John Tenta (Earthquake) Bio,Facts,History & More...
John Tenta
http://www.accelerator3359.com/Wrest...ures/tenta.jpg
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 400 lbs
Real Name: John Tenta
DOB: 6/22/1963
DOD: 6/08/2006
Hometown: Surrey, British Columbia (announced as Montreal, Quebec)
Other Names: Kototenzan(Japan Sumo), The Canadian Earthquake(WWF), Earthquake(WWF), Avalanche(WCW), Shark(WCW), Golga(WWF)
Wrestler Since: 1987
Finishing Maneuver: Earthquake Splash, Aftershock
History:
The Beginning
John Tenta's wrestling career began in school, when he attended Louisiana State University in the 1980's. He competed on both the football and wrestling teams, using his growing size to dominate opponents in the heavyweight division. It was expected for Tenta to go into the wrestling field after school, and he did not disappoint. However, he went a different route than many expected, as he headed to Japan in January 1986, taking up the art of sumo wrestling! As Kototenzan (which is translated as "Heavenly Mountain Harp"), he trained hard as a sumo. However, only a year or so later, Tenta decided that his career needed to take another direction, as he was drawn into another field of the sport.
AJPW
Tenta trained under some true legends in Japan for his debut in professional wrestling, including Giant Baba, Jumbo Tsuruta, and the Great Kabuki. He also went to Vancouver for a time, training with Al Tomko, before debuting for All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1987. For the next few years, Tenta learned his craft in AJPW, working hard to become a skilled wrestling inside the squared circle. For a time, Tenta teamed regularly with one of his trainers, the Great Kabuki, forming a strong team that competed during the '87 Real World Tag League (which was won by another trainer of Tenta, Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu). Tenta's run in AJPW was so successful, he became visible on the radar overseas in the United States. In 1989, Tenta, at the age of 26, signed on with the World Wrestling Federation.
WWF: 1989
During November '89 in the WWF, Dino Bravo, along with his manager, "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart, was feuding with the Ultimate Warrior. During one television taping, Bravo, who claimed to be much stronger than the Warrior, challenged him to a push-up contest, with a 'random' fan from the audience sitting on their backs. When the Warrior agreed, Hart went out and 'chose' Tenta from the crowd, bringing him to the ring. Bravo easily did 20 push-ups with the huge Tenta on his back, but when the Warrior started his attempt, Tenta put all his weight on him, then gave him a Senton Splash, knocking him into the mat! Tenta then celebrated with Bravo & Hart, joining their heel stable. Soon enough, the world was introduced to the Canadian Earthquake.
The Earthquake was soon wrecking havoc on WWF programming, at the command of Jimmy Hart. The Earthquake's first PPV came soon after, as he joined with Bravo, "The Macho King" Randy Savage, and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine as the team of the King's Court at the '89 Survivor Series. They took on the 4x4's, consisting of "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, and the Mighty Hercules. The Earthquake was certainly the main force in the match, as he took out Hercules with the Earthquake Splash to eliminate him. Duggan was able to even things up by eliminating Valentine, but things soon went the way of the King's Court, as Bravo took out Garvin with his Side Slam, and (after Earthquake landed a lot of damage) Savage put away Hart with the Flying Elbow. The three wrestlers then beat on Hacksaw, but the match later depended on Savage's manager, Sensational Sherri, who tripped up Hacksaw at one point, causing Duggan to chase her on the outside, getting counted out. Just like that, the Earthquake had his first PPV victory in the WWF.
WWF: 1990
The Canadian Earthquake looked to be one of the favorites going into the '90 Royal Rumble, especially with Bravo also involved in the match. It seemed that the big man was going to live up to expectations, as he entered at #19 and quickly eliminated Dusty Rhodes and Demolition Ax. Unfortunately, the Earthquake proved to be too big a threat, as several wrestlers, led by Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, teamed up against him, eventually managing to toss out the huge wrestler. Hulk Hogan went on the win the Rumble. Still, the Canadian Earthquake was making waves in the WWF, as he began putting wrestlers on the shelf with his devastating finisher, the Earthquake Splash. The Earthquake also regularly added multiple splashes after the first one, which were called "Aftershocks".
