X-Entertainment.com X-Entertainment.com A Proud UGO Affiliate
X-Entertainment loves Christmas and will not stop talking about it, ever.
« [Main Index] »

RIP, John Tenta.

Rest in peace, John Tenta. I remember the first time I saw Tenta as part of the (then) World Wrestling Federation. In the opening series of pre-match interviews during the 1989 Survivor Series, there he was -- "The Canadian Earthquake" -- taking the place of Barry Windham's much shittier "Widowmaker" character on Randy Savage's heel team for a big match. Earthquake made a splash, and in no time at all, he became one of Hulk Hogan's greatest monster adversaries. Even after the inevitable defeat by Hogan and subsequent shuffling down the card, Tenta remained an impressive force both as a bad guy and, later, a good guy. It's the bad guy stuff I remember most, because God damn, this is the man who took Jake Roberts' beloved python and...well, he sat on the fucker, right in the middle of the ring on Saturday afternoon network television. Like, six times in a row. Laughing the whole way through. Thumbs up.

Tenta eventually made his way into World Championship Wrestling, becoming part of the much-maligned "Dungeon of Doom" faction, which was stupid to most but rocked to me. Seriously, that's what got me watching WCW consistently for the first time. The Dungeon was a group of mostly bad wrestlers in hideously dumb B-movie costumes, and Tenta was charged with playing..."The Shark." Yes, he portrayed a shark, and came to the ring to a riff on the Jaws theme. And he had to incorporate shark mannerisms into his wrestling matches. He hated it and most others did too, but man, I just had no problems at all watching a 400 pound wrestler/shark.

That's not my favorite Tenta moment, though. Much later, Tenta was just about gone from WCW. Nobody had seen him in months. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper was fighting the white hot nWo faction at the time (bad guys who were cheered riotously), and decided to battle them with an unusual team composed of "opportunity seekers" who weren't particularly popular or well-known. Roddy would "test" potential teammates during really goofy interview segments that the fans booed mercilessly, but when John Tenta joined the fray and lobbied to be a part of Piper's team, the fans ate it up. Well, maybe "ate it up" is an exaggeration -- but they were definitely cheering. It wasn't the typical wrestling cheer, either. It wasn't a "lost in the moment, I'm really buying this" kind of cheer. It was a respect cheer. It was a "cheer for John Tenta so he GETS TO DO SOMETHING COOL" kind of cheer. The look on Tenta's face -- a mix of shock, relief and euphoria over overcoming the odds and being cheered in this absolutely ridiculous storyline -- is my favorite of his moments. (Of course, WCW brass later pulled the plug on the "opportunity seekers" storyline and Tenta didn't get to wrestle after all, but hey, let's not be depressing.)

RD from Wrestlecrap is one of the most decent people I've "met" in all my years of running this site, and he's always spoken so highly of John Tenta. Getting to know how nice the guy was, how courageous and family oriented in a not-at-all superficial way he was, even just vicariously through RD, was about a million times more inspiring than I ever thought the former wrestler/shark would be to me. Leaving the world and his family behind much too soon after a long battle with cancer, I encourage everyone who was ever entertained by this unique behemoth to drop a dime in Wrestlecrap's fundraiser -- all donations go directly to John's family.

Posted by Matt on 06/08/2006. E-mail me!



Discussion Thread: 71 comments

It’s still real to me, dammit.

Chestnuts roasted by That Guy @ 06/09/2006 12:17 PM

Now some one correct me if I’m wrong and I’m thinkin I might be since I’ve been watching wrestling since I was 4 so I can’t remember everything BUT…….. Didn’t hogan bring in tugboat as his partner to battle earthquake but then he turned on him and became Typhoon? Man that was great! As far as tag teams go they had a great gimmick and worked well together. Whatever happened to tugboat/typhoon anyway?

Chestnuts roasted by PRSense @ 06/09/2006 12:28 PM

"Pro" or "Real", it’s still sweaty mens in tights humpin’ all over each other. If it’s grown men or young boys, makes me no nevermind. Whatever blows your skirt up. Take your vehemence outside. Matt’s just saying he was a great actor in a somewhat merciless venue. Oxlong? *snicker* ain’t heard that since elementery.

