He was a father. He was a son. He was a wrestler. His name was John Anthony Tenta. His
life began on June 22nd, 1963 in Surrey, British Colombia. Born at over 11 pounds, it wasn't
surprising he grew into a large man. He became a wrestler and a football player for LSU after high
school. Later, he moved onto sumo wrestling. He traveled to Japan and that is where he meets his
wife. Back in the states, John began his career in American wrestling. For over 10 years, he
dedicated himself to wrestling. His family was growing alongside his career. He proved himself to
be a family man along with championship holding wrestler.
The life of the young John Tenta was as normal as any Canadian child. In talking to his
son I learned John Tenta Sr., John's father, was a logger. It was one of the riskiest jobs he could
have chosen. His mother, Irene, was a caterer. She knew hundreds of recipes and was a trusted
planner. John was the youngest of three children. He had two older sisters, Brenda and Iorna.
Being the only boy and his father an outdoors kind of man it could be assumed he saw some labor.
Little John at 6 years old soon learned his calling when instead of Saturday cartoons, his dad
switched the channels over to wrestling. He learned freestyle wrestling at North Surrey Secondary
and he became a junior champion by 1981. He was barely over 18 when he had won over 17 junior
Canada championships. John described himself as a clumsy boy that got himself hurt often. Much
of it became lost history since he did not get a chance to tell his son the crazier parts of his
childhood.
There weren't many things that could be found about before his college years. After high
school he moved on to Louisiana. Wikipedia states, he received a scholarship to LSU for NCAA-
level CollegiateWrestling. LSU had to drop the wresting team, forcing John to pick a new sport.
He then played of the Junior Varsity football team. With his huge build he quickly got the
nickname, “Big John.” A few of his buddies recall him lifting two guys and carrying them beneath
his arms. On weekends, he was the bouncer of the local college bar. He became so well liked they
called him “The Bengal”. His reputation only grew as a nice guy.
During a trip to Vancouver, he meets a former Yokozuna, a high ranking sumo wrestler.
Through him, he was recruited to Japan to pursue Sumo Wrestling. In October 1985, he joined a
sumo stable run by Kotozakura Masakatsu.(Wikipedia.com) This is where he got his first Alias in
his wrestling career. He was called “Kototenta” which means “Tenta the Harp”. Soon he proved
that he could be a great sumo wrestler. In just 6 months he won 17 ranked matches. His name was
promptly beefed up to “Heavenly Mountain Harp” or “Kototenzan”. He was the third western
sumo wrestler in the world. He was given media coverage over his achievements and was
nicknamed the “Canadian Comet” by the people of America.
John signed a big contract with All Japan Pro Wrestling, which was run by the legendary
Giant Baba, also a sumo wrestler. Soon, it had to come to an end though. He decided to quit when
he felt to harm it was doing to his body. Along with that, he could not achieve a higher rank
because of his large tattoo of a tiger from college. In Japan, tattoos were associated with gangsters
and were dishonorable. John Jr was told that before saying goodbye to Japan his dad found a one
of a kind keepsake, his mother Josephine. John Tenta and Josephine meet at a Japanese bar. She
was a beautiful Filipino singer who was a part of a band that played there.
Josephine came back with John to marry him in the United States. Not long after he
returned, wrestling promoters were seeking him. Many of them had followed his stories. He briefly
began wrestling under his own name, John Tenta, in March of 1989. He participated in what was
called “dark matches”. These were fights fought with the cameras off to warm up the crowd. He
was testing his talents under the radar. He signed with WWF, World Wrestling Federation on the
November of 1989. His first ever match with his new alias was in September of that year. He was
then to be known as “Earthquake Evans.”
Obsessedwithwrestling.com says that during Johns first televised show he was staged as a
random audience member to be brought into the ring. He was to sit on Bravo's back as he did a set
of pushups. Instead, he did a jumping sit and claimed his signature move for the rest of his career
as Earthquake. At the height of his fame he was paired with no other than Hulk Hogan. It was
coined a feud between them during May of 1990. A feud in wrestling was a staged rivalry between
multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. After a series of matches Hogan was named the
winner. John then became the winner of WrestleMania. Earthquake was then paired to feud Jake
"The Snake" Roberts which lasted all summer of 1991.
When the feud ended finally, John joined a team with his friend Fred Ottman who became
the Typhoon. Together they made the team The Natural Disasters. They fought for tag team titles
but were eventually sold out by their manager for another team. John left the WWF in January
1993 after losing to Bam Bam Bigelow the night after the Royal Rumble. He returned in January
1994 when he assisted Bret Hart in a match with Shawn Michaels by countering Diesel's
interference. Personal money troubles made John contact Hulk Hogan who lobbied to have John
come in WCW, World Championship Wrestling. John broke his WWF contract to join WCW. He
then changed his name to the Avalanche, but WWF sued since it resembled his past title. He was
then called “The Shark” when he joined a team Dungeon of Doom. This all happened in just a 3
year span between 1994 and 1997.
