1 00:00:06,263 --> 00:00:08,390 Damn straight I'm seeing dollar signs if somebody 2 00:00:08,390 --> 00:00:10,683 like John Tenta walked through the door. 3 00:00:10,683 --> 00:00:13,352 He was the biggest, baddest son of a bitch on the planet. 4 00:00:13,352 --> 00:00:15,938 I'd have him squash all those little bastards. 5 00:00:15,938 --> 00:00:17,606 With a superhero, you need a villain 6 00:00:17,606 --> 00:00:20,109 that's just as powerful to counter. 7 00:00:20,109 --> 00:00:21,944 You needed somebody like my dad. 8 00:00:21,944 --> 00:00:24,613 You are gonna feel the Earthquake! 9 00:00:24,613 --> 00:00:27,450 You'd know it was over 'cause he'd go like this across 10 00:00:27,450 --> 00:00:30,328 his throat and jump a couple times around your head. 11 00:00:30,328 --> 00:00:31,703 The tremors are beginning. 12 00:00:31,703 --> 00:00:34,331 Run to the set of ropes and then just jump on your chest. 13 00:00:34,331 --> 00:00:35,665 Kaboom! 14 00:00:35,665 --> 00:00:37,375 The Earthquake Splash, man. 15 00:00:37,375 --> 00:00:40,628 Larger than life John Tenta had a meteoric rise in the 16 00:00:40,628 --> 00:00:43,840 WWF as Earthquake, before being paired with another 17 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,968 big man, Typhoon, in the iconic tag team 18 00:00:46,968 --> 00:00:48,720 The Natural Disasters. 19 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:52,514 It's bad weather for everybody in the WWF. 20 00:00:52,514 --> 00:00:55,517 Natural Disasters- Earthquake and Typhoon. 21 00:00:55,517 --> 00:00:56,977 A thousand pounds of fun. 22 00:00:56,977 --> 00:00:58,854 There was no picking them guys up, put it that way. 23 00:00:58,854 --> 00:01:00,147 You go to lift 'em, and you know, 24 00:01:00,147 --> 00:01:02,274 blow your back out type situations. 25 00:01:02,274 --> 00:01:04,943 Intimidating in the ring, behind the scenes, 26 00:01:04,943 --> 00:01:07,196 John Tenta was a very different man. 27 00:01:07,196 --> 00:01:09,656 They were gentlemen, respected by everybody. 28 00:01:09,656 --> 00:01:12,033 Everybody could count on John Tenta to do the job and 29 00:01:12,033 --> 00:01:14,160 do it right, no doubt about that. 30 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:15,328 My dad was a good guy, 31 00:01:15,328 --> 00:01:17,163 regardless if he was a heel or not. 32 00:01:17,163 --> 00:01:18,873 He cared deeply about his family, 33 00:01:18,873 --> 00:01:21,501 and he also cared a lot about other people. 34 00:01:21,501 --> 00:01:23,920 It's not very Dark Side of the wrestling, huh? 35 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,714 But a change in fortune for both men... 36 00:01:26,714 --> 00:01:29,217 Ah! The shock! Ha-ha-ha-ha! 37 00:01:29,217 --> 00:01:31,594 ...turned these once -respected superstars 38 00:01:31,594 --> 00:01:33,595 into parodies of themselves. 39 00:01:33,595 --> 00:01:35,597 He was so many gimmicks. 40 00:01:35,597 --> 00:01:37,724 It was probably hard for him to take. 41 00:01:37,724 --> 00:01:39,935 I felt like that was the low of the low for him. 42 00:01:39,935 --> 00:01:42,437 Vince McMahon can put you in the stars or 43 00:01:42,437 --> 00:01:44,606 he can put you in hell, just that simple. 44 00:01:44,606 --> 00:01:46,691 You don't walk out on Vince McMahon. 45 00:01:46,691 --> 00:01:48,860 If you do, you're gonna pay for it. 46 00:01:48,860 --> 00:01:50,946 I don't think John gave a damn. 47 00:01:50,946 --> 00:01:52,279 The main important thing, 48 00:01:52,279 --> 00:01:54,573 to make the money to take care of his family. 49 00:01:54,573 --> 00:01:56,659 And for John Tenta and his family, 50 00:01:56,659 --> 00:01:59,870 a cruel ending that no one saw coming. 51 00:01:59,870 --> 00:02:01,747 John doesn't want to go to the doctor. 52 00:02:01,747 --> 00:02:03,707 He waited too long. 53 00:02:03,707 --> 00:02:05,167 My dad's a fighter, he's gonna fight through this. 54 00:02:05,167 --> 00:02:06,669 There's no way this'll take him down. 55 00:02:06,669 --> 00:02:08,838 I just prayed, God, please heal him. 56 00:02:08,838 --> 00:02:11,132 Please let us have more time with our dad. 57 00:02:11,132 --> 00:02:14,592 ♪ 58 00:02:20,306 --> 00:02:22,559 Dino Bravo just told me 59 00:02:22,559 --> 00:02:25,228 that I could pick the largest man, 60 00:02:25,228 --> 00:02:27,313 the biggest man in the audience right now and bring 61 00:02:27,313 --> 00:02:30,233 him into the ring and he can get on Dino Bravo's back! 62 00:02:30,233 --> 00:02:32,610 Dino Bravo and Ultimate Warrior were having 63 00:02:32,610 --> 00:02:35,070 a push up contest in the middle of the ring. 64 00:02:35,070 --> 00:02:39,366 And, the gimmick was to find the biggest guy 65 00:02:39,366 --> 00:02:41,910 in the stands and, to call him down. 66 00:02:41,910 --> 00:02:44,163 The whole audience already realized there was this 67 00:02:44,163 --> 00:02:46,081 giant man in the audience that would be perfect 68 00:02:46,081 --> 00:02:48,167 to be in this competition. 69 00:02:48,167 --> 00:02:49,751 -Wow! -Oh, my goodness. 70 00:02:49,751 --> 00:02:52,796 When my dad made his debut in the WWE, 71 00:02:52,796 --> 00:02:55,506 he was planted in the audience. 72 00:02:55,506 --> 00:02:57,967 Take a look at the size of this man! 73 00:02:57,967 --> 00:03:00,344 Jimmy Hart called him down. 74 00:03:00,344 --> 00:03:04,265 John from West Virginia. 75 00:03:04,265 --> 00:03:06,350 And, he's wearing this bright blue shirt, 76 00:03:06,350 --> 00:03:09,395 jeans and white shoes, looking like a dad. 77 00:03:09,395 --> 00:03:12,440 And, so he's sitting on Ultimate Warrior's back. 78 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,275 Then he just smashes him. [Laughing] 79 00:03:15,275 --> 00:03:17,986 Wait a minute! Whoa! 80 00:03:17,986 --> 00:03:20,822 We see the first iteration of the Earthquake Splash. 81 00:03:20,822 --> 00:03:24,451 And, established himself as a pretty major heel. 82 00:03:24,451 --> 00:03:27,078 [Commentary] ...down across the chest! 83 00:03:27,078 --> 00:03:29,289 Hey, this guy learned how to wrestle pretty quick! 84 00:03:29,289 --> 00:03:33,210 Yeah, no kidding! I smell a rat. 85 00:03:33,210 --> 00:03:36,378 That's how he's introduced into the wrestling world. 86 00:03:36,378 --> 00:03:40,716 My name's Jeff Tenta, and Earthquake's my father. 87 00:03:40,716 --> 00:03:42,051 Everybody knew me as Little Quake. 88 00:03:42,051 --> 00:03:43,844 Everybody knew my dad. 89 00:03:43,844 --> 00:03:46,222 I was just in the backstage a lot of times 90 00:03:46,222 --> 00:03:47,765 when he was wrestling. 