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John Tenta Jr.

John Tenta Jr.

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.

See more on
WWE: Attitude Era: Vol. 2

WWE: Attitude Era: Vol. 2

2014

as Golga

WWE: Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology

WWE: Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology

2006

as Earthquake

WWE WrestleMania X-Seven

WWE WrestleMania X-Seven

2001

as Earthquake

WWE Royal Rumble 1999

WWE Royal Rumble 1999

1999

as Golga

WWE Rock Bottom: In Your House

WWE Rock Bottom: In Your House

1998

as Golga

WWE SummerSlam 1998

WWE SummerSlam 1998

1998

as Golga

WWE Heat

WWE Heat

1998

as Golga

WAR Ryogoku Crush Night

WAR Ryogoku Crush Night

1996

WCW Bash at the Beach 1996

WCW Bash at the Beach 1996

1996

as John Tenta

WCW The Great American Bash 1996

WCW The Great American Bash 1996

1996

as John Tenta

WCW World War 3 1995

WCW World War 3 1995

1995

as Shark

WCW Fall Brawl 1995

WCW Fall Brawl 1995

1995

as The Shark

WCW Monday Nitro

WCW Monday Nitro

1995

as The Shark

WCW Uncensored 1995

WCW Uncensored 1995

1995

as Avalanche

WCW SuperBrawl V

WCW SuperBrawl V

1995

as Avalanche

WCW Clash of the Champions XXX

WCW Clash of the Champions XXX

1995

as Avalanche

WCW Clash of The Champions XXX

WCW Clash of The Champions XXX

1995

as Avalanche

WCW Starrcade 1994

WCW Starrcade 1994

1994

as Avalanche

WWE Paul Bearer's Hits from the Crypt

WWE Paul Bearer's Hits from the Crypt

1994

as Earthquake

WCW Clash of The Champions XXIX

WCW Clash of The Champions XXIX

1994

as Avalanche

WCW Halloween Havoc 1994

WCW Halloween Havoc 1994

1994

as Avalanche (Appearance)

WWE WrestleMania X

WWE WrestleMania X

1994

as Earthquake

WWF March to WrestleMania X

WWF March to WrestleMania X

1994

as Earthquake

WWE Grudges, Gripes & Grunts

WWE Grudges, Gripes & Grunts

1993

as Earthquake

WWE Invasion of the Bodyslammers

WWE Invasion of the Bodyslammers

1993

as Earthquake

WWF Bashed in the USA

WWF Bashed in the USA

1993

as Earthquake

WWF Smack 'Em, Whack 'Em

WWF Smack 'Em, Whack 'Em

1993

as Earthquake

WWF: WrestleFest '93

WWF: WrestleFest '93

1993

as Earthquake

WWE Wrestling Grudge Matches

WWE Wrestling Grudge Matches

1993

as Earthquake

WWE Royal Rumble 1993

WWE Royal Rumble 1993

1993

as Earthquake

Raw

Raw

1993

as Earthquake (archive footage)

Raw

Raw

1993

as Earthquake

Raw

Raw

1993

as John Tenta

Raw

Raw

1993

as Golga

WWE Survivor Series 1992

WWE Survivor Series 1992

1992

as Earthquake

WWE Survivor Series Showdown 1992

WWE Survivor Series Showdown 1992

1992

as Earthquake

WWE SummerSlam 1992

WWE SummerSlam 1992

1992

as Earthquake

WWE World Tour 1992

WWE World Tour 1992

1992

as Earthquake

WWE WrestleFest '92

WWE WrestleFest '92

1992

as Earthquake

3rd Annual Battle of the WWE Superstars

3rd Annual Battle of the WWE Superstars

1992

as Earthquake

WWE Crunch Classic

WWE Crunch Classic

1992

as Earthquake

WWE WrestleMania VIII

WWE WrestleMania VIII

1992

as Earthquake

WWE March to WrestleMania VIII

WWE March to WrestleMania VIII

1992

as Earthquake

WWF SuperTape '92

WWF SuperTape '92

1992

as Earthquake

WWE Royal Rumble 1992

WWE Royal Rumble 1992

1992

as Earthquake

WWE Survivor Series 1991

WWE Survivor Series 1991

1991

as Earthquake

WWE Survivor Series Showdown 1991

WWE Survivor Series Showdown 1991

1991

as Earthquake

WWE Battle Royal at the Albert Hall

WWE Battle Royal at the Albert Hall

1991

as Earthquake

WWE SummerSlam 1991

WWE SummerSlam 1991

1991

as Earthquake

WWE World Tour 1991

WWE World Tour 1991

1991

as Earthquake

WWE SummerSlam Spectacular '91

WWE SummerSlam Spectacular '91

1991

as Earthquake

WWE WrestleFest '91

WWE WrestleFest '91

1991

as Earthquake

WWE SuperTape vol. 4

WWE SuperTape vol. 4

1991

as Earthquake

WWE U.K. Rampage 1991

WWE U.K. Rampage 1991

1991

as Earthquake

WWE Mega Matches

WWE Mega Matches

1991

as Earthquake

WWE WrestleMania VII

WWE WrestleMania VII

1991

as Earthquake

WWE The Main Event V

WWE The Main Event V

1991

as Earthquake

WWE SuperTape vol. 3

WWE SuperTape vol. 3

1991

as Earthquake

WWE Royal Rumble 1991

WWE Royal Rumble 1991

1991

as Earthquake

WWE Survivor Series 1990

WWE Survivor Series 1990

1990

as Earthquake

WWE Survivor Series Showdown '90

WWE Survivor Series Showdown '90

1990

as Earthquake

WWE SummerSlam 1990

WWE SummerSlam 1990

1990

as Earthquake

WWE SummerSlam Fever

WWE SummerSlam Fever

1990

as Earthquake

WWE WrestleFest '90

WWE WrestleFest '90

1990

as Earthquake (Ringside)

WWE WrestleMania VI

WWE WrestleMania VI

1990

as Canadian Earthquake

WWE The Ultimate Challenge Special: The March to WrestleMania VI

WWE The Ultimate Challenge Special: The March to WrestleMania VI

1990

as Earthquake

WWE The Main Event III

WWE The Main Event III

1990

as Earthquake (Ringside)

WWE Royal Rumble 1990

WWE Royal Rumble 1990

1990

as The Canadian Earthquake

WWE Survivor Series 1989

WWE Survivor Series 1989

1989

as The Canadian Earthquake

WWF Wrestling Challenge

WWF Wrestling Challenge

1986

as The Canadian Earthquake

WWF Wrestling Challenge

WWF Wrestling Challenge

1986

as Earthquake

SWS WrestleFest

SWS WrestleFest

as John Tenta

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