro, Tenta defeated Big Bubba by count-out. At the 1996 Great American Bash, he defeated Big Bubba Rogers; after the match Tenta cut Rogers' goatee off with a pair of scissors. On the June 17 episode of Nitro, Tenta defeated Big Bubba. On the July 1, 1996 edition of Nitro, Tenta got another shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against The Giant but failed to win the title. At Bash at the Beach 1996, Tenta defeated Big Bubba in a Carson City Silver Dollar match. During this time, Tenta began using "One Crazed Anarchist" as his entrance theme, which would later be adopted by Chris Jericho
.

Following a match with the Dungeon of Doom's Giant, Big Bubba Rogers, who had just joined the Dungeon, shaved half of Tenta's head. Tenta said he wouldn't shave off the other half because he looked in the mirror and relived the embarrassment. He would go out to get the mail and his neighbors would laugh. The two went on to feud against one another, with Rogers shaving off Tenta's beard as well after Tenta lost another match to The Giant. On the September 9 episode of Nitro, Tenta defeated Randy Savage by count-out. On the March 3, 1997, edition of Nitro, Tenta joined Roddy Piper as a member of his "family." The angle was quickly dropped and Piper instead joined forces with the Four Horsemen, dropping the members of his "family." Tenta left WCW in early 1997.

In 1999, Tenta returned to WCW for one night wrestling under his real name when he defeated Lash LeRoux on Monday Nitro in a dark match.

Return to WWF (1998–1999; 2001)

Main article: The Oddities
John Tenta in 2003. By the late 90s, Tenta notably lost weight and became leaner. This was why the Golga gimmick was given to him.

After his feud with Rogers, Tenta left WCW and resurfaced in the WWF on the May 25, 1998, episode of Raw is War under the name Golga. He wrestled under a mask as one of the Oddities and the character had a fascination with Eric Cartman from the TV series South Park. The gimmick was given to Tenta because he lost a considerable amount of weight, so much so that the WWF thought it wouldn't be believable for Tenta to reprise the Earthquake gimmick with the weight loss.

On the July 28 edition of Raw is War, he defeated

New Age Outlaws and X-Pac). On the November 23 edition of Raw is War, The Oddities were defeated by The Headbangers when the Insane Clown Posse turned on them. At Rock Bottom: In Your House, which took place in Tenta's hometown of Vancouver
. The Oddities (Golga and Kurrgan) lost to The Headbangers.

On the January 10, 1999 edition of Heat The Oddities (Golga and Kurrgan) got their revenge and defeated The Headbangers. Throughout the rest of January and February, The Oddities would lose to Too Much and The Disciples of Apocalypse on Heat and Shotgun Saturday Night. At the 1999 Royal Rumble, Golga competed in the Royal Rumble match entering at number 3 and quickly eliminated by Steve Austin. The last appearance of The Oddities was on the February 28, 1999 edition of Heat after the Ministry of Darkness beat them down when Kurrgan lost to The Undertaker, with all Oddities members being released.

Tenta did, however, return to the WWF with the Earthquake gimmick for a pair of appearances in 2001. In April he competed in the 20 Man Gimmick Battle Royal match at

dark match prior to a taping of SmackDown!
.

Independent circuit (1999–2002)

After leaving WWF, Tenta wrestled on the independent circuit, also working in England and Canada.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2002–2003)

He returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in November 2002 where he finished up his career in July 2003, being a part of the company's Pro Wrestling Love era. At this time, Tenta (dressed in his Earthquake singlet) became a top gaijin during the transition period of owner Mrs. Baba selling the company to Keiji Muto. Tenta rose up the card after "Dr. Death" Steve Williams left the company in January 2003, also the month Mrs. Baba permanently left and the new ownership fully in effect. Throughout 2003, Tenta had storyline feuds and matches against Keiji Muto and Mike Awesome, and Tenta would frequently team with Gigantes (Jerry Tuite), who went to All Japan after his independent circuit run as Malice ended.[28] Tenta would also wrestle in hardcore matches during his second run in AJPW.

Illness and death

Tenta retired from wrestling in 2004 after it was revealed that he had developed bladder cancer and was given a 20% chance to live, assuming he continued with his chemotherapy treatments. During his November 18, 2005 interview on WrestleCrap Radio, Tenta announced that a recent radiation dosage did not go as planned, and had no effect on the tumor. He also announced that multiple tumors had spread to his lungs. On June 7, 2006, Tenta died of bladder cancer, just 15 days shy of his 43rd birthday. The first public notice of his death was posted on WWE.com on the same day. On the June 9, 2006, edition of SmackDown, and the June 12, 2006, edition of Raw, WWE showed a bumper that read "RIP 'Earthquake' John Tenta" before each show began.