At Wrestlemania VI, the Earthquake (dropping the "Canadian" moniker) took on another challenger in the Mighty Hercules. Although the big man had a bit of difficulty at first with Hercules' strength, it soon went the Earthquake's way, as he put away Hercules with an Earthquake Splash for the pin, then threw in a couple of Aftershocks afterwards (as Hart held back the referee) for good measure. The Earthquake's domination continued at Saturday Night's Main Event #26 a few weeks later, with the Earthquake surprisingly squashing Hillbilly Jim for another victory. Over the next few months, the Earthquake took out more opponents, eventually building himself into a main-event threat for the company. This led to his feud with one of the legends of the business, Hulk Hogan. On a special edition of the Brother Love show, Earthquake ambushed the Hulkster, repeatedly Splashing him and injuring the ribs of the legend, igniting their feud.
The two wrestlers met at Summerslam '90, with Hogan having the Big Boss Man in his corner (a substitute for Tugboat) to counter-act the effect of Bravo & Hart. During the match, Hogan repeatedly tried to slam the Earthquake, with no success. Late in the match, with Bravo having helped from the outside, the Earthquake got the Earthquake Splash on Hogan, then landed a 2nd one for good measure. However, Hogan kicked out of the pin and Hulked up, eventually slamming Earthquake! The two eventually fought to the outside, with Hogan driving Earthquake onto a table before rolling back into the ring, taking the win via Countout. It was not the last time the two men would meet, however, as they continued to feud for much of the next few months, in the runner-up for PWI's 1990 Feud of the Year (beaten out by WCW's Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger feud).
Going into November '90, the Earthquake formed the Natural Disasters, consisting of himself, Bravo, Haku, & the Barbarian, to take on the Hulkamaniacs (Hogan, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Tugboat, & the Boss Man) at the '90 Survivor Series. The Earthquake's team took the first hit early on, as the Boss Man eliminated Haku after the Boss Man Slam. Soon after, though, the Earthquake entered the ring to work on dominating the competition once again. It proved too much for Hacksaw, who got his 2x4 and used it as a weapon on Earthquake, hurting the big man but also causing Duggan to be DQ'ed. It did allow, however, Hogan to come in and bodyslam the still-stunned Earthquake, but the big man was able to come back and get a Powerbomb on Hogan to take control. However, after landing several shots on the Hulkster, the Earthquake opted to tag in Bravo, who was later surprised and rolled up by Hogan for the elimination! Earthquake evened the odds again by landing the Earthquake Splash on the Boss Man, making it 2-on-2. This soon became 1-on-1, as the Earthquake went nose-to-nose with the equally large Tugboat. The two men fought to the outside, leading to the Double Countout. The Barbarian tried to take advantage of a downed Hogan afterwards, but this, as usual, didn't work out, as Hogan Hulked up and defeated the Barbarian for the victory.
WWF: 1991
The Earthquake & Bravo continued to feud with Hogan & Tugboat into the new year, with the Earthquake once again one of the favorites going into the '91 Royal Rumble. The big man got a slightly better draw this time, entering at #22. He again had an immediate impact, sending out the Legion of Doom's Animal to remove a power player in the match. Earthquake would later eliminate Tito Santana and the British Bulldog to reach the final 3, along with "Nasty Boy" Brian Knobbs and the Hulkster. Although the heels tried double-teaming Hogan, including an Earthquake Splash, it failed, as Hogan was able to come back and eliminate Knobbs with the Big Boot. The Earthquake made a comeback of his own after Hogan failed to slam him, but Hogan was again too much, clotheslining Earthquake out of the ring to make him the runner-up of the Rumble, being unable to put the Hulkster away.
Only a few weeks later, the Earthquake & Bravo teamed up to try and finally get a win over Hogan & Tugboat at The Main Event V. Unfortunately, things went as they usually did, with Hogan's team taking the win. Soon after, possibly having realized the futility of taking on Hogan, the Earthquake faded from the main event spot, instead taking on lesser wrestlers and using his size and strength to destroy them. At Wrestlemania VII, the Earthquake took on a former ally in Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. The Earthquake managed to fight off the Figure Four Leglock, then, thanks to a distraction from Hart, he took advantage, squashing Valentine to get another Wrestlemania victory.
Over the next few months, Earthquake entered into a feud with Jake "The Snake" Roberts, with Earthquake showing some fear of Jake's snake, Damian. However, in one of the most shocking moments in WWF history, Earthquake took care of the problem, grabbing the bag with Damian in it and squashing it! The squashing itself wasn't shown on tv, as they cut away from the assault, but it was clear that Damian wasn't coming back to television any time soon. The two wrestlers fought several times, without any real resolution to the feud. Instead, Earthquake took a different track, as he found a new tag-team partner: shockingly, Hogan's ally, Tugboat! The large wrestler changed his name to Typhoon, with the two men forming the threatening tag-team of the Natural Disasters.
