Age, Height, Cause Of Death & More


The Golden Era of WWE was a breeding ground for gargantuan grapplers to shine on the biggest stage: among them was Earthquake. The supersized Canadian was one of the era’s burliest performers, weighing over 500 pounds at his heaviest, but performing at a time when size trumped in-ring quality allowed the real-life John Tenta to become a memorable figure for decades after.

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Ahead of his anticipated Hall of Fame induction in 2025, there is a ton to learn about the former Tag Team Champion, including his background as a sumo wrestler, what caused his death at the tender age of 42, and who helped get him signed to WCW.

Hulk Hogan Helped Get Earthquake A WCW Contract

The Two Were Previously Rivals In The WWF

Hulk Hogan v Earthquake SummerSlam 1990 Cropped

  • Earthquake jumped to WCW in 1994.
  • Hulk Hogan lobbied to get him signed.
  • The two were friends outside the ring, as well as previous on-screen rivals.

By the spring of 1994, Earthquake was facing financial difficulties, which resulted in him leaving Vince McMahon’s sports entertainment empire to join the fledgling World Championship Wrestling. However, it was a friend from within, Hulk Hogan, who helped him obtain a WCW deal.

Hogan,

who contested a notable feud vs. ‘Quake in the then-World Wrestling Federation
, is said to have “lobbied” to get Earthquake signed to WCW. They wrestled a further ten times in the Ted Turner-helmed group, including being on opposing sides in the 1994 War Games match.

Earthquake Wrestled Under Multiple Gimmicks

He Became The Shark In WCW

john-tenta-shark-wcw

Name

Years Used

John Tenta

1987-1989, 1996-1998, 2002-2004

Earthquake Evans

1989

The Canadian Earthquake

1989-1990

Earthquake

1990-1994, 1999-2002

Avalanche

1994-1995

The Shark

1995-1996

Golga

1998-1999

Though he is most famous for portraying Earthquake in WWE, John Tenta wrestled under a variety of gimmick-heavy characters, including Golga during the Attitude Era. In WCW, though, he played the roles of both Avalanche and The Shark, the former of which saw WWE threaten legal action for its closeness to the Earthquake persona.

When he became The Shark, Earthquake took it upon himself to cover his tattoo of the Louisiana State University Tigers tattoo with that of, unsurprisingly, a shark, a process that took a reported 24 hours to complete.

Earthquake Was 42 Years Old

He Was A Canadian Native

Earthquake-wwe

Date Of Birth

Place Of Birth

June 22, 1963

Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

Earthquake was in his mid-twenties when he first joined the World Wrestling Federation. He was born John Anthony Tenta, Jr. on June 22, 1963 in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, sharing a birth year with other heralded wrestling figures, such as Billy Gunn (November 11), Masahiro Chono (September 17), and both members of The Gangstas, New Jack (January 3) and Mustafa Saed (September 30).

Earthquake Was A Gargantuan Performer

He Was Classed As A Superheavyweight

earthquake

Billed Height

Billed Weight

6’7″

468 pounds

Given Earthquake’s scale-tipping weight of 468 pounds, he is rarely celebrated as one of the tallest wrestlers in history, but his height is still remarkable: he was six feet seven inches tall.

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Earthquake’s weight was always impressive, even from birth, as he weighed 11 pounds and 3 ounces.

Earthquake Dabbled In Various Sports

He Was A Sumo Wrestler Before Becoming A Pro Wrestler

Earthquake vs Koji Kitao

  • Before he was Earthquake, John Tenta was active in a range of sports.
  • He was a champion freestyle wrestler and won an athletic scholarship.
  • He was also a successful sumo wrestler.

Before he became a professional wrestler, the real-life John Tenta preserved his fitness by participating in a range of sports. He was a champion freestyle wrestler at North Surrey Secondary in 1981, which he also studied at Louisiana State University on an athletic scholarship, while in 1985, he began life as a sumo wrestler.

In the field, Earthquake was mightily impressive, winning all 24 bouts he partook in, but he opted to call it quits after only eight months, owing to the physical toll it took on his body (H/T Chicago Tribune):

“Nothing I have ever done, not football, not college wrestling, compares with the kind of physical abuse you inflict on your body in sumo.”

Earthquake Was A Royal Rumble Runner-Up

He Came Close To Winning The 1991 Rumble

Entry Number

Eliminated By

Time In Match

22

Hulk Hogan

24:42

Competing in two Royal Rumble matches throughout his WWE career, Earthquake’s best showing came in his second, the 1991 Rumble. Entering at number 22, the Canadian tank lasted a commendable 24 minutes and 42 seconds, and ousted four other contenders on his path to the final two: Road Warrior Animal, Bushwhacker Luke, Tito Santana, and The British Bulldog.

Ultimately, though, Earthquake was the runner-up, not the winner, as

Hulk Hogan sent him packing to win his second of two Royal Rumble matches
.

Earthquake Was A One-Time Champion In WWE

He Found Success With Typhoon

The Natural Disasters WWF Tag Team Champions

Championship

Length

WWF Tag Team Championships

85 days

Although he never had luck as a championship-winning singles act, Earthquake found glory as a tag team grappler, forming The Natural Disasters with his close friend Typhoon in 1991. Together, they had one reign as the WWF Tag Team Champions.

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Usurping Money, Inc. at a July 1992 live event, the superheavyweight duo reigned for just 85 days before Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster took the titles back that October.

Earthquake Passed Away After Fighting Bladder Cancer

He Died In The Summer Of 2006

Earthquake wrestling in WWE.

Date Of Death

Place Of Death

June 7, 2006

Sanford, Florida

Earthquake was forced into early retirement following his final match in 2003 as a bout with bladder cancer became his latest quest to conquer. Tragically, after being given a 20% chance of survival, he passed away on June 7, 2006, just over two weeks away from his 43rd birthday.

He is survived by his wife, Josephine, and their three children, Jeff, Joanna, and John.



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