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash @ 06/09/2006 12:29 PM

PRSense, yeah, something like that — my memory is vague on it, too. I definitely remember poor Tugboat having to sell Get Well Hogan armbands under the guise of a "my friend is in terrible pain" confessional — that was hilarious.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 06/09/2006 12:31 PM

PRSense, Fred "Tugboat/Typhoon" Ottoman went to WCW for a bit where he came out as The Shockmaster, but during his debut, he tripped on the stage and his mask fell off, not to mention the mask was a shoddy spraypainted Stormtrooper mask. This entire incident is one of the big reasons why Wrestlecrap.com was started.

Either way, he does various Indies around the U.S. now.

Chestnuts roasted by gino @ 06/09/2006 12:41 PM

Matt, Oh man I rmember that! That’s one of the reasons wrestling was so great back then, you just knew something wasn’t right and it couldn’t be all real but they made it seam like they where soooo serious about it all lol. Gino, I never even heard of the shockmaster. I never watched wcw before the nwo came along. The only time before that I watched wcw was when I was home bored to death on a saturday night or when monday night raw went to commercial.

Chestnuts roasted by PRSense @ 06/09/2006 12:59 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCXDrKCJdw4

go there, it’s a 4 min vid with the whole intro… just listen to what Bobby Heenan says after the Shockmaster trips… It’s funny as hell…

Chestnuts roasted by gino @ 06/09/2006 1:15 PM

Matt has an article on the Shockmaster somewhere.

For the whole wrestling debate…I’m not really offended by anything that goes on on the internet, everybody has a right to their opinion and that’s great. I just hate the perception that people that watch wrestling are stupid. We know it’s fake, but we enjoy it. It’s the same thing as if you love 24. If Kiefer Sutherland died, you’d be a little sad about that, right? Because you love the show and the character he plays and you won’t see him do it anymore. No different here. And while it is scripted, it does take a certain amount of athleticism to be able to run and jump around for 20 minutes straight and land on that rock hard mat.

Chestnuts roasted by Y2JB78 @ 06/09/2006 1:35 PM

On a less flame-war worthy topic, I just got back from seeing Cars, and I can sum up the movie in one word: AWESOME. I thought it was going to be bland and that Pixar couldn’t do it again, but sure enough, they did. I’ve been waiting for this movie for 2 years and it did not dissappoint. If I wasn’t broke, I’d give you all money to go buy tickets for it right now. And stay for the credits, there’s some good stuff there.

There’s lots of Pixar in-jokes throughout the movie, like we pass by the birds from "For The Birds", John Ratzenberger back again as Mack (and this whole thing with him is addressed, but I won’t say how or when), and the Pizza Planet truck appears too, looking like the rest of the characters.

The cartoon that plays before the movie, One Man Band, is pretty funny too.

Chestnuts roasted by Invader Norbert @ 06/09/2006 1:53 PM

**"We know it’s fake, but we enjoy it. It’s the same thing as if you love 24. If Kiefer Sutherland died, you’d be a little sad about that, right?"**

Actually… I hate 24. But that’s unimportant.

I think a big difference is that "professional" wretzling never tells anyone it’s fake. Heck, they deny it. Sutherland will do an interview and talk about the staging/showmanship of creating 24 (in essence, how it is FAKE), but do you ever hear wretzling describing themselves and their stagecraft? No. They want to be treated like a mainstream sport, and not like entertainment. They work to hide the fact that they are fake. They deny deny deny. What a crock.

As for that "rock hard" ring? Don’t kid a kidder, ok? I’ve stood inside the ropes of a "professional" wretzling ring, and it sure is bouncy – compared to a true wrestling mat.

Get taken down in a NCAA wrestling match and then tell me how hard the "pro" wretzlers plight is. Ever really wrestle?

Thanks tho on the name props. I’ve given my buddy Hugh Jardon a rest.

Chestnuts roasted by Mike Oxlong @ 06/09/2006 2:51 PM

I haven’t paid any attention to wrestling since late 80′s/early 90′s, and even then I wasn’t the wildest fan. However, when someone wants to pay respect to someone who has passes on, I think it’s best we pay respect and leave trivial opinions to ourselves.

Chestnuts roasted by kb @ 06/09/2006 2:58 PM

"but do you ever hear wretzling describing themselves and their stagecraft? No."

