John Tenta

Canadian professional wrestler and sumo wrestler (1963–2006)

John Anthony Tenta, Jr. (June 22, 1963 – June 7, 2006) was a Canadian sumōtori and professional wrestler. He was best known for wrestling with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring names, Earthquake and Golga and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the ring names, Avalanche and The Shark.

John Tenta
Tenta performing a dropkick
Born(1963-06-22)June 22, 1963
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
DiedJune 7, 2006(2006-06-07) (aged 42)
Sanford, Florida, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Kototenta, Kototenzan (in sumo)
John Tenta
Earthquake Evans
Canadian Earthquake
Earthquake
Golga
Avalanche
The Shark
Billed height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Billed weight460 lb (210 kg)
Billed fromVancouver, British Columbia (as Earthquake)
Mount Everett, Washington (as Avalanche)
Great Barrier Reef (as Shark)
Trained byGiant Baba
Jumbo Tsuruta
Great Kabuki
Terry Gordy
Road Warriors
Dory Funk
Debut1987
Retired2004

He was also known for being a sumo wrestler where did quite well but retired from the sport due to the difficulty of the sumo lifestyle, the toll the hard ring surface was taking on his body and the large tattoo of a tiger on his left biceps which in Japan is associated with gangsters. He was born on June 22, 1963 in Surrey, British Columbia and died on June 7, 2006 in Sanford, Florida from bladder cancer.[1][2]

Championships

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Tenta held many championships during his professional wrestling career:

  • All Japan Pro Wrestling
    • January 2 Korakuen Hall Heavyweight Battle Royal (1988)[3]
    • World's Strongest Tag Determination League Fine Play Award (1988) – with Shunji Takano[4]
  • NWA All-Star Wrestling
    • NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (Vancouver version) (1 time)
    • UWA Heavyweight Championship (Vancouver version) (2 times)
  • Super World of Sports
    • SWS Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Typhoon[6]
  • Tokyo Sports
    • Rookie of the Year (1987)[7]

References

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  1. "John 'Earthquake' Tenta wrestled around world before death 15 years ago". Retrieved 11 February 2023.[permanent dead link]
  2. "Ex-LSU, WWF wrestler 'Earthquake' dies at 42". ESPN.com. 2006-06-08. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  3. "Misc. All Japan Events". prowrestlinghistory.com. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  4. "PUROLOVE.com". www.purolove.com.
  5. "Awards " Earthquake " Wrestlers Database " CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  6. Hoops, Brian (April 17, 2020). "Daily pro wrestling (04/17): WCW Spring Stampede 1994". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  7. "Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards" (in German). PuroLove. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2012.

Other websites

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