Another feud began between Big Bubba Rogers, one of his own team mates. This lead to
him leaving WCW to join WWF, again. He had lost weight during his absence so he had to choose
a more fitting name. He joined the team The Oddities and was given a name and persona to him.
He was now Golga which wore a leather mask and carried a Cartman plushy from southpark.
During this same time he ran a wrestling school out of Sanford, Florida.
(obsessedwithwresiling.com) The oddities disappeared in late 1999 though and John was on his
own again. He returned to WWF in 2001 as Earthquake. By 2004 he retired upon learning about
the appearance of cancer in his bladder and a lung tumor.
Throughout his wrestling career, he was also a family man. John’s family remembers he
could not be active in his family life due to his career. Josephine and he had three children
together. First was Jeff Tenta. He has his father’s stoutness and his mother’s complexion. He was
born around John's early 1980 career. Next was his daughter Joanna. She was born near the end of
the 80's. Last, but not least, was his youngest son, John Tenta Jr. He was born in 1992 around the
time of The Natural Disasters had. All three children got a glimpse of their father’s active life.
John Jr. recalled, “I remember him traveling a whole lot and being gone for several weeks at a
time. My family and I would tune in whenever he would be on TV and cheer him on. He and I also
watched a lot of his old tapes where my mom recorded him on TV. “As for backstage this was
where all the magic happened. John Jr. can describe his first taste of the prep before big wrestling
matches. “You need to stretch and get yourself ready for the match. With wrestling, it's also a very
personal type thing... As in the people get to know how the wrestlers act with all of those
interviews you see before matches.” He learned young that his father was putting on a show and
knew he really wasn't getting hurt. He traveled a lot and was always gone long periods of time.
When John was home, he was a great husband and a father. His family’s home was full of
laughter most of the time. Either it be a bouncy ball war in the living room or a heart filled talk at
the dinner table, it was a loving home. Tragic news hit the family hard one summer of 2004. John
Tenta developed bladder cancer near the end of his wrestling career. His family and friends
supported him and prayed for him to get well. His home became dark and solemn. John's family
was devout catholic followers. John Jr. could still remember their prayers. “We would pray the
Rosary every day and my dad would be blessed several times by our priest throughout his battle
...” He soon began to seek treatment and was put on chemo. John was active in keeping his fans up
to date. In November of 2004, he announced in an interview with Raw magazine that the chemo
failed and tumors had spread to his lungs. Johns family made the trip to Houston, Texas where
they could be close to his treatment. They decided to move there. John Jr. was just entering 6th
grade at the time.
They spent weeks in hotel rooms until they secured a house to live in. They found a place
just a few miles out of the busy city and close to the kid’s new schools. John was optimistic
throughout and kept his faith in God. The family went on as normal. If there were conflicts
between siblings or financial stress, he always handled them calmly. He thanked God for his life
and for his beautiful family. He traveled the world and was at peace was his life. Years went by
and he kept every one informed about his health. He involved himself with fans via internet
forums. He regularly was interviewed by magazines and radio stations. His oldest, Jeff was
engaged and his daughter was preparing for college. Soon though, the cancer began wearing down
his body. He kept his family calm and he let them be prepared for this moment. He did not want
them to blame God or themselves. He loved all of them and they were beside him always. In the
early morning of June 7th, 2006, John Anthony Tenta passed away. His family was with him and
he felt their love and sadness.
Now, in 2009, the Tenta family still moving on with the hint of their fathers love always
surrounding them.. Jeff Tenta has a son now and is happily married. They are going to visit
everyone in Christmas. Joanna is in her second year of college. She comes around every month.
John Jr. is a junior in high school and on the varsity football team. He lives with his mother
Josephine and developed the average teenage son/mother relationship. Its tougher now then it used
to be. Moneys tight and things were downsized to fit the family. They moved from their home to
an apartment. They still get support from the wrestling community. John friends he made during
his career kept in touch with them. John's sisters and parents call the kids and make sure
everything is going good. John's youngest, John Jr., wanted to add his own story and feelings. “I
would come home from school and walk into his room every day to find him working on a
crossword puzzle. When I walked in, he would set it down and we would talk until dinner time. He
ALWAYS had time for family within reason of his job, of course. It's ridiculous how much my
family is based off of love, which is heavily influenced by my dad. Even when he was wheelchair
bound, he would come out to watch me play football for my school, even though we had a losing
record of 08. As famous as my dad was, he was never one to hold that above his head. He was the
most humble, down to earth person I knew, even though he had every reason to be full of himself.
I knew John's family because I met John Jr. over the internet over 6 years ago. The family
knew me and I was acquainted with them through voice chat and web cam. John’s dad was a great
guy, but I never had the chance to meet the family. As much as I went through along with them, I
feel close as them as neighbors. John Tenta should be recognized as the man he was remembered.
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