John Tenta Jr.

Biography

John Anthony Tenta, Jr. was a Canadian sumōtori and professional wrestler best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation as Earthquake. After a promising start to his sumo career, using the nameKototenzan, 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 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 lengthy battle with cancer. Tenta retired from wrestling in 2004 after it was revealed that he had developed bladder cancer and was told he 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. The first public notice of Tenta's death was posted on WWE.com on June 7, 2006. 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 video games. In 1991, Tenta as Earthquake was portrayed as a feature character in Technos' popular arcade video game WWF WrestleFest. He was also included in the 1992 home video game WWF Super WrestleMania by LJN for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (he wasn't in the 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.

Known For

Avalanche

WCW Clash of the Champions XXX

Earthquake

WWE Grudges, Gripes & Grunts

Earthquake

WWE Paul Bearer's Hits from the Crypt

Earthquake

3rd Annual Battle of the WWE Superstars

Earthquake

WWE Wrestling Grudge Matches

Earthquake (Ringside)

WWE WrestleFest '90

Earthquake

WWE WrestleFest '91

Earthquake

WWE WrestleFest '92

Earthquake

WWE Crunch Classic

Earthquake

WWF Smack 'Em, Whack 'Em

Earthquake

WWE SuperTape vol. 3

Earthquake

WWE SuperTape vol. 4

Earthquake

WWF SuperTape '92

Earthquake

WWF Bashed in the USA

Earthquake

WWE Invasion of the Bodyslammers

Earthquake

WWE Mega Matches

Earthquake

WWE World Tour 1991

Earthquake

WWE World Tour 1992

Earthquake

WWE WrestleMania VII

Earthquake

WWE Royal Rumble 1991

Golga

WWE Royal Rumble 1999

John Tenta

WCW Bash at the Beach 1996

Canadian Earthquake

WWE WrestleMania VI

Earthquake

WWE Survivor Series 1990

Earthquake

WWE SummerSlam 1991

Earthquake

WWE Survivor Series 1992

Earthquake

WWE SummerSlam 1990

Golga

WWE Rock Bottom: In Your House

Golga

WWE SummerSlam 1998

Avalanche

WCW Starrcade 1994

Avalanche

WCW SuperBrawl V

Avalanche

WCW Uncensored 1995

The Shark

WCW Fall Brawl 1995

Earthquake

WWE: Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology

The Canadian Earthquake

WWE Royal Rumble 1990

John Tenta

WCW The Great American Bash 1996

Earthquake

WWE WrestleMania X-Seven

Earthquake

WWF: WrestleFest '93

Avalanche (Appearance)

WCW Halloween Havoc 1994

Golga

WWE: Attitude Era: Vol. 2

The Canadian Earthquake

WWE Survivor Series 1989

Earthquake

WWE The Ultimate Challenge Special: The March to WrestleMania VI

Earthquake

WWE Survivor Series Showdown '90

Earthquake

WWE SummerSlam Fever

Earthquake (Ringside)

WWE The Main Event III

Earthquake

WWE The Main Event V

Earthquake

WWE U.K. Rampage 1991

Earthquake

WWE SummerSlam 1992

Shark

WCW World War 3 1995

Earthquake

WWE Survivor Series Showdown 1992

Earthquake

WWE SummerSlam Spectacular '91

Earthquake

WWE Battle Royal at the Albert Hall

Earthquake

WWE Survivor Series Showdown 1991

Earthquake

WWE Survivor Series 1991

WAR Ryogoku Crush Night

Earthquake

WWE Royal Rumble 1992

Earthquake

WWE Royal Rumble 1993

Earthquake

WWE March to WrestleMania VIII

Earthquake

WWE WrestleMania VIII

Earthquake

WWE March to WrestleMania X

Earthquake

WWE WrestleMania X

Avalanche

WCW Clash of The Champions XXIX

Avalanche

WCW Clash of The Champions XXX

John Tenta

SWS WrestleFest