91 00:03:47,765 --> 00:03:50,809 I can honestly say that he was definitely respected. 92 00:03:50,809 --> 00:03:53,187 My dad told you to, "Keep an eye on my kid," 93 00:03:53,187 --> 00:03:54,605 they were gonna do it. 94 00:03:54,605 --> 00:03:57,398 It was kind of surreal being backstage. 95 00:03:57,398 --> 00:04:00,527 I've watched these wrestlers, and their own personas and 96 00:04:00,527 --> 00:04:02,237 their gimmicks just kind of doing their thing, 97 00:04:02,237 --> 00:04:04,155 just talking to each other. 98 00:04:04,155 --> 00:04:05,073 ♪ 99 00:04:05,073 --> 00:04:06,699 I'm Joanna, and I'm the daughter of 100 00:04:06,699 --> 00:04:10,119 "Earthquake" John Tenta. 101 00:04:10,119 --> 00:04:12,288 I did want to be a wrestler. [Laughing] 102 00:04:12,288 --> 00:04:14,582 I still love wrestling today and, growing up, 103 00:04:14,582 --> 00:04:17,209 I thought there was nobody cooler than my dad. 104 00:04:17,209 --> 00:04:20,045 My name is John Tenta, the youngest child of 105 00:04:20,045 --> 00:04:23,715 John "Earthquake" and Josephine Tenta. 106 00:04:23,715 --> 00:04:25,926 My dad was good at making the audience 107 00:04:25,926 --> 00:04:28,053 buy into this villain. 108 00:04:28,053 --> 00:04:30,514 I think he was incredible in the ring. 109 00:04:30,514 --> 00:04:34,226 When John Tenta debuts in WWF in 1989, 110 00:04:34,226 --> 00:04:37,270 he's already had a storied career that has taken him 111 00:04:37,270 --> 00:04:39,480 halfway around the world from his hometown of 112 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:41,774 Surrey, British Columbia. 113 00:04:41,774 --> 00:04:44,443 My dad knew that he wanted to become a wrestler 114 00:04:44,443 --> 00:04:46,696 from a very young age. 115 00:04:46,696 --> 00:04:50,157 My grandfather was also a huge wrestling fan, and so, 116 00:04:50,157 --> 00:04:51,534 they only got a few channels, 117 00:04:51,534 --> 00:04:53,828 but they would always tune in to watch wrestling. 118 00:04:53,828 --> 00:04:55,705 From that moment on, he was hooked. 119 00:04:55,705 --> 00:04:58,415 He knew that that was what he wanted to do. 120 00:04:58,415 --> 00:04:59,916 My grandmother and grandfather 121 00:04:59,916 --> 00:05:01,585 were not wealthy people. 122 00:05:01,585 --> 00:05:03,586 They couldn't afford to buy him a weight set or get him 123 00:05:03,586 --> 00:05:05,547 into extracurricular sports and things like that, 124 00:05:05,547 --> 00:05:08,216 so he found other ways to exercise. 125 00:05:08,216 --> 00:05:09,926 Going to the park, lifting park benches, 126 00:05:09,926 --> 00:05:13,054 or doing whatever he could to just get stronger. 127 00:05:13,054 --> 00:05:15,348 They believed in him from the beginning. 128 00:05:15,348 --> 00:05:17,683 He was a Canadian world champion in wrestling, 129 00:05:17,683 --> 00:05:21,103 and he was being prospected by 12 major universities in 130 00:05:21,103 --> 00:05:24,607 the US, and we know that he ended up going to LSU, 131 00:05:24,607 --> 00:05:26,358 and wrestling there. 132 00:05:26,358 --> 00:05:27,943 But when they dropped their wrestling program, 133 00:05:27,943 --> 00:05:30,613 he found wrestling in other ways. 134 00:05:30,613 --> 00:05:33,240 The oldest Japanese sport is Sumo, 135 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:36,368 a form of wrestling which dates back to hand-to-hand 136 00:05:36,368 --> 00:05:39,746 combat technique of nearly 20 centuries ago. 137 00:05:39,746 --> 00:05:41,789 John Tenta was 22 years old. 138 00:05:41,789 --> 00:05:44,000 One of the sumo wrestling Stable came to 139 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,545 college wrestling meet and recruited him when he was 140 00:05:47,545 --> 00:05:49,505 in Louisiana State University. 141 00:05:49,505 --> 00:05:51,841 He quit college and came to Japan to live and 142 00:05:51,841 --> 00:05:53,843 start as a sumo wrestler. 143 00:05:53,843 --> 00:05:55,678 Hello, my name is Fumi Saito. 144 00:05:55,678 --> 00:05:57,763 I'm a journalist, I'm an author. 145 00:05:57,763 --> 00:05:59,514 I'm a wrestling historian. 146 00:05:59,514 --> 00:06:02,267 Sumo is Japanese national sport. 147 00:06:02,267 --> 00:06:05,979 They still wear kimonos, they have Samurai hairdos, 148 00:06:05,979 --> 00:06:09,024 and sumo wrestler is more like 149 00:06:09,024 --> 00:06:11,526 sumo society. 150 00:06:11,526 --> 00:06:13,987 Sumo is different. 151 00:06:13,987 --> 00:06:16,406 The way they train, the discipline. 152 00:06:16,406 --> 00:06:19,992 You have to fight for it. 153 00:06:19,992 --> 00:06:21,202 My name is Haku. 154 00:06:21,202 --> 00:06:23,329 I've been with wrestling for 40 years. 155 00:06:23,329 --> 00:06:25,790 Haku! 156 00:06:25,790 --> 00:06:29,126 Pro wrestling, you climb over the top rope and jump, 157 00:06:29,126 --> 00:06:32,755 where sumo is more on the ground and... 158 00:06:32,755 --> 00:06:34,674 more physical. 159 00:06:34,674 --> 00:06:38,718 John was probably the tallest one of that time. 160 00:06:38,718 --> 00:06:40,970 And, he was big too. 161 00:06:40,970 --> 00:06:42,931 I believe they were 162 00:06:42,931 --> 00:06:45,767 looking at him to be a grand champion. 163 00:06:45,767 --> 00:06:50,647 He went into three consecutive tournaments, 164 00:06:50,647 --> 00:06:52,690 and won all three tournaments. 165 00:06:52,690 --> 00:06:56,820 He was basically undefeated for 8 months' period. 166 00:06:56,820 --> 00:06:58,779 Until he decided to walk out. 167 00:06:58,779 --> 00:07:01,907 I like sumo, I like the sport. 168 00:07:01,907 --> 00:07:04,159 But I just can't live the lifestyle. 169 00:07:04,159 --> 00:07:05,619 There's a lot of demands, 170 00:07:05,619 --> 00:07:07,329 and a lot of pressure put on you. 171 00:07:07,329 --> 00:07:11,792 I had to do anything that my senior wrestlers asked me. 172 00:07:11,792 --> 00:07:15,045 And, when I interviewed him the following year, 173 00:07:15,045 --> 00:07:19,841 he felt that he always wanted to be professional wrestler. 174 00:07:19,841 --> 00:07:21,134 That was his goal. 175 00:07:21,134 --> 00:07:25,263 He was signed with Old Japan Pro Wrestling July of 1986. 176 00:07:25,263 --> 00:07:27,849 He basically learned from Japanese side and 177 00:07:27,849 --> 00:07:30,101 American side, together. 