Other media

John Tenta's professional wrestling career garnered him appearances in several

Sega Genesis version). In 2004, the Japanese video game developer Spike released King of Colosseum II, a puroresu-wrestling game for PlayStation 2 that featured Tenta as a playable character; it was a Japan-only release. On April 14, 2009, Tenta was announced as downloadable content for WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 which was released April 16, 2009. On February 23, 2016, he along with Typhoon appeared as downloadable content for WWE 2K16. He also appeared in WWE 2K17 as well as WWE 2K18
along with Typhoon.

Championships and accomplishments

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "John Tenta Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Earthquake". WWE Alumni. WWE.
  3. ^ a b "1989 WWF Results". History of WWE.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2012. WWF @ Cincinnati, OH – Riverfront Coliseum – September 21, 1989; Earthquake Evans (w/ Slick) defeated an unknown
  4. ^ "1998 WWF Results". History of WWE.com. Retrieved March 22, 2012. WWA @ Lynn, MA – May 15, 1998; The Gargoyle (John Tenta) defeated Jim Cote
  5. ^ a b c d Hawthorn, Tom (June 12, 2006). "John Tenta, Wrestler 1963–2006". The Globe and Mail.
  6. ^ Andy Adams, "Kototenta: Canadian Comet!", Sumo World, May 1986, pg. 4
  7. ^ Gerry Toff, "Ex-Wrestling Champ to Enter Sumo", Sumo World, January 1986, pg. 11
  8. ^ Gerry Toff, "Ex-Wrestling Champ to Enter Sumo", Sumo World, January 1986, pg. 12
  9. ^ Andy Adams, "Kototenta: Canadian Comet!", Sumo World, May 1986, pg. 3
  10. ^ Andy Adams, "Kototenta: Canadian Comet!", Sumo World, May 1986, pg. 3-4
  11. ^ Andy Adams, "Kototenzan Quits Sumo!", Sumo World, September 1986, pg. 11
  12. ^ a b Yates, Ronald (July 6, 1986). "Sudden Sayonara To Sumo". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  13. ^ a b Andy Adams, "Kototenzan Quits Sumo!", Sumo World, September 1986, pg. 12
  14. ^ "Kototenzan Toshimitsu Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Archived from the original on May 27, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  15. ISBN 978-1-4928-2597-5
    .
  16. ^ "Earthquake is picked out of the crowd to assist Dino Bravo in a pushup contest: Superstars, Oct. 2, - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  17. ^ "Survivor Series 1989". Full Event Results. WWE. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  18. ^ "Full WrestleMania VI Results". WWE. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  19. ^ "SummerSlam 1990". Full Event Results. WWE. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  20. ^ "Royal Rumble 1991". Full Event Results. WWE. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  21. ^ "Full WrestleMania VII Results". WWE. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  22. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 28, 2007. Retrieved June 30, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. ^ Dilbert, Ryan. "WWE Alum Earthquake vs. Koji Kitao; a History of Pro Wrestling Shoots, Part 1". Bleacher Report.
  24. ^ "Full WrestleMania X Results". WWE. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  25. ^ "1994 Results". History of WWE.com. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  26. ^ Mac, Eddie (June 23, 2016), "This Day in Wrestling History (June 23): Austin 3:16 is Born", Cageside Seats (Retrieved: August 17, 2022)
  27. ^ Derrick Cannon, Wrestling Columns: A Tribute to John "Earthquake" Tenta Onlineworldofwrestling.com, August 21, 2004, Accessed June 20, 2006
  28. ^ Earthquake John Tenta compilation (AJPW All Japan TV December 2002 to July 2003), Al Balog, June 11, 2022, retrieved June 12, 2022 – via YouTube.
  29. ^ "Misc. All Japan Events". prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  30. ^ "PUROLOVE.com". www.purolove.com.
  31. ^ "Awards " Earthquake " Wrestlers Database " CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  32. ^ Hoops, Brian (April 17, 2020). "Daily pro wrestling (04/17): WCW Spring Stampede 1994". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  33. ^ "Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards" (in German). PuroLove. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2012.

External links

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