WRONG, asshole! (sorry, but let’s face it – you’re an asshole). There are countless books out by some of the biggest names in wrestling — Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, among others — who do exactly that. WWE & MTV had Tough Enough, a reality show all about learning the craft of wrestling. WWE Confidential (now cancelled) was in part about the craft of wrestling.

"Get taken down in a NCAA wrestling match and then tell me how hard the "pro" wretzlers plight is. Ever really wrestle?"
You mean like NCAA champ, Olympic Gold medalist & WWE champ Kurt Angle? Or Brock Lesnar? Shelton Benjamin?

Should I keep proving you wrong, or would you like to keep making an ass of yourself?

Chestnuts roasted by Erich @ 06/09/2006 3:24 PM

Man, I don’t remember the blog about Kamala, the Ugundan Giant causing this much heat….

Chestnuts roasted by seawoolf @ 06/09/2006 3:59 PM

Hmmm… how to distract the unruly mob from the murkish direction it’s trying to take?

Looks like this is a job for the kittens from Rathergood.com!

http://www.rathergood.com/lightsabre/" rel=nofollow">Lightsabre C-S Blues

How cute! The kitty’s coming toward the camera!

Chestnuts roasted by kingklash endorses soup on head @ 06/09/2006 5:12 PM

hey want to be treated like a mainstream sport, and not like entertainment.

If there is anything that wrestling has been doing for the last 10-15 years it’s establish that their business is Entertainment. I suppose if you never watched it in these years I can’t blame you for not realizing this change but you have no reason to continue with this arguement. The years of interviews with pro wrestlers denying it’s staged and everything in the back stage being behind closed doors is long over so you can quit your whining.

I’m no pro wrestling fan, at least not for many many many years but this is a thread in tribute for a man who’s dead. Doesn’t matter what he did, what his job was or what he died of, he’s dead. If people want to pay tribute to him, let them and find a better day to be ignorant.

Chestnuts roasted by dohopoki @ 06/09/2006 5:17 PM

Wow Erich…

Showing the intelligence and fine wording I expect from a wretzling fan.

I’m sure profanity and name calling is just great in the day job you have, but you don’t see me calling folks profane names here, now do you? What’s really funny is that I don’t need to call wretzlin’ fanz small minded, because so many of you seem to speak for yourself.

I don’t seem to recall anyone talking about how wretzling was fake last time I stopped by Spike to laugh at the pathetic "sport" you so love. They may talk about their "craft", but are you really going to assert that they are open and forthright about how fake it is?

Now, by the knowledgable tone of your post, I assume you *did* wrestle? Where? What weight class? Ever been in a "pro wretzling" ring? Seems to me that you are just speaking out of your southern orifice. Why don’t you tell me where I can pull up your creds so I can see how much you really know. Where are your real wrestling wins, losses, titles?

BTW…

You say it’s all fake and then you go on to brag that Kurt Angle is the WWE "champ". Wow!!! He must of scripted really hard to "win" that "title". And I’m sure he’s working up through the ranks of the ECW!!! Man… The thrill of all that **scripting**! Maybe he can "win" yet another **"BIG TITLE"**!!!

[from wiki]

**"Among Angle’s trademarks is the audience — whether he is face or heel — chanting "You Suck!" in sequence with his entrance music."**

Jeez, I see where you get your social skills from. Now, isn’t break time over on the loading dock? Don’t lose that great hourly gig over me!

Chestnuts roasted by Mike Oxlong @ 06/09/2006 5:36 PM

Geez Matt… You seem like a decent guy. Why are you unable to tolerate different opinions in your forum? Does banning me really protect the delicate feeling of your readers? Do they really need that protection. They seemed to have no problems flaming me quickly. Heck, I was even called an "asshole" and mocked.

I liked this site because it seemed like rockin’ kind of place. Guess not. I’ll let you get back to protecting your base now.

Chestnuts roasted by Mikey O'long @ 06/09/2006 6:13 PM

It was all part of my heel turn.

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 06/09/2006 7:07 PM

I’ve been hitting the spam filter for days, and this guy gets through eleventy times? :(
Sometimes I understand what Matt was getting at in that old article mentioning how the net was passing him by.