178 00:07:30,101 --> 00:07:33,187 He enjoyed professional wrestling a lot more than 179 00:07:33,187 --> 00:07:35,648 he enjoyed sumo wrestling, that's for sure. 180 00:07:35,648 --> 00:07:38,317 [Japanese commentary] 181 00:07:38,317 --> 00:07:40,902 He learned the customs, and spoke Japanese too. 182 00:07:40,902 --> 00:07:46,116 He was treated more like a local now. 183 00:07:46,116 --> 00:07:48,243 [Singing] My love, 184 00:07:48,243 --> 00:07:52,205 there's only John in my life. 185 00:07:52,205 --> 00:07:56,042 It's only John forever. 186 00:07:56,042 --> 00:07:59,546 ♪ 187 00:07:59,546 --> 00:08:01,589 My name is Josephine, and I'm married with 188 00:08:01,589 --> 00:08:05,926 John "Earthquake" Tenta. 189 00:08:05,926 --> 00:08:08,471 I'm from the Philippines. 190 00:08:08,471 --> 00:08:12,057 Luckily, I got my visa and, 191 00:08:12,057 --> 00:08:15,853 go to Japan for singing. Entertainer. 192 00:08:15,853 --> 00:08:18,022 He went into the place that was I working, 193 00:08:18,022 --> 00:08:21,816 and my mama-san introduced him to me. 194 00:08:21,816 --> 00:08:24,360 It was love at first sight for him and for me. 195 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:26,571 My mama-san told me he's a wrestler, 196 00:08:26,571 --> 00:08:29,032 but I don't know nothing about wrestling. 197 00:08:29,032 --> 00:08:31,409 So, to me, so what? 198 00:08:31,409 --> 00:08:33,661 He's really famous. 199 00:08:33,661 --> 00:08:36,998 John was 6"7. 200 00:08:36,998 --> 00:08:38,291 4"11. 201 00:08:38,291 --> 00:08:40,376 It didn't bother me at all. 202 00:08:40,376 --> 00:08:41,502 Don't get it twisted, man. 203 00:08:41,502 --> 00:08:44,087 My mom may be barely 5-foot, but she's the alpha 204 00:08:44,087 --> 00:08:45,797 in the house, I promise you that. 205 00:08:45,797 --> 00:08:48,675 [Laughing] They really are a love story for the ages. 206 00:08:48,675 --> 00:08:51,512 Everything had to be in the right place and set in motion 207 00:08:51,512 --> 00:08:54,640 at the right time for them to even find each other 208 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:56,850 in such a big world. 209 00:08:56,850 --> 00:09:00,062 I know right away that he's a good man, and big heart. 210 00:09:00,062 --> 00:09:03,523 The following year, WWF at the time was already 211 00:09:03,523 --> 00:09:07,485 interested in John Tenta as Hulk Hogan's opponent. 212 00:09:07,485 --> 00:09:10,780 And, John Tenta asked the company, 213 00:09:10,780 --> 00:09:14,575 "Would it be okay to leave and join WWE?" 214 00:09:14,575 --> 00:09:17,703 The Great Kabuki, I believe I was the one who told him, 215 00:09:17,703 --> 00:09:21,957 "Go ahead and do it. That's your chance." 216 00:09:21,957 --> 00:09:25,168 Before accepting the offer from the WWF, 217 00:09:25,168 --> 00:09:27,128 John Tenta makes a commitment, 218 00:09:27,128 --> 00:09:28,797 not just to Josephine, 219 00:09:28,797 --> 00:09:31,258 but to her son, Jeff, as well. 220 00:09:31,258 --> 00:09:33,051 We were a package deal, me and my mom. 221 00:09:33,051 --> 00:09:35,804 And, first time I saw him, he was sitting there 222 00:09:35,804 --> 00:09:37,722 in one of our chairs in front of a window and just 223 00:09:37,722 --> 00:09:40,976 his whole body would just cover that whole window. 224 00:09:40,976 --> 00:09:43,644 That's the lasting image I have the first time 225 00:09:43,644 --> 00:09:45,020 I'm meeting my father. 226 00:09:45,020 --> 00:09:46,772 The only father I know, so... 227 00:09:46,772 --> 00:09:48,482 He is my dad. 228 00:09:48,482 --> 00:09:50,359 When they got married shortly after, 229 00:09:50,359 --> 00:09:53,571 we both flew from Philippines to Canada. 230 00:09:53,571 --> 00:09:55,364 Obviously, I was a little, a little nervous, 231 00:09:55,364 --> 00:09:56,949 a little scared. Different country, 232 00:09:56,949 --> 00:09:59,535 whole new world. 233 00:09:59,535 --> 00:10:02,288 As John and his family settle in British Columbia, 234 00:10:02,288 --> 00:10:05,790 his WWF career ignites with an in-ring feud against 235 00:10:05,790 --> 00:10:08,459 the world champion Hulk Hogan. 236 00:10:08,459 --> 00:10:10,795 There he is! [Indistinct speaking] 237 00:10:10,795 --> 00:10:12,380 Heavyweight Champion, 238 00:10:12,380 --> 00:10:14,382 and he has never looked better! 239 00:10:14,382 --> 00:10:16,384 There was nothing going on in the wrestling business 240 00:10:16,384 --> 00:10:19,262 could even be any bigger than Hulkamania. 241 00:10:19,262 --> 00:10:21,014 When you come in there and you're working right off 242 00:10:21,014 --> 00:10:25,267 on top, that means you're somebody and you're good. 243 00:10:25,267 --> 00:10:26,935 Hey, this is Earl Hebner, and I've been 244 00:10:26,935 --> 00:10:28,478 a referee for over 40 years. 245 00:10:28,478 --> 00:10:30,272 [Indistinct shouting] 246 00:10:30,272 --> 00:10:32,733 John was a special friend of mine, always. 247 00:10:32,733 --> 00:10:34,443 We were all a team. 248 00:10:34,443 --> 00:10:36,403 John knew how to handle the matches, 249 00:10:36,403 --> 00:10:37,946 he knew how to make 'em exciting. 250 00:10:37,946 --> 00:10:39,114 Oh! 251 00:10:39,114 --> 00:10:42,743 He may have been a rookie, but he had credentials. 252 00:10:42,743 --> 00:10:44,994 He earned it. 253 00:10:44,994 --> 00:10:47,079 Hi, I'm Jake "The Snake" Roberts. 254 00:10:47,079 --> 00:10:51,667 WWE superstar, and master of the DDT. 255 00:10:51,667 --> 00:10:53,628 -DDT! -DDT! 256 00:10:53,628 --> 00:10:55,171 Stone Mountain, Georgia! 257 00:10:55,171 --> 00:10:57,506 John took it like he'd been doing it for years. 258 00:10:57,506 --> 00:10:58,883 I couldn't believe when I found out 259 00:10:58,883 --> 00:11:00,760 how long he'd been in wrestling. 260 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:02,720 I was amazed. 261 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:05,013 Hogan tries to go for the finish! 262 00:11:05,013 --> 00:11:07,432 That's the spot that everybody wants. 263 00:11:07,432 --> 00:11:08,933 You're wrestling the champ, 264 00:11:08,933 --> 00:11:10,685 you're gonna be paid like a champ. 265 00:11:10,685 --> 00:11:12,729 I think my dad was a great foe for Hulk Hogan 266 00:11:12,729 --> 00:11:14,940 because he was one of the only guys that was 267 00:11:14,940 --> 00:11:16,232 actually bigger than him. 268 00:11:16,232 --> 00:11:18,318 He was really great at generating heat. 269 00:11:18,318 --> 00:11:20,528 So, you needed somebody that you could really hate. 270 00:11:20,528 --> 00:11:24,199 The last time I came face to face with Hulk Hogan, 271 00:11:24,199 --> 00:11:26,742 they carried him out on a stretcher! 