The Natural Disasters tag-team duo will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as Class of 2025 members, putting a spotlight on the pro wrestling career of the late .
As "Earthquake" in the ring, Surrey-raised Tenta hit it big on television in 1990 when he teamed with Fred "Typhoon" Ottman to create one of the most physically imposing duos in wrestling history.
The pair ran roughshod over the WWF (now WWE) due in part to their combined weight of nearly 900 pounds, says a post , where their Hall of Fame nod was announced Monday, March 24.
"The tandem would go on to claim the WWE Tag Team Titles and engage in epic in-ring showdowns with Money Inc., The Legion of Doom and The Nasty Boys during their run as champions," the webpost raves.
"A talented group with the in-ring acumen to complement their enormous size, The Natural Disasters were a vital piece in the growth of WWE to where it is today. The pair reigned supreme in an era full of incredible tag teams and even teamed with inaugural WWE Hall of Fame inductee Andre the Giant at one point."
The 2025 WWE Hall of Fame event will be held in Winchester, Nevada, on April 18, the night before WrestleMania 41.
A former North Surrey Secondary student who grew up in Port Kells, Tenta was best known as Earthquake but also wrestled as Avalanche, The Shark and Golga on the North American circuit. At one point, sumo fans called him Kototenzan.
"Considered a gentle giant by his peers outside of the ring, Tenta was a former two-sport athlete as a wrestler and football player at Lousiana State University," notes the post on the WWE website.
"He broke into the wrestling business in Japan where he was a decorated sumo champion to go along with a successful career in All Japan Pro Wrestling. Earthquake awed fans across the world with his incredible size and memorable rivalry with Hulk Hogan during a golden age of wrestling before sadly passing away in 2006."
Watch this video from about their Hall of Fame nod for Surrey's John 'Earthquake' Tenta, a member of The Natural Disasters tag-team duo in the early 1990s.
鈥� Tom Zillich (@TomZillich)
The Natural Disasters announced as WWE Hall of Fame: Class of 2025 induc...
Tenta died of bladder cancer on June 7, 2006, two years after his retirement from wrestling. He was 42.
Surrey's Mark 鈥淕orgeous Michelle Starr鈥� wrestled alongside Tenta on a British tour in the early 2000s.
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In 2021, the Museum of Surrey showcased a few pieces of Tenta memorabilia as part of a spring exhibit, including an 鈥淓arthquake鈥� action figure, a magazine and a deck of trading cards.
Tenta's says he wrestled with and against Hogan, Dino Bravo, Jake 鈥渢he Snake鈥� Roberts, Bam Bam Bigelow, Bret Hart and others. He made his WWF television debut on an edition of WWF Superstars of Wrestling, 鈥渨here he was planted in the audience as a normal spectator at the taping held in Wheeling, West Virginia,鈥� according to the post.
Tenta should be a lock for , currently in the planning stages.
