JJ
John Tenta Jr.
Actor
Died June 7, 2006 (42 years)
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.
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.
Filmography
| 2021 | |
| 2019 | Adrian Street: Imagine What I Could Do to You · as Earthquake |
| 2016 | WWE Royal Rumble · as Earthquake |
| 2015 | WWE Hall of Fame · as Earthquake |
| 2014 | Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story · as Avalanche |
| 2014 | WWE: The Attitude Era - Vol. 2 · as Golga |
| 2012 | Attitude Era · as Golga |
| 2011 | The Big Show: A Giant's World · as The Shark |
| 2010 | WWE: Bobby 'the Brain' Heenan · as Earthquake |
| 2009 | Hulk Hogan's Unreleased Collector's Series · as Earthquake |
| 2009 | WWE: Greatest Stars of the '90s · as Earthquake |
| 2009 | Starrcade: The Essential Collection · as Avalanche |
| 2009 | The WWE: The Best of Saturday Night's Main Event · as Earthquake |
| 2008 | The Life and Times of Mr. Perfect · as Earthquake |
| 2008 | Bigger, Stronger, Faster · as Cast |
| 2006 | Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology · as Earthquake |
| 2006 | The World's Greatest Wrestling Managers · as Earthquake |
| 2005 | Jake 'the Snake' Roberts: Pick Your Poison · as Earthquake |
| 2001 | WrestleMania X-Seven · as Earthquake |
| 1999 | WWF Royal Rumble: No Chance in Hell · as Golga |
| 1998 | WWF Rock Bottom: In Your House · as Golga |
| 1998 | Summerslam · as Golga |
| 1998 | WWE Heat (TV Series) · as Golga |
| 1998 | WWE Heat (TV Series) · as Golga |
| 1997 | WWF Shotgun Saturday Night (TV Series) · as Golga - The Oddities |
| 1996 | WCW Bash at the Beach · as John Tenta |
| 1996 | WCW the Great American Bash · as John Tenta |
| 1996 | WCW SuperBrawl VI · as The Shark |
| 1995 | WCW World War 3 · as Shark |
| 1995 | WCW Fall Brawl: War Games · as The Shark |
| 1995 | WCW Monday Nitro (TV Series) · as The Shark |
| 1995 | WCW Uncensored · as Avalanche |
| 1995 | WCW SuperBrawl V · as Avalanche |
| 1994 | Starrcade · as Avalanche |
| 1994 | Halloween Havoc · as Avalanche (appearance) |
| 1994 | WrestleMania X · as Earthquake |
| 1993 | Royal Rumble · as Earthquake |
| 1993 | WWE Raw (TV Series) · as Golga |
| 1992 | Survivor Series · as Earthquake |
| 1992 | Summerslam · as Earthquake |
| 1992 | WrestleMania VIII · as Earthquake |
| 1992 | Royal Rumble · as Earthquake |
| 1991 | Survivor Series · as Earthquake |
| 1991 | WWF Battle Royal at the Albert Hall · as Earthquake |
| 1991 | Summerslam · as Earthquake |
| 1991 | WWF UK Rampage '91 · as Earthquake |
| 1991 | WrestleMania VII · as Earthquake |
| 1991 | WWF Supertape Vol. 3 · as Earthquake |
| 1991 | Royal Rumble · as Earthquake |
| 1990 | Survivor Series · as Earthquake |
| 1990 | Summerslam · as Earthquake |
| 1990 | WrestleMania VI · as Canadian Earthquake |
| 1990 | Royal Rumble · as The Canadian Earthquake |
| 1989 | Survivor Series · as The Canadian Earthquake |
| 1986 | WWF Wrestling Challenge (TV Series) · as Earthquake |
| 1986 | WWF Superstars (TV Series) · as Earthquake |
| 1985 | WWE Prime Time Wrestling (TV Series) · as Earthquake - The Natural Disasters |