272 00:11:26,742 --> 00:11:29,995 And all the little Hulkamaniacs cried their 273 00:11:29,995 --> 00:11:32,623 little eyes out because they knew 274 00:11:32,623 --> 00:11:34,708 Hulkamania was dead! 275 00:11:34,708 --> 00:11:36,460 Oh! Forget about it! 276 00:11:36,460 --> 00:11:38,212 You wrestle Hogan, you made it. 277 00:11:38,212 --> 00:11:39,880 You're that guy, you're it. 278 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:42,216 His career was gonna just take off and 279 00:11:42,216 --> 00:11:45,885 keep taking off and, it was exciting. 280 00:11:45,885 --> 00:11:48,721 The most important match for John Tenta, 281 00:11:48,721 --> 00:11:50,431 as a professional wrestler, 282 00:11:50,431 --> 00:11:53,601 happened back in Japan, 1991. 283 00:11:53,601 --> 00:11:56,062 The Tokyo Dome event was Hulk Hogan, 284 00:11:56,062 --> 00:11:59,482 Randy Savage, Bret Hart, all these superstars. 285 00:11:59,482 --> 00:12:01,150 But there was another attraction, 286 00:12:01,150 --> 00:12:04,195 former sumo wrestler John Tenta against former 287 00:12:04,195 --> 00:12:07,823 grand champion of sumo wrestling, Koji Kitao, 288 00:12:07,823 --> 00:12:09,950 rookie professional wrestler. 289 00:12:09,950 --> 00:12:12,828 Kitao was not popular professional wrestler. 290 00:12:12,828 --> 00:12:15,831 He thought he was going to be just as big a star. 291 00:12:15,831 --> 00:12:17,290 He wasn't. 292 00:12:17,290 --> 00:12:21,712 For Kitao, John Tenta was somebody who tried sumo 293 00:12:21,712 --> 00:12:24,089 wrestling for one year and didn't even make it. 294 00:12:24,089 --> 00:12:26,424 And this time, actually, 295 00:12:26,424 --> 00:12:30,928 John Tenta was bigger and better than Kitao. 296 00:12:30,928 --> 00:12:32,555 Kitao think that, you know, 297 00:12:32,555 --> 00:12:35,099 he was Bruce Lee or something. 298 00:12:35,099 --> 00:12:38,018 He didn't care about the rules or 299 00:12:38,018 --> 00:12:40,187 respect and everything. 300 00:12:40,187 --> 00:12:45,818 [Japanese commentary & audience cheering] 301 00:12:45,818 --> 00:12:48,611 First match, Earthquake Drop. 302 00:12:48,611 --> 00:12:50,238 Ah! [Japanese commentary] 303 00:12:50,238 --> 00:12:53,908 John Tenta pinned Koji Kitao, a former 304 00:12:53,908 --> 00:12:56,202 Yokozuna grand champion sumo wrestler. 305 00:12:56,202 --> 00:12:58,329 Oh, Kitao wasn't happy. 306 00:12:58,329 --> 00:13:01,124 I believe second night at Kobe, 307 00:13:01,124 --> 00:13:04,085 John was gonna go over too, again. 308 00:13:04,085 --> 00:13:05,628 [Japanese commentary] 309 00:13:05,628 --> 00:13:08,964 That night, Kitao worked against the booking plan. 310 00:13:14,553 --> 00:13:17,097 We were standing there because we knew already that 311 00:13:17,097 --> 00:13:19,600 he was, you know, he might pull something, and he did. 312 00:13:23,061 --> 00:13:25,856 Kitao went like this and was gonna poke his eye. 313 00:13:25,856 --> 00:13:29,358 "Come on, we gotta have a fight, we gotta fight." 314 00:13:29,358 --> 00:13:31,069 And I know when he went for that eye poke, 315 00:13:31,069 --> 00:13:33,988 my dad delivered a real kick. 316 00:13:33,988 --> 00:13:35,573 Like an MMA match. 317 00:13:35,573 --> 00:13:38,659 After Kitao disqualified himself from the match, 318 00:13:38,659 --> 00:13:39,619 to end it, 319 00:13:39,619 --> 00:13:41,829 and saw it wasn't going anywhere, grabbed a mike, 320 00:13:41,829 --> 00:13:43,790 told everyone that wrestling was fake. 321 00:13:43,790 --> 00:13:45,500 That it was all a lie, it was all a scam. 322 00:13:50,086 --> 00:13:51,463 "John Tenta, you are fake, 323 00:13:51,463 --> 00:13:53,298 and this whole thing is fake." 324 00:13:53,298 --> 00:13:55,217 And he walked out of the match. 325 00:13:55,217 --> 00:13:57,928 We were all there in the dressing room, 326 00:13:57,928 --> 00:14:00,222 and John busts in there, and he said, 327 00:14:00,222 --> 00:14:01,765 "Where's that son of a bitch? 328 00:14:01,765 --> 00:14:04,309 I'm gonna kick his ass." 329 00:14:04,309 --> 00:14:06,561 It was Kitao who got booed out of the building. 330 00:14:06,561 --> 00:14:09,438 That was the last time Kitao worked 331 00:14:09,438 --> 00:14:11,607 for SWS company. 332 00:14:11,607 --> 00:14:14,360 He was fired the next day. 333 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:17,404 John is very kind, John is very quiet. 334 00:14:17,404 --> 00:14:20,032 Those are the guys that you have to watch out for. 335 00:14:27,665 --> 00:14:30,708 After former sumo grand champion turned wrestler 336 00:14:30,708 --> 00:14:34,420 Koji Kitao goes rogue during a match in Japan... 337 00:14:37,882 --> 00:14:40,176 He's fired for his actions. 338 00:14:40,176 --> 00:14:42,637 But for John Tenta, the incident cements 339 00:14:42,637 --> 00:14:45,098 his reputation as a true professional. 340 00:14:45,098 --> 00:14:47,600 When John Tenta went back to the States, 341 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:50,602 entire backstage of WWF asked him, 342 00:14:50,602 --> 00:14:52,437 "I heard you had shoot match in Japan, 343 00:14:52,437 --> 00:14:56,191 and you took care of yourself. Great!" 344 00:14:56,191 --> 00:14:59,653 Everybody had so much respect for John Tenta 345 00:14:59,653 --> 00:15:01,905 "Earthquake" from that day forward. 346 00:15:01,905 --> 00:15:03,782 Oh, look at this! 347 00:15:03,782 --> 00:15:05,534 Earthquake doing his thing! 348 00:15:05,534 --> 00:15:06,535 He loved that gimmick. 349 00:15:06,535 --> 00:15:08,620 It made him feel big, it made him feel like 350 00:15:08,620 --> 00:15:10,872 he was a force to be reckoned with and, 351 00:15:10,872 --> 00:15:12,373 my dad would always brag about, 352 00:15:12,373 --> 00:15:14,584 "Look, I'm the most hated bad guy." 353 00:15:14,584 --> 00:15:16,878 You know, because he knew he did his job. 354 00:15:16,878 --> 00:15:19,672 Roberts! Last week you thought you were real smart 355 00:15:19,672 --> 00:15:22,008 trying to put that snake on me. 356 00:15:22,008 --> 00:15:25,887 I'm telling you here and now, keep Damion away from me! 357 00:15:25,887 --> 00:15:28,514 I can't stand snakes, but most of all, 358 00:15:28,514 --> 00:15:32,350 I can't stand you! I hate your guts! 359 00:15:32,350 --> 00:15:34,603 Damion was my pet snake that I, 360 00:15:34,603 --> 00:15:36,813 I loved and trusted, and... 361 00:15:36,813 --> 00:15:39,566 and I always had the snake with me, you know, then... 362 00:15:39,566 --> 00:15:41,693 at the end of the match, I'd get the snake out and 363 00:15:41,693 --> 00:15:44,279 drape it across the fallen opponents. 