John Tenta

John Tenta
Birth nameJohn Anthony Tenta Jr.
Born(1963-06-22)June 22, 1963[1]
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
DiedJune 7, 2006(2006-06-07) (aged 42)[1]
Sanford, Florida, United States
Cause of deathBladder cancer
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Avalanche[2]
The Canadian Earthquake[2]
Earthquake Evans[3]
The Gargoyle[4]
Golga[1]
John Tenta[1]
Kototenta[1] (sumo)
Kototenzan[1] (sumo)
The Shark[2]
Billed height6 ft 7 in (201 cm)[2]
Billed weight468 lb (212 kg)[2]
Billed fromVancouver, 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
Personal information
Height1.97 m (6 ft 5+12 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 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.

  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. ^ "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