Earthquake
Real name: John Anthony Tenta Jr
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 460lbs
From: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Date of birth: June 22, 1963
Died: June 7, 2006
Pro debut: May 1, 1987
Trained by: All Japan Dojo
Finishing move: Earthquake Splash
Biography
– Tenta was an accomplished freestyle wrestler in his youth, becoming Canadian Junior Champion in 1981, and would later place sixth in that year’s World Junior Championships
– Tenta went on to compete for Louisiana State University at NCAA level, but would move to Japan following LSU’s disbanding of their wrestling team
– In October 1985, Tenta joined the Sadogatake sumo stable, where he would take on the name Kototenta. He would go 21-0 in his early sumo career, but grew tired of the grueling schedule and opted to leave the sport in favour of pursuing a career in pro wrestling
– After training under Giant Baba, Tenta debuted alongside him on May 1, 1987, the duo defeating the team of Rusher Kimura & Goro Tsurumi
– In June 1987, Tenta was sent to All-Star Wrestling for further training
– On August 1, Tenta defeated JR Bundy to win the UWA Canadian Heavyweight Title
– Tenta returned to All Japan in October 1987
– In March 1989, Tenta worked a pair of dark match for the WWF. He would sign full-time with the company in September
– Tenta debuted for the promotion as a planted fan in November, attacking The Ultimate Warrior
– At Survivor Series 1989, The King’s Court (Earthquake, Randy Savage, Dino Bravo & Greg Valentine) defeated The 4x4s (Jim Duggan, Bret Hart, Ronnie Garvin & Hercules)
– At WrestleMania VI, Earthquake defeated Hercules
– Earthquake would engage in a lengthy and memorable feud with Hulk Hogan through the second half of 1990 and into early 1991
– At WrestleMania VII, Earthquake defeated Greg Valentine
– In mid 1991, Earthquake and Typhoon formed ‘The Natural Disasters’
– At Summerslam 1991, The Natural Disasters defeated The Bushwhackers (Luke & Butch)
– At Royal Rumble 1992, The Natural Disasters defeated WWF Tag Team Champions The Legion Of Doom (Hawk & Animal) by countout
– At WrestleMania VIII, The Natural Disasters defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Money Inc (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R Schyster) by countout
– On April 17, The Natural Disasters defeated George Takano & Shunji Takano to win the SWS Tag Team Titles, but would lose them to Yoshiaki Yatsu & King Haku the next day
– On July 20, 1992, The Natural Disasters defeated Money Inc (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R Schyster) to win the WWF Tag Team Titles
– At Summerslam 1992, The Natural Disasters defeated The Beverly Brothers (Beau & Blake) to retain the WWF Tag Team Titles
– At Survivor Series 1992, The Natural Disasters & The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags) defeated Money Inc (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R Schyster) & The Beverly Brothers (Beau & Blake)
– In February 1993, Tenta returned to Japan for a run with the WAR promotion
– In January 1994, Tenta returned to the WWF, but would be back in Japan by the summer
– In October 1994, Tenta signed with WCW and was initially given the name ‘Avalanche’, a member of Kevin Sullivan’s 3 Faces Of Fear stable
– In the summer of 1995, Tenta underwent a gimmick change, becoming ‘The Shark’, a member of the Dungeon Of Doom
– Almost exactly a year later, Tenta cut a worked shoot promo, deriding his previous WCW gimmicks and starting to work under his real name
– At the 1996 Great American Bash, Tenta defeated Big Bubba
– At Bash At The Beach 1996, Tenta defeated Big Bubba in a Carson City Silver Dollar Match
– Tenta left WCW in early 1997
– In early 1998, Tenta returned to the WWF, working under a mask as ‘Golga’, a member of The Oddities stable
– At Summerslam 1998, The Oddities (Golga, Kurrgan & Giant Silva) defeated Kai En Tai (Taka Michinoku, Sho Funaki, Dick Togo & Mens Teioh)
– All members of The Oddities were released by WWF in early 1999
– Tenta worked a WCW Nitro dark match in the summer of 1999, but was not rehired by the company
– Tenta competed in the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X-Seven
– Tenta rejoined All Japan in late 2002
– Tenta retired from wrestling in 2004 after he was diagnosed with bladder cancer
– Tenta lost his battle with cancer on June 7, 2006
– Tenta was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2025, as a member of The Natural Disasters
———-
Typhoon
Real name: Fred Ottman
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 383 lbs
From: Norfolk, Virginia
Date of birth: August 10, 1956
Pro debut: 1984
Trained by: Hulk Hogan
Finishing move: Tidal Wave