364 00:15:44,279 --> 00:15:45,614 It was my gimmick. 365 00:15:45,614 --> 00:15:48,658 Jake "The Snake" Roberts with Damion in the bag. 366 00:15:48,658 --> 00:15:51,160 The idea was for him to kill it. 367 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:53,996 They wanted me to get knocked out of the ring, 368 00:15:53,996 --> 00:15:56,874 and then Tenta do the damage to the snake where he jumps 369 00:15:56,874 --> 00:15:59,043 over the snake while I'm down and out, 370 00:15:59,043 --> 00:16:00,586 so I would never see it. 371 00:16:00,586 --> 00:16:03,339 And I told 'em, hell no, that's not the way to do that. 372 00:16:03,339 --> 00:16:05,841 The way to do that is to tie me in the ropes and 373 00:16:05,841 --> 00:16:07,676 make me watch it. 374 00:16:07,676 --> 00:16:09,678 Jake always puts Damion underneath the ring. 375 00:16:09,678 --> 00:16:11,137 And, at that time, 376 00:16:11,137 --> 00:16:13,264 there was another bag underneath the ring, 377 00:16:13,264 --> 00:16:15,892 so he'd grab the bag, put it out centre of the ring. 378 00:16:15,892 --> 00:16:18,770 He's got Damion in the ring, but- From behind again! 379 00:16:18,770 --> 00:16:22,523 Quake ran into the ropes and gave him this big boom squash. 380 00:16:22,523 --> 00:16:24,984 Don't watch this, folks, please don't watch it! 381 00:16:24,984 --> 00:16:27,820 No! He's gonna- No! 382 00:16:27,820 --> 00:16:29,656 Ah! 383 00:16:29,656 --> 00:16:32,157 The amazing Oscar performance of Jake, you know, 384 00:16:32,157 --> 00:16:34,326 crying and bawling his eyes out while he watched 385 00:16:34,326 --> 00:16:36,411 my dad sit on Damion. 386 00:16:36,411 --> 00:16:40,207 ♪ 387 00:16:40,207 --> 00:16:42,167 I went to the bag and opened up the bag, 388 00:16:42,167 --> 00:16:45,545 and seen Damion all crushed, which wasn't Damion, 389 00:16:45,545 --> 00:16:48,799 it was a pair of women's pantyhose 390 00:16:48,799 --> 00:16:51,009 full of hamburger meat. 391 00:16:51,009 --> 00:16:54,178 A tragedy here has befallen Jake "The Snake" Roberts. 392 00:16:54,178 --> 00:16:55,805 We got some letters over it, you know, 393 00:16:55,805 --> 00:16:58,265 because it traumatized so many kids. 394 00:16:58,265 --> 00:17:01,769 You know, it's wrestling, for God's sake, come on. 395 00:17:01,769 --> 00:17:04,772 Not only that, the aftermath after squashing Damion. 396 00:17:04,772 --> 00:17:07,024 There's a segment where he serves Vince McMahon and 397 00:17:07,024 --> 00:17:09,568 Bobby The Brain some burgers that he'd cooked up and 398 00:17:09,568 --> 00:17:10,987 he called them Quake burgers. 399 00:17:10,987 --> 00:17:13,321 And that the meat rhymed with Quake. 400 00:17:13,321 --> 00:17:14,990 You think this is funny? 401 00:17:14,990 --> 00:17:17,033 I gotta eat. 402 00:17:17,033 --> 00:17:19,911 [Beep]! 403 00:17:19,911 --> 00:17:22,914 After my dad feuded with Hulk Hogan and with 404 00:17:22,914 --> 00:17:24,791 Jake "The Snake", you know, the storylines 405 00:17:24,791 --> 00:17:26,626 were maybe running a little bit thin. 406 00:17:26,626 --> 00:17:28,378 My dad approached Typhoon, 407 00:17:28,378 --> 00:17:33,298 or Tugboat Fred at the time, to essentially join up. 408 00:17:33,298 --> 00:17:36,343 Hi, this is Fred Ottman, Tugboat, Typhoon. 409 00:17:36,343 --> 00:17:37,469 The Shockmaster. 410 00:17:37,469 --> 00:17:40,431 The "B-A-double-D" big steel man. 411 00:17:40,431 --> 00:17:45,728 And also, one half of The Natural Disasters. 412 00:17:45,728 --> 00:17:47,104 What you got? 413 00:17:47,104 --> 00:17:50,357 And I was Superstar Big Bubba, too. 414 00:17:50,357 --> 00:17:54,861 I have a memorable dance contest with Rocky Johnson, 415 00:17:54,861 --> 00:17:57,905 and I got the opportunity to bust a giant boombox 416 00:17:57,905 --> 00:17:59,240 over his noggin. 417 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:02,660 Oh! Good night! 418 00:18:02,660 --> 00:18:05,371 Fred, you know, he didn't know his own strength, 419 00:18:05,371 --> 00:18:07,540 and Rocky was laying there in a puddle of blood. 420 00:18:07,540 --> 00:18:10,043 I go, "You killed him!" 421 00:18:10,043 --> 00:18:11,586 [Screaming] 422 00:18:11,586 --> 00:18:15,881 That was Fred, or Big Bubba, wrapped up into a ball. 423 00:18:15,881 --> 00:18:17,883 I'm Jerry Sags, one half of the 424 00:18:17,883 --> 00:18:20,510 infamous tag team The Nasty Boys. 425 00:18:20,510 --> 00:18:23,930 That's the time we first met Big Bubba, Fred. 426 00:18:23,930 --> 00:18:26,433 He'd become many other gimmicks after that. 427 00:18:26,433 --> 00:18:27,809 Because the old Tugboat is just like the 428 00:18:27,809 --> 00:18:29,102 Battleship Missouri, brother. 429 00:18:29,102 --> 00:18:31,063 He's loaded, he's ready for battle, brother! 430 00:18:31,063 --> 00:18:33,814 Hoo-hoo! Full steam ahead! 431 00:18:33,814 --> 00:18:35,524 Tugger's coming to town! 432 00:18:35,524 --> 00:18:36,901 No! 433 00:18:36,901 --> 00:18:39,612 Indeed, oh, whoa! 434 00:18:39,612 --> 00:18:41,405 -Talk about power! -Hoo! 435 00:18:41,405 --> 00:18:43,866 The office called from WWF, and they go, 436 00:18:43,866 --> 00:18:48,079 "We'd like to put you and Earthquake together. 437 00:18:48,079 --> 00:18:50,206 Jimmy Hart will be your manager. 438 00:18:50,206 --> 00:18:53,209 You will be Typhoon and he will be Earthquake, 439 00:18:53,209 --> 00:18:55,460 The Natural Disasters." 440 00:18:55,460 --> 00:18:58,296 I thought it was a great deal for Fred, the transition... 441 00:18:58,296 --> 00:19:01,174 because those two guys together were... 442 00:19:01,174 --> 00:19:02,717 monsters. 443 00:19:02,717 --> 00:19:06,429 [Announcer] 852 pounds combined weight! 444 00:19:06,429 --> 00:19:08,181 Gotta be a record. 445 00:19:08,181 --> 00:19:10,558 We wrestled John and Fred a lot. 446 00:19:10,558 --> 00:19:13,645 But you had to change your whole game plan up because 447 00:19:13,645 --> 00:19:15,521 you weren't throwing these guys in the rope and 448 00:19:15,521 --> 00:19:17,189 power bombing 'em or... 449 00:19:17,189 --> 00:19:18,482 You'd go to give them a double tackle, 450 00:19:18,482 --> 00:19:20,609 but me and Niles would both get knocked on our ass, 451 00:19:20,609 --> 00:19:21,693 you know. 452 00:19:21,693 --> 00:19:23,445 You let Fred do his strongman stuff and 453 00:19:23,445 --> 00:19:25,114 Quake could work with anybody. 