***History 2 B Continued***
Pay-Per-View/Show Summary:
- AJPW Budokan Hall (June 9, '87) = John Tenta won over George Weingroff.
- AJPW Budokan Hall (October 6, '87) = Tenta, Hiroshi Wajima, & Giant Baba defeated Tiger Jeet Singh, Rusher Kimura, & Goro Tsurumi.
- AJPW Real World Tag League '87 (November/December) = Tenta & the Great Kabuki competed in the league, which was won by Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu.
- AJPW Budokan Hall (December 11, '87) = Tenta & the Great Kabuki beat Tom Zenk & the Terminator.
- AJPW Budokan Hall (March 27, '88) = Tenta & Yoshiaki Yatsu fell to Tiger Jeet Singh & Abdullah the Butcher.
- AJPW Budokan Hall (June 10, '88) = Tenta forced Havanna the Terror to submit.
- AJPW Real World Tag League '88 (November/December) = Tenta & Shunji Takano competed in the league, which was won by Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy.
- AJPW Budokan Hall (December 16, '88) = Tenta & Shunji Takano lost to Jimmy Snuka & Tiger Mask.
- AJPW Budokan Hall (September 2, '89) = Tenta & the Great Kabuki defeated Pez Whatley & Tiger Conway Jr.
- WWF Survivor Series '89 (November 23) = The Canadian Earthquake, Dino Bravo, Randy Savage & Greg Valentine fought in an "Elimination" Match against Jim Duggan, Bret Hart, Ronnie Garvin & Hercules. Earthquake, Bravo & Savage "survived".
- WWF Royal Rumble '90 (January 21) = Earthquake competed in the Royal Rumble, which was won by Hulk Hogan.
- WWF WrestleMania VI (April 1, '90) = Earthquake defeated Hercules.
- WWF Saturday Night's Main Event #26 (April 23, '90) = Earthquake pinned Hillbilly Jim.
- WWF Summerslam '90 (August 27) = Earthquake lost, via countout, to Hulk Hogan.
- WWF Survivor Series '90 (November 22) = Earthquake, Dino Bravo, Haku & the Barbarian fought in an "Elimination" Match against Hulk Hogan, Jim Duggan, Tugboat & the Big Boss Man. Earthquake and Typhoon were counted out. Hogan was the sole 'survivor'.
- WWF Royal Rumble '91 (January 19) = Earthquake competed in the Royal Rumble, which was won by Hulk Hogan.
- WWF The Main Event V (January 28, '91) = Earthquake & Dino Bravo were beaten by Hulk Hogan & Tugboat.
- WWF WrestleMania VII (March 24, '91) = Earthquake took down Greg Valentine.
- SWS Tokyo Dome (March 30, '91) = Earthquake beat Koji Kitao.
- WWF Saturday Night's Main Event #29 (April 15, '91) = Earthquake competed in a Battle Royal, which was won by Mr. Perfect.
- WWF UK Rampage 1991 (April 24) = Earthquake won, via countout, over Jake Roberts.
- WWF At The Omni (May 3, '91) = Earthquake won, via DQ, over Jake Roberts.
- WWF Summerslam '91 (August 26) = The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon) defeated the Bushwhackers.
- WWF Royal Albert Hall Show (October 3, '91) = Earthquake pinned the Big Boss Man. Later on, Earthquake competed in a Battle Royal, which was won by Davey Boy Smith.
- WWF Survivor Series '91 (November 28) = The Natural Disasters & Irwin R. Schyster fought in an "Elimination" Match against The Big Boss Man & the Legion of Doom. Earthquake was counted out. The Legion of Doom 'survived'.
- SWS Tokyo Dome (December 12, '91) = The Natural Disasters lost to the WWF Tag Champs, the Legion of Doom.
- WWF At The Omni (January 5, '92) = The Natural Disasters fell to the Legion of Doom.
- WWF Royal Rumble '92 (January 19) = The Natural Disasters won, via countout, over the WWF Tag Champs, the Legion of Doom.
- WWF WrestleMania VIII (April 5, '92) = The Natural Disasters won, via countout, over the WWF Tag Champs, Money Inc.
- WWF Summerslam '92 (August 29) = The Natural Disasters stayed the WWF Tag Champs, beating the Beverly Brothers.
- WWF Survivor Series '92 (November 22) = The Natural Disasters & the Nasty Boys fought in a "Tag-Team Elimination" Match against Money Inc & the Beverly Brothers. The Disasters were eliminated when Typhoon was pinned by Irwin R. Schyster. The Nasty Boys were the sole 'survivors'.
