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John Tenta Jr.
Actor

John Tenta Jr.

22 Jun 1963Born
7 Jun 2006Died
42Age at death
75Credits

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.

Read the full biography

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

Filmography

  1. 2014WWE: Attitude Era: Vol. 2Film: Golga
  2. 2006WWE: Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate AnthologyFilm: Earthquake
  3. 2001WWE WrestleMania X-SevenFilm: Earthquake
  4. 1999WWE Royal Rumble 1999Film: Golga
  5. 1998WWE Rock Bottom: In Your HouseFilm: Golga
  6. 1998WWE SummerSlam 1998Film: Golga
  7. 1998WWE HeatSeries: Golga (1 episode)
  8. 1996WAR Ryogoku Crush NightFilm
  9. 1996WCW Bash at the Beach 1996Film: John Tenta
  10. 1996WCW The Great American Bash 1996Film: John Tenta
  11. 1995WCW World War 3 1995Film: Shark
  12. 1995WCW Fall Brawl 1995Film: The Shark
  13. 1995WCW Monday NitroSeries: The Shark (2 episodes)
  14. 1995WCW Uncensored 1995Film: Avalanche
  15. 1995WCW SuperBrawl VFilm: Avalanche
  16. 1995WCW Clash of the Champions XXXFilm: Avalanche
  17. 1995WCW Clash of The Champions XXXFilm: Avalanche
  18. 1994WCW Starrcade 1994Film: Avalanche
  19. 1994WWE Paul Bearer's Hits From the CryptFilm: Earthquake
  20. 1994WCW Clash of The Champions XXIXFilm: Avalanche
  21. 1994WCW Halloween Havoc 1994Film: Avalanche (Appearance)
  22. 1994WWE WrestleMania XFilm: Earthquake
  23. 1994WWE March to WrestleMania XFilm: Earthquake
  24. 1993WWE Grudges, Gripes & GruntsFilm: Earthquake
  25. 1993Best of The British BulldogFilm: Terremoto
  26. 1993WWE Invasion of the BodyslammersFilm: Earthquake
  27. 1993WWE Bashed in the USAFilm: Earthquake
  28. 1993WWE Smack 'Em Whack 'EmFilm: Earthquake
  29. 1993WWE WrestleFest '93Film: Earthquake
  30. 1993WWE Wrestling Grudge MatchesFilm: Earthquake
  31. 1993WWE Royal Rumble 1993Film: Earthquake
  32. 1993RawSeries: John Tenta, Earthquake, Golga (1 episode)
  33. 1992WWE Survivor Series 1992Film: Earthquake
  34. 1992WWE Survivor Series Showdown 1992Film: Earthquake
  35. 1992WWE SummerSlam 1992Film: Earthquake
  36. 1992WWE World Tour 1992Film: Earthquake
  37. 1992WWE WrestleFest '92Film: Earthquake
  38. 19923rd Annual Battle of the WWE SuperstarsFilm: Earthquake
  39. 1992WWE Crunch ClassicFilm: Earthquake
  40. 1992WWE WrestleMania VIIIFilm: Earthquake
  41. 1992WWE March to WrestleMania VIIIFilm: Earthquake
  42. 1992WWE SuperTape: Volume 5Film: Earthquake
  43. 1992WWE Royal Rumble 1992Film: Earthquake
  44. 1991WWE Survivor Series 1991Film: Earthquake
  45. 1991WWE Survivor Series Showdown 1991Film: Earthquake
  46. 1991WWE Battle Royal at the Albert HallFilm: Earthquake
  47. 1991WWE SummerSlam 1991Film: Earthquake
  48. 1991WWE World Tour 1991Film: Earthquake
  49. 1991WWE SummerSlam Spectacular '91Film: Earthquake
  50. 1991WWE WrestleFest '91Film: Earthquake
  51. 1991WWE SuperTape: Volume 4Film: Earthquake
  52. 1991WWE Greatest HitsFilm: Earthquake
  53. 1991WWE U.K. Rampage 1991Film: Earthquake
  54. 1991SWS WrestleFestFilm: John Tenta
  55. 1991WWE Mega MatchesFilm: Earthquake
  56. 1991WWE WrestleMania VIIFilm: Earthquake
  57. 1991WWF The Main Event VFilm: Earthquake
  58. 1991WWE SuperTape: Volume 3Film: Earthquake
  59. 1991WWE Royal Rumble 1991Film: Earthquake
  60. 1990WWE Survivor Series 1990Film: Earthquake
  61. 1990Hulkamania ForeverFilm: Earthquake
  62. 1990WWE Survivor Series Showdown '90Film: Earthquake
  63. 1990WWE SummerSlam 1990Film: Earthquake
  64. 1990WWE SummerSlam FeverFilm: Earthquake
  65. 1990WWE WrestleFest '90Film: Earthquake (Ringside)
  66. 1990WWE WrestleMania VIFilm: Canadian Earthquake
  67. 1990WWE The Ultimate Challenge Special: The March to WrestleMania VIFilm: Earthquake
  68. 1990WWF The Main Event IIIFilm: Earthquake (Ringside)
  69. 1990WWE Royal Rumble 1990Film: The Canadian Earthquake
  70. 1989WWE Survivor Series 1989Film: The Canadian Earthquake
  71. 1988Clash of the ChampionsSeries: Avalanche (2 episodes)
  72. 1986WWF Wrestling ChallengeSeries: The Canadian Earthquake (5 episodes)
  73. 1986WWF SuperstarsSeries: Wrestler (Earthquake) (4 episodes)
  74. 1985WWE Saturday Night's Main EventSeries: Earthquake (6 episodes)
  75. 1973WWE Old SchoolSeries: Earthquake (1 episode)

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.