Biography
– Ottman began his career as Big Bubba, working across several southern territories
– On December 15, 1985, Big Bubba defeated Al Madril to win the vacant TAW USA Heavyweight Title
– On October 6, 1986, Big Bubba defeated Pat Tanaka to win the vacant AWA International Heavyweight Title
– On October 20, Big Bubba defeated Giant Hillbilly to retain the AWA International Heavyweight Title
– On October 27, Big Bubba defeated Tracy Smothers to unify the AWA International Heavyweight Title and the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title
– On November 3, Big Bubba & Jerry Lawler defeated Don Bass & Dirty Rhodes to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles
– On December 15, Big Bubba defeated Tommy Rich by DQ to retain the AWA International Heavyweight Title
– On February 23, 1987, The Downtown Connection (Big Bubba & Goliath) defeated Jeff Jarrett & Billy Joe Travis to win the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles
– On March 2, The Downtown Connection defeated Jarrett & Travis to retain the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles
– On March 16, The Downtown Connection defeated Brickhouse Brown & Soul Train Jones to retain the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles
– On April 4, The Downtown Connection defeated Rocky Johnson & BT Express to retain the AWA Southern Tag Team Titles
– In 1988, Ottman took on the name ‘US Steele’ in the Florida territory
– On November 9, 1988, US Steele defeated Dick Slater to win the FCW Florida Title
– On November 30, US Steele defeated The Terminator to retain the FCW Florida Title
– On May 13, 1989, the renamed ‘Big Steele Man’ defeated Dusty Rhodes in a Cage Match to win the PWF Title
– In the summer of 1989, Ottman signed with the WWF. After several dark match appearances as ‘Big Man Steel’, he would officially debut as ‘Tugboat Thomas’, later shortened to Tugboat
– At Survivor Series 1990, The Hulkamaniacs (Tugboat, Hulk Hogan, Jim Duggan & The Big Boss Man) defeated The Natural Disasters (Earthquake, Haku, Dino Bravo & The Barbarian)
– In mid 1991, Earthquake and the now-renamed Typhoon formed ‘The Natural Disasters’
– At Summerslam 1991, The Natural Disasters defeated The Bushwhackers (Luke & Butch)
– At Royal Rumble 1992, The Natural Disasters defeated WWF Tag Team Champions The Legion Of Doom (Hawk & Animal) by countout
– At WrestleMania VIII, The Natural Disasters defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Money Inc (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R Schyster) by countout
– On April 17, The Natural Disasters defeated George Takano & Shunji Takano to win the SWS Tag Team Titles, but would lose them to Yoshiaki Yatsu & King Haku the next day
– On July 20, 1992, The Natural Disasters defeated Money Inc (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R Schyster) to win the WWF Tag Team Titles
– At Summerslam 1992, The Natural Disasters defeated The Beverly Brothers (Beau & Blake) to retain the WWF Tag Team Titles
– At Survivor Series 1992, The Natural Disasters & The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags) defeated Money Inc (Ted DiBiase & Irwin R Schyster) & The Beverly Brothers (Beau & Blake)
– In February 1993, Earthquake left the WWF, leaving Typhoon to go it alone
– Ottman signed with WCW in the summer of 1993
– Ottman was involved in an infamous incident at Clash Of The Champions XXIV. In a segment designed to debut his new masked ‘Shockmaster’ character, Ottman tripped and fell through part of the set, losing his mask in the process. Despite the debacle, WCW continued with the gimmick for a time
– At Fall Brawl 1993, The Shockmaster, Dusty Rhodes, Davey Boy Smith & Sting defeated Big Van Vader, Sid Vicious, Kane & Kole in a War Games Match
– At Halloween Havoc 1993, The Shockmaster, Charlie Norris & Ice Train defeated Kane, Kole & The Equalizer
– At Clash Of The Champions 25, The Shockmaster defeated The Equalizer
– At the 1993 Battlebowl, The Shockmaster & Paul Orndorff defeated Ricky Steamboat & Steven Regal
– At Starrcade 1993, The Shockmaster defeated King Kong
– In May 1994, Ottman returned to the WWF as Typhoon, but would be out of the company again in August
– Ottman had a run with Japan’s WAR promotion in 1995
– On August 24, 1996, Typhoon & Demolition Ax defeated The Texas Hangmen to win the IAW Tag Team Titles
– Ottman reprised his Typhoon persona in the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X-Seven and would retire from wrestling shortly thereafter
– Ottman came out of retirement for a pair of independent shows in late 2009
– Ottman was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame Class of 2025 as a member of The Natural Disasters