454 00:19:25,114 --> 00:19:26,615 They were just another notch, 455 00:19:26,615 --> 00:19:28,617 one of the greatest teams we wrestled. 456 00:19:28,617 --> 00:19:30,828 So, you got the Earthquake and you got Typhoon. 457 00:19:30,828 --> 00:19:32,871 In that kind of weather, you shouldn't be wrestling. 458 00:19:32,871 --> 00:19:35,873 [Cheering & indistinct shouting] 459 00:19:35,873 --> 00:19:38,084 1, 2, 3! 460 00:19:38,084 --> 00:19:40,837 -[Match bell ringing] -I can't hear you! 461 00:19:40,837 --> 00:19:42,380 This is deafening! 462 00:19:42,380 --> 00:19:45,716 Chasing the dream, the champ deal, it's awesome. 463 00:19:45,716 --> 00:19:47,844 And having it is awesome. 464 00:19:47,844 --> 00:19:50,847 But, you may be in Connecticut today or 465 00:19:50,847 --> 00:19:51,973 Madison Square Garden, 466 00:19:51,973 --> 00:19:53,724 and then had to fly out to LA. 467 00:19:53,724 --> 00:19:57,686 The schedule of the WWE was really brutal. 468 00:19:57,686 --> 00:20:01,523 7 days a week, twice on Saturday, twice on Sunday. 469 00:20:01,523 --> 00:20:03,984 You're like an absentee father, sort of. 470 00:20:03,984 --> 00:20:06,403 Your wife is the stronghold of the household, 471 00:20:06,403 --> 00:20:10,157 and she's taking care of the family while you're gone. 472 00:20:10,157 --> 00:20:12,325 He'd be gone a month at a time, 473 00:20:12,325 --> 00:20:14,035 and he'd be home for a couple days. 474 00:20:14,035 --> 00:20:15,995 Clearly, it was tough on my mom. 475 00:20:15,995 --> 00:20:17,872 New environment, new country. 476 00:20:17,872 --> 00:20:20,416 She expected him to be home a little bit more. 477 00:20:20,416 --> 00:20:23,377 John was having a hard time too, because I'm, 478 00:20:23,377 --> 00:20:25,212 I'm new to the place. 479 00:20:25,212 --> 00:20:27,882 So, so he's, he's worried about me. 480 00:20:27,882 --> 00:20:30,342 Especially when I have Jeffrey, 481 00:20:30,342 --> 00:20:32,511 and Joanna at that time. 482 00:20:32,511 --> 00:20:34,972 I didn't know who he was because 483 00:20:34,972 --> 00:20:37,640 I saw him very seldomly. 484 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:41,436 It was this massive giant walking through the door, 485 00:20:41,436 --> 00:20:44,147 and the person who's been with me the most is 486 00:20:44,147 --> 00:20:47,150 this petite, tiny Filipino woman. 487 00:20:47,150 --> 00:20:50,028 And, I'm sure that broke his heart, 488 00:20:50,028 --> 00:20:52,906 which makes me sad to think about. 489 00:20:52,906 --> 00:20:57,367 The pressure to come home is monster sized, man. 490 00:20:57,367 --> 00:20:59,369 How much is too much? 491 00:20:59,369 --> 00:21:01,788 The answer is, it was all too much. 492 00:21:01,788 --> 00:21:03,874 But, that didn't matter to Vince McMahon. 493 00:21:12,382 --> 00:21:16,929 And there he is, there's my buddy, Quake. 494 00:21:16,929 --> 00:21:19,680 And I can't leave him by himself, you know, 495 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:21,682 The Disasters have to be together, 496 00:21:21,682 --> 00:21:23,142 spending some time. 497 00:21:23,142 --> 00:21:26,062 And we're equal opportunity smashers, okay, because... 498 00:21:26,062 --> 00:21:29,148 there's Money Incorporated having a bad day. 499 00:21:29,148 --> 00:21:32,193 [Indistinct shouting] 500 00:21:32,193 --> 00:21:36,656 In 1992, The Natural Disasters dominate the WWF 501 00:21:36,656 --> 00:21:39,991 tag team scene, setting themselves apart backstage 502 00:21:39,991 --> 00:21:42,744 with their unique approach to life on the road. 503 00:21:42,744 --> 00:21:44,996 There were guys that their goal was about 504 00:21:44,996 --> 00:21:48,041 a strip club or women. Where's the party? 505 00:21:48,041 --> 00:21:49,751 John was neither of those. 506 00:21:49,751 --> 00:21:51,711 And Fred was neither of those. 507 00:21:51,711 --> 00:21:54,256 I wasn't ever really a big drinker. 508 00:21:54,256 --> 00:21:56,675 I didn't do drugs and that stuff. 509 00:21:56,675 --> 00:21:58,676 You know, I'd be with John, we'd go in the room and 510 00:21:58,676 --> 00:22:02,054 bullshit and talk about homelife and stupid shit that 511 00:22:02,054 --> 00:22:03,597 we'd seen on the road. 512 00:22:03,597 --> 00:22:07,476 Sometimes it's better just to sit back and see it unfurl. 513 00:22:07,476 --> 00:22:10,980 They were straight up guys, you know what I mean? 514 00:22:10,980 --> 00:22:14,400 But the two son of a bitches could put some food away, 515 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:15,567 you know what I mean? [Laughing] 516 00:22:15,567 --> 00:22:17,069 Like, you know? 517 00:22:17,069 --> 00:22:18,486 The plate couldn't hold enough. 518 00:22:18,486 --> 00:22:20,530 I'm like, "Fred, you go back for more." 519 00:22:20,530 --> 00:22:23,324 It looked like Mount St. Helen's or something, 520 00:22:23,324 --> 00:22:25,368 you know, but he would go back for four more plates. 521 00:22:38,714 --> 00:22:40,048 They really became close friends, 522 00:22:40,048 --> 00:22:43,093 that Natural Disaster run. And it was a good run. 523 00:22:43,093 --> 00:22:45,804 At the beginning of 1993, 524 00:22:45,804 --> 00:22:47,723 the reign of the Natural Disasters 525 00:22:47,723 --> 00:22:51,351 comes to an end as John Tenta returns to Japan. 526 00:23:13,706 --> 00:23:17,001 Fred Ottman continues to wrestle for the WWF 527 00:23:17,001 --> 00:23:19,711 until later that year when an unthinkable tragedy 528 00:23:19,711 --> 00:23:22,172 brings Fred home to Florida. 529 00:23:22,172 --> 00:23:25,133 I was opening two bars in Key West. 530 00:23:25,133 --> 00:23:27,469 My brother-in-law Randy was supposed to 531 00:23:27,469 --> 00:23:29,763 run the business when I was on the road, 532 00:23:29,763 --> 00:23:31,681 and my brother-in-law was out on the phone 533 00:23:31,681 --> 00:23:33,725 by the building, and there was some 534 00:23:33,725 --> 00:23:35,935 young kids that were there. 535 00:23:35,935 --> 00:23:38,313 And they started messing with a good friend of his. 536 00:23:38,313 --> 00:23:40,481 And Randy drops the phone and goes over to try to 537 00:23:40,481 --> 00:23:42,358 de-escalate the situation. 538 00:23:42,358 --> 00:23:45,778 Well, the oldest guy, he had a pistol. 539 00:23:45,778 --> 00:23:48,364 -And shot the gun. -[Gunshot] 540 00:23:48,364 --> 00:23:50,783 And, he hit my brother-in-law, 541 00:23:50,783 --> 00:23:52,659 and he dropped dead... 542 00:23:52,659 --> 00:23:54,912 on the spot. 543 00:23:54,912 --> 00:23:57,915 And so, with everything I had going on, 544 00:23:57,915 --> 00:24:00,500 there was no one to take over the business, 545 00:24:00,500 --> 00:24:02,752 and it took me off the road and, and ah... 546 00:24:02,752 --> 00:24:04,170 not what I had planned. 