In Japan, tattoos are associated with gangsters, and public display is widely prohibited. Tenta commented, "Nothing I have ever done – not football, not college wrestling – compares with the kind of physical abuse you inflict on your body in sumo." In addition, the sumo world frowned on the large tattoo of a tiger on his left biceps and, though he covered it during matches, would have required him to remove it via skin graft before moving up to the higher-level competitions. ĭespite doing well as a newcomer he soon quit the sport due to the difficulty of the sumo lifestyle and the toll the hard ring surface was taking on his body. The novelty of being a rare Westerner Rikishi in the mid-1980s, and the third-ever Caucasian, garnered him press coverage, and he earned the additional nickname of the "Canadian Comet". The novice won all of his 24 bouts in his eight-month active career, and was later renamed Kototenzan Toshimitsu ( 琴天山 俊光), surname meaning Heavenly Mountain Harp. The combination of his size-he already weighed 192 kg (423 lb) at a height of 6' 5.75" (197 cm) -and training as a wrestler were to his advantage in learning and advancing in the sport. īeginning the sport at age 22, he entered nearly seven years later than many non-college aspirants. Following tradition, the young sumōtori took the shikona name of Kototenta Toshikatsu ( 琴天太 俊克, Koto + Tenta), surname translated as Tenta the Harp. In October 1985, he joined a sumo stable, Sadogatake, run by former yokozuna Kotozakura Masakatsu (his stable also produced ōzeki Kotoōshū Katsunori from Bulgaria). Tenta then moved to Japan to pursue a career in sumo after being recruited by a former yokozuna who met Tenta on a trip to Vancouver. Tenta, during his sumo career (as Kototenzan). While working as a bouncer at The Bengal, a LSU student club, he was also referred to as a "silent giant." Tenta also played rugby union for the LSU Rugby Club. Tenta subsequently walked on to the LSU football team, where he participated as a defensive tackle in a few junior varsity contests. LSU dropped varsity wrestling to comply with Title IX in 1985, forcing Tenta to choose a new sport. At LSU he was nicknamed "Big John" Tenta, lettering on the Tiger varsity wrestling team and participating on the football team. Tenta won an athletic scholarship to Louisiana State University (LSU), where he competed in NCAA-level collegiate wrestling. Shortly after his 18th birthday, he finished sixth in the super-heavyweight category at the World Junior Wrestling Championships in Vancouver. He learned freestyle wrestling at North Surrey Secondary, becoming a Canadian junior champion in 1981. Inspired by professional wrestlers Gene Kiniski and Don Leo Jonathan, Tenta decided to pursue wrestling at age 6. Named after his father, he was a large baby weighing 11 pounds, 3 ounces at birth. John Tenta was born in Surrey, British Columbia. Tenta died in 2006 after a long battle with bladder cancer. 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. (June 22, 1963 – June 7, 2006) was a Canadian professional wrestler and sumo wrestler ( rikishi) best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation as Earthquake, though initially known as Canadian Earthquake.Īfter a promising start to his sumo career, using the name Kototenzan, 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. Vancouver, British Columbia (as Earthquake) Tenta in a WWF promotional image as Earthquake
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |