John Tenta

Deceased Canadian Sumo turned professional wrestler best known for his work for WWE from 1989 to 1993. He went undefeated as a Sumo wrestler but left the sport out of frustration with the lifestyle and knowing he would never get elevated to Yokozuna (Grand Champion) status. He trained in All Japan Pro Wrestling and debuted for the promotion in 1987 and spent the next two years going back and forth between All Japan and Vancouver All-Star Wrestling and the UWA promotion in British Columbia, Canada. winning the UWA World Heavyweight Title twice and the UWA Canadian Heavyweight Title once. WWE signed him in 1989 and he worked some dark (non-televised) matches and house shows before making his first televised appearance in the U.S. as an audience plant named John on the November 11, 1989 "WWF Superstars of Wrestling." "Canada's Strongest Man" Dino Bravo (Adolph Bresciano) and manager "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart had thrown out an open challenge to the biggest guy in the audience to sit on Bravo's back while he did push-ups. "John" sat down on Bravo's back while Bravo did some push-ups. Then WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion the Ultimate Warrior (Jim Hellwig) made his way to the ring to take the challenge. John set up on Warrior's back and sat down on him. John and Bravo beat down the Warrior until referees cleared the ring. A week later, Hart and Bravo introduced "John" as the Canadian Earthquake, which was later shortened to Earthquake. He would get pushed as a monster heel immediately, including facing Hulk Hogan at "SummerSlam 90." Formed the Natural Disasters in 1991 with former nemesis Tugboat (Fred Ottman) after he turned heel on the Bushwhackers (Butch (Butch Miller) and Luke (Brian Wickens)) and became Typhoon. They turned face in 1992 after Hart betrayed them and got Money Inc. ("The Million-Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and IRS (Mike Rotunda)) the shot to dethrone the Legion of Doom (Hawk (Mike Hegstrand) and Animal (Joe Laurinaitis)) for the WWE World Tag Team Titles. The Disasters defeated Money Inc. for the belts in July and held them until Money Inc. regained them in October. Quake temporarily left WWE in 1993 and went back to Japan. He returned in 1994 and had a feud with Yokozuna (Rodney Agatupu Anoai before going to WCW. He was repackaged as Avalanche and teamed with Kevin Sullivan and the Butcher (Ed Leslie) as the Three Faces of Fear for a feud with Hulk Hogan, Sting (Steve Borden) and Randy Savage. He was repackaged again in June 1995 as the Shark of the Dungeon of Doom. He was kicked out of the group in May 1996, with Big Bubba (Ray Traylor) shaving off half of his hair. He dropped the gimmick and started wrestling under his own name until he left in 1997. He returned to WWE on the May 25, 1998 "WWE Raw Is War" as the masked Golga as part of the debut of the Oddities, with Luna Vachon (Trudy Vachon), the Giant Silva (Paulo Silva) and manager the Jackyl (Don Callis). The group, eventually reduced to Golga, Silva, Kurrgan (Robert Maillet) and George 'The Animal' Steele, were released in 1999. Tenta went back to Japan and the independents. He returned to WWE as Earthquake for the Gimmick Battle Royal at "WrestleMania X-7," which he lost. He finished out his career in Japan and retired in 2003 due to contracting bladder cancer, which ultimately killed him in 2006 at the age of 42.