547 00:24:04,170 --> 00:24:06,381 But, you know, my family. 548 00:24:06,381 --> 00:24:08,800 While Fred struggles to help his family, 549 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,135 John's work schedule in Japan takes him 550 00:24:11,135 --> 00:24:13,554 further away from his own. 551 00:24:13,554 --> 00:24:14,847 My dad, at the time, 552 00:24:14,847 --> 00:24:16,808 the travel was starting to wear on him. 553 00:24:16,808 --> 00:24:19,602 My mom and dad got into a pretty big fight 554 00:24:19,602 --> 00:24:22,062 just because he wasn't home enough. 555 00:24:22,062 --> 00:24:23,814 It was a pretty big blow out, you know, 556 00:24:23,814 --> 00:24:27,234 my mom was just tired of not, you know, 557 00:24:27,234 --> 00:24:29,903 seeing him as often as she would've liked to, 558 00:24:29,903 --> 00:24:33,115 I remember that day like it was yesterday, man. 559 00:24:33,115 --> 00:24:35,492 In August of 1993, 560 00:24:35,492 --> 00:24:37,786 Fred Ottman makes his return to the ring 561 00:24:37,786 --> 00:24:40,747 for the WWF's rival WCW, 562 00:24:40,747 --> 00:24:43,249 but soon finds himself at the centre of one of the most 563 00:24:43,249 --> 00:24:45,668 embarrassing moments in wrestling history... 564 00:24:45,668 --> 00:24:48,295 while the cameras are live. 565 00:24:48,295 --> 00:24:51,048 ♪ 566 00:24:51,048 --> 00:24:54,760 The Shockmaster was the gimmick. 567 00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:56,929 This was live TV. 568 00:24:56,929 --> 00:24:59,348 Tonight's special guests are Sting! 569 00:24:59,348 --> 00:25:01,684 The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith! 570 00:25:01,684 --> 00:25:03,643 And their mystery guest! 571 00:25:03,643 --> 00:25:05,770 It was Sting and Davey Boy, they're tagged up. 572 00:25:05,770 --> 00:25:08,481 And it was the Harlem Heat on the other side, 573 00:25:08,481 --> 00:25:10,316 and Fred was supposed to attack 574 00:25:10,316 --> 00:25:11,693 Harlem Heat or something. 575 00:25:11,693 --> 00:25:15,530 Hey! They're gonna tell us before you get carried away 576 00:25:15,530 --> 00:25:19,993 who their special tag team partner is, brother! 577 00:25:19,993 --> 00:25:21,578 You better cool down! 578 00:25:21,578 --> 00:25:24,163 The whole idea was that I was the mystery partner, 579 00:25:24,163 --> 00:25:26,707 have me bust through a wall with this gimmick on. 580 00:25:26,707 --> 00:25:29,418 The true Shockmaster was almost like a comic book, 581 00:25:29,418 --> 00:25:32,087 like a Darth Vader head or something, right? 582 00:25:32,087 --> 00:25:33,797 "Here, try this on. This is what you're gonna 583 00:25:33,797 --> 00:25:34,923 wear when you go through here." 584 00:25:34,923 --> 00:25:36,717 It's got two little pin holes. 585 00:25:36,717 --> 00:25:39,595 Like, little, little pin holes, like this. 586 00:25:39,595 --> 00:25:43,306 At most. And then glitter is coming in. 587 00:25:43,306 --> 00:25:46,726 They built a wall that was 2x4 studs, you know, 588 00:25:46,726 --> 00:25:48,519 12, 14 inch on centre. 589 00:25:48,519 --> 00:25:50,730 5/8 sheet rock, like a wall in your house. 590 00:25:50,730 --> 00:25:52,857 Now, they didn't gimmick the wall though. 591 00:25:52,857 --> 00:25:54,358 They didn't scour it or anything like that 592 00:25:54,358 --> 00:25:56,486 to make it easier. 593 00:25:56,486 --> 00:25:58,362 Guy gives me the cue, he says, "Fred, 594 00:25:58,362 --> 00:26:00,698 you're gonna have to hit that wall hard, man." 595 00:26:03,867 --> 00:26:06,369 -Shockmaster? -I could show it to you. 596 00:26:06,369 --> 00:26:08,747 Do you want to see what I'm talking about? 597 00:26:08,747 --> 00:26:12,626 Our partner is going to shock the world because... 598 00:26:12,626 --> 00:26:16,880 he is none other than The Shockmaster! 599 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:18,423 Alright! 600 00:26:18,423 --> 00:26:20,842 The Shockmaster! Ha-ha-ha-ha! 601 00:26:20,842 --> 00:26:22,385 What the ----? 602 00:26:22,385 --> 00:26:27,014 I go, what in the hell- was that, was that Fred? 603 00:26:27,014 --> 00:26:30,518 The Shockmaster! Alright! 604 00:26:30,518 --> 00:26:33,312 The Shockmaster! Whoa! I told ya! 605 00:26:42,780 --> 00:26:44,656 He ----ing fell down! 606 00:26:44,656 --> 00:26:47,659 [Laughing] 607 00:26:47,659 --> 00:26:50,662 It looked like he hit the thing and come down! 608 00:26:50,662 --> 00:26:52,080 [Laughing] 609 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:53,915 What happened was I hit it so hard, 610 00:26:53,915 --> 00:26:55,416 it just went- [Whistling] 611 00:26:55,416 --> 00:26:56,584 Like this when I went through the wall 612 00:26:56,584 --> 00:26:58,169 it put me straight over like a teeter totter 613 00:26:58,169 --> 00:26:59,921 in a kids' playground. 614 00:26:59,921 --> 00:27:03,967 [Laughing] 615 00:27:03,967 --> 00:27:05,759 He was, he was looking for the, 616 00:27:05,759 --> 00:27:07,261 for the gimmick. 617 00:27:07,261 --> 00:27:13,559 [Laughing] 618 00:27:13,559 --> 00:27:17,229 [Deep voice] They call me The Shockmaster. 619 00:27:17,229 --> 00:27:19,356 What a lot of people don't know is 620 00:27:19,356 --> 00:27:22,484 that wasn't Fred's voice... talking. 621 00:27:22,484 --> 00:27:25,903 It was Ole Anderson with his growly voice 622 00:27:25,903 --> 00:27:27,488 was on a microphone. 623 00:27:27,488 --> 00:27:31,075 [Shockmaster] Come after me, Sid. I'm ready. 624 00:27:31,075 --> 00:27:34,203 [Haku] Is this the end of it? [Laughing] 625 00:27:34,203 --> 00:27:37,290 We might as well. We can't dump this one. 626 00:27:37,290 --> 00:27:39,667 [Laughing] 627 00:27:39,667 --> 00:27:41,586 Fred, I still love you. 628 00:27:41,586 --> 00:27:45,922 [Laughing] 629 00:27:45,922 --> 00:27:48,466 I never seen that shit before! 630 00:27:48,466 --> 00:27:51,511 [Laughing] 631 00:27:51,511 --> 00:27:53,513 He was gonna crush people or shock 'em, 632 00:27:53,513 --> 00:27:54,681 whatever he was gonna do. 633 00:27:54,681 --> 00:27:57,183 But, he fell. And that was- 634 00:27:57,183 --> 00:27:59,436 [Laughing] And that was the end of that. 635 00:27:59,436 --> 00:28:02,355 It was horrendous, but you know what, 636 00:28:02,355 --> 00:28:04,733 you can turn a negative into a positive. 