- WWF Royal Rumble '93 (January 24) = Earthquake competed in the Royal Rumble, which was won by Yokozuna.
- WAR Sumo Hall (April 2, '93) = Earthquake defeated the Renegade.
- NJPW Budokan Hall (June 15, '93) = John Tenta & Haku lost to the IWGP Tag-Team Champs, the Hellraisers.
- NJPW Budokan Hall (June 17, '93) = Tenta & Haku defeated Tony Halme & the Barbarian.
- WAR Sumo Hall (December 15, '93) = Tenta beat the Warlord.
- WAR Sumo Hall (July 17, '94) = Tenta, Ashura Hara & Jinsei Shinzaki won over Hiromichi Fuyuki, Gedo & Jado. Later on, Tenta, Hara & Shinzaki beat Koki Kitihara, Takashi Ishikawa & Koji Ishinriki, then lost in the finals of the Six-Man Tag-Team Tournament to Genichiro Tenryu, Atsushi Onita & Bam Bam Bigelow.
- UWFI Budokan Hall (October 8, '94) = Tenta & Super Vader lost to Gary Albright & Kazuo Yamazaki.
- WCW Clash of the Champions XXIX (November 16, '94) = Avalanche, Kevin Sullivan & the Butcher fell to Hulk Hogan, Dave Sullivan & Sting. Mr. T was the special referee.
- WCW Starrcade '94 (December 27) = Avalanche lost, via DQ, to Sting.
- WCW Clash of the Champions XXX (January 25, '95) = Avalanche was forced to submit to Sting.
- WCW SuperBrawl V (February 19, '95) = Avalanche & Big Bubba were beaten by Randy Savage & Sting.
- WCW Uncensored '95 (March 19) = Avalanche lost, via DQ, to Randy Savage.
- WCW Fall Brawl '95 (September 17) = Shark, Meng, Kamala & Zodiac lost a "Wargames" Match to Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Lex Luger & Sting.
- WCW World War 3 '95 (November 26) = Shark competed in the "WWIII 3-Ring Battle Royal", which was won by Randy Savage.
- WCW Slamboree '96 (May 19, '96) = In a dark match, Shark & Maxx fell to Marcus Bagwell & Scotty Riggs.
- WCW Great American Bash '96 (June 16) = Tenta pinned Big Bubba.
- WCW Bash at the Beach '96 (July 7) = Tenta won a "Carson City Silver Dollar" Match over Big Bubba.
- WAR Sumo Hall (July 20, '96) = Tenta, Osamu Taitoko & Arashi defeated Koji Kitao, Koki Kitihara & Maasaki Mochizuki, then fell to Nobuhiko Takada, Koki Kitihara & Yuhi Sano in the WAR Six-Man Tag-Team Title Tournament.
- WAR Sumo Hall (July 21, '96) = Tenta was pinned by Arashi.
- WAR Sumo Hall (December 13, '96) = Tenta lost to Koji Kitao.
- WWF SummerSlam '98 (August 13) = Golga, Kurrgan & Giant Silva won a "Handicap" Match over Taka Michinoku, Sho Funaki, Mens Teioh & Dick Togo.
- WWF Breakdown (September 27, '98) = In a dark match, Golga defeated Mosh.
- WWF Judgment Day '98 (October 18) = In a dark match, Golga, Kurrgan & Giant Silva won over Jose Estrada, Miguel Perez & Jesus Castillo.
- WWF Rock Bottom (December 13, '98) = Golga & Kurrgan lost to the Headbangers.
- WWF Royal Rumble '99 (January 24) = Golga competed in the Royal Rumble, which was won by Vince McMahon.
- WrestleMania X-7 (April 1, '01) = Earthquake competed in the "Gimmick Battle Royal", which was won by the Iron Sheik.
- AJPW Budokan Hall (December 6, '02) = Tenta & Genichiro Tenryu beat Keiji Mutoh & Road Warrior Animal.
- AJPW Budokan Hall (February 23, '03) = Tenta, Jimmy Yang & Gigantes fell to Genichiro Tenryu, Yoji Anjoh & Kaz Hayashi.
- AJPW Budokan Hall (July 19, '03) = Tenta, George Hines & Robbie Brookside defeated Hiroshi Hase, Shigeo Okumura & Masayuki Kono.
Title Summary:
- UWA Canadian Heavyweight Champion
- WWF World Tag-Team Champion w/ Typhoon
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RIP
