John Tenta

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
Died	June 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 height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Billed weight	460 lb (210 kg)
Billed from	Vancouver, British Columbia (as Earthquake) Mount Everett, Washington (as Avalanche) Great Barrier Reef (as Shark)
Trained by	Giant Baba Jumbo Tsuruta Great Kabuki Terry Gordy Road Warriors Dory Funk
Debut	1987
Retired	2004

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

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)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1990)
  • PWI ranked him No. 40 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1992^[5]

• Super World of Sports
  • SWS Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Typhoon^[6]

• Tokyo Sports
  • Rookie of the Year (1987)^[7]

• World Wrestling Federation
  • WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Typhoon

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Worst Tag Team (1998) with Kurrgan
  • Worst Gimmick (1998) as Golga, as part of The Oddities
  • Worst Feud of the Year (1996) vs. Big Bubba Rogers