637 00:28:04,733 --> 00:28:06,400 It's been very, very good to me. 638 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:09,194 That's the classic Shockmaster. 639 00:28:09,194 --> 00:28:11,363 It made an internet sensation out of Fred 640 00:28:11,363 --> 00:28:12,781 falling through the wall. 641 00:28:12,781 --> 00:28:15,826 So, if there'd be like a plane crash and Fred ran in 642 00:28:15,826 --> 00:28:19,705 and saved like all the school kids out of the plane before 643 00:28:19,705 --> 00:28:22,249 it blew it up, he'd still be remembered as Shockmaster. 644 00:28:22,249 --> 00:28:26,045 [Laughing] You know? It's funny as shit. 645 00:28:26,045 --> 00:28:28,004 Oh, my goodness. 646 00:28:28,004 --> 00:28:33,092 [Laughing] 647 00:28:36,137 --> 00:28:38,473 Earthquake! Victorious! 648 00:28:38,473 --> 00:28:41,935 A former star for Vince McMahon's WWF, 649 00:28:41,935 --> 00:28:44,354 John Tenta has grown disillusioned with the 650 00:28:44,354 --> 00:28:47,147 company and the toll its aggressive schedule 651 00:28:47,147 --> 00:28:48,774 took on his family. 652 00:28:57,032 --> 00:28:59,451 I think that he was ready to find a solution that would 653 00:28:59,451 --> 00:29:01,328 allow him to be with his family more. 654 00:29:01,328 --> 00:29:02,579 And I think at that time, 655 00:29:02,579 --> 00:29:05,123 WCW kind of threw him the life raft. 656 00:29:05,123 --> 00:29:07,750 They gave him such big contracts and 657 00:29:07,750 --> 00:29:11,629 less working days on the road. 658 00:29:11,629 --> 00:29:15,508 We moved from Canada to Florida... 659 00:29:15,508 --> 00:29:17,760 so that my dad could... 660 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:20,137 have more time at home. 661 00:29:20,137 --> 00:29:22,973 It was so easy to be around him and to be 662 00:29:22,973 --> 00:29:25,768 around family and, just to enjoy each other, 663 00:29:25,768 --> 00:29:29,020 whether it was something like going to Disney or it was a 664 00:29:29,020 --> 00:29:31,606 Thursday night and I popped in a laser disc 665 00:29:31,606 --> 00:29:33,858 so we could sing karaoke. 666 00:29:33,858 --> 00:29:36,778 He is a karaoke king, man. 667 00:29:36,778 --> 00:29:38,822 Ah, "House of the Rising Sun" 668 00:29:38,822 --> 00:29:42,826 was one of his favourite songs he used to sing. 669 00:29:42,826 --> 00:29:44,285 We'd sing together, 670 00:29:44,285 --> 00:29:48,622 and we liked the duet of "Endless Love". 671 00:29:48,622 --> 00:29:52,459 When my dad was home, he showed up to 672 00:29:52,459 --> 00:29:55,254 any event, any show, any game. 673 00:29:55,254 --> 00:29:57,756 Anything that we had going on. 674 00:29:57,756 --> 00:30:00,676 That was a nice base hit there. 675 00:30:00,676 --> 00:30:02,136 He was all about making memories and 676 00:30:02,136 --> 00:30:03,804 doing things with the family. 677 00:30:03,804 --> 00:30:06,140 -That's awesome. -Thank you, sweetie. 678 00:30:06,140 --> 00:30:09,058 But as John's family life is solidified, 679 00:30:09,058 --> 00:30:11,561 his career in the ring is coming apart. 680 00:30:11,561 --> 00:30:15,732 Introducing first, Avalanche! 681 00:30:15,732 --> 00:30:18,526 The WCW, he couldn't use the Earthquake name, 682 00:30:18,526 --> 00:30:20,194 so he came in as Avalanche. 683 00:30:20,194 --> 00:30:23,031 Vince McMahon owned the name Earthquake. 684 00:30:23,031 --> 00:30:25,491 To go out there and change your name and everything, 685 00:30:25,491 --> 00:30:27,869 it confuses the fans. 686 00:30:27,869 --> 00:30:30,412 Avalanche was too close to Earthquake. 687 00:30:30,412 --> 00:30:34,541 And so, Dad would be kind of infringing on that trademark 688 00:30:34,541 --> 00:30:38,045 so, unfortunately that gimmick didn't last very long. 689 00:30:38,045 --> 00:30:40,964 After Avalanche, we all got graced with Shark. 690 00:30:40,964 --> 00:30:43,133 Ah, which he absolutely hated. 691 00:30:43,133 --> 00:30:46,595 They put a fin on him. I thought to myself, 692 00:30:46,595 --> 00:30:48,638 that's, that's ----ing stupid. 693 00:30:48,638 --> 00:30:50,473 He did it just because, you know, 694 00:30:50,473 --> 00:30:53,058 it's supporting the family. Once again, it's a job. 695 00:30:53,058 --> 00:30:55,061 You know, he's gonna do what he needs to do 696 00:30:55,061 --> 00:30:56,812 to make it work and be all-in on it. 697 00:31:05,154 --> 00:31:08,115 I just think maybe they just never could get the right... 698 00:31:08,115 --> 00:31:12,118 character that they wanted out of him. 699 00:31:12,118 --> 00:31:15,455 After a year of portraying the Shark in WCW, 700 00:31:15,455 --> 00:31:17,373 John finally gets the opportunity to 701 00:31:17,373 --> 00:31:19,167 define himself in the ring. 702 00:31:19,167 --> 00:31:22,629 I'm not The Shark. I'm not a fish. 703 00:31:22,629 --> 00:31:24,756 I'm not an Avalanche. 704 00:31:24,756 --> 00:31:28,343 I'm a man. John Tenta! 705 00:31:28,343 --> 00:31:31,804 That very much felt like it was his mike drop moment. 706 00:31:31,804 --> 00:31:34,389 With all of, all of these gimmicks. 707 00:31:34,389 --> 00:31:36,934 But the bottom line is he was never given the story lines 708 00:31:36,934 --> 00:31:39,269 that he had in the WWE. 709 00:31:39,269 --> 00:31:41,480 He was never put in the position to make money 710 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:43,315 in WCW. 711 00:31:43,315 --> 00:31:45,442 He was just used. 712 00:31:45,442 --> 00:31:48,112 But in 1998 during what is supposed to be 713 00:31:48,112 --> 00:31:51,906 his triumphant return to the WWF, John Tenta is 714 00:31:51,906 --> 00:31:55,117 forced into his oddest gimmick yet. 715 00:31:55,117 --> 00:31:56,953 The Golga character was a member of The Oddities, 716 00:31:56,953 --> 00:31:59,080 where you had Luna Vachon, 717 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:01,624 Kurrgan, and Giant Silva. 718 00:32:01,624 --> 00:32:06,212 He had this huge Cartman doll that he brought out 719 00:32:06,212 --> 00:32:10,716 to the ring with him. He was under a mask. 720 00:32:10,716 --> 00:32:13,718 Putting John under a mask was just humiliation. 721 00:32:13,718 --> 00:32:15,679 You know, they didn't want him to... 722 00:32:15,679 --> 00:32:18,265 to get the kudos that he would've had if they just 723 00:32:18,265 --> 00:32:21,101 round him out there as Earthquake. 724 00:32:21,101 --> 00:32:26,356 They wanted to do something that was just grotesque. 725 00:32:26,356 --> 00:32:28,358 Even when he was The Shark or The Avalanche, 726 00:32:28,