Chestnuts roasted by squee4242 @ 06/09/2006 7:34 PM

I think that wrestling as a whole has almost gone out of its way to show it is not real. From re-naming itself entertainment, to calling wrestlers "superstars", to all of the behind the scenes books and DVDs. Of course they try to sell the fantasy a little, because it doesn’t make sense to watch a match when you know guys are best friends outside of the ring. It’s like watching any movie. No, I don’t believe Kamala is from Uganda and eats people, just as I don’t believe Anthony Hopkins eats the hearts and livers of those he kills. It’s all in fun and entertainment.

I don’t want to throw insults around here, but I’m taking it Mike that you are a real wrestler who feels that professional wrestling taints whatever you have achieved. I don’t believe that pro wrestling lessens the achievements of any athlete. But I do find it interesting that you know Kurt Angle is in ECW, since that only happened about a week ago.

Beside the point, whether you like it or not, this is an 80s, retro, campy website, and pro wrestling was a big part of that in the 80s. I’ve said my piece, as I don’t want to monopolize this forum with this topic and I don’t have any need to provide fuel to continue the insults.

Chestnuts roasted by Y2JB78 @ 06/09/2006 8:22 PM

I loved Earthquake, ‘specially when he was in the Natural Disasters with Tugboat, Typhoon.

Chestnuts roasted by Joker @ 06/09/2006 8:42 PM

**"Beside the point, whether you like it or not, this is an 80s, retro, campy website, and pro wrestling was a big part of that in the 80s."**

Glad you referenced that… because that’s what I was saying in an earlier post. 80′s camp is ok with me, but the "realitization" (I made that up) is what offends me. Why? Well I think you said it well:

**"that you are a real wrestler who feels that professional wrestling taints…"**

Not my acheivements, because I sucked. But it does taint the real thing. And I did do the real thing. I didn’t sit on a boa constrictor, or slap a man, or body slam. I just fuaght hard in a real, unscripted match and faigh like hell. No backstory. No theme music.

No other sport has to suffer the indignity of a mock version. I am glad to hear others attest to wretzling’s more entertainment oriented pitch. That does count, a little at least.

**"But I do find it interesting that you know Kurt Angle is in ECW, since that only happened about a week ago."**

Actually, I read that on Wikipedia. I really don’t know what ECW stands for. I’ve got no grudge with Angle, though. I mean, being a great real wrestler is like being a great gymnast. Heck, what are you going to do to make money? I wish he didn’t join wretzling… but, like Chris Rock says: "I understand."

Chestnuts roasted by M. Oxlong @ 06/09/2006 8:51 PM

yo matt,great site, keep doing what you do E C F’N W!

Chestnuts roasted by pdac @ 06/09/2006 8:57 PM

I guess since we’re already on this topic: Do people here think bringing back ECW is a good thing? I live in Philly and I love ECW. I was at the ECW Arena for most of the historical moments, and I was so sad when it closed down. But I’m thinking they should have left well enough alone. It’s like the Star Wars Prequels…I was excited for years for them, and I think they were a giant letdown. Maybe it would have been better to just have the original trilogy and kept it at that. I’m afraid that the new ECW might tarnish it’s legacy. I’d rather just remember the good times.

Chestnuts roasted by Y2JB78 @ 06/09/2006 9:24 PM

Diluting their roster doesn’t seem like the best idea right now, honestly. People are injured/getting injured left and right; spreading the people who are left even thinner doesn’t make too much sense to me. Then again, if profitable, they’ll have the cash to refill the rosters with new blood/old faces. I definitely think they’ve misjudged ECW’s cult following so far, though. Not to say it doesn’t have a cult following, but the way they’re trying to present it doesn’t really represent why it still has a cult following. I dunno. Too early to tell. I’m curious to see what happens after the weekly show gets settled. If it bombs, are they really going to keep top tier talent there?

I’m not too worried about tarnished legacies, because the people involved realize that "they had what they had" and all this other stuff is just a gig with a marketing spin. They’ve all got WWE contracts and for some of them, that’s gotta be worth a lot more than nostalgic stories right now. So, good for ‘em. :)

Chestnuts roasted by Matt @ 06/09/2006 9:32 PM

Add A New Comment!


This entry was posted on Thursday, June 8th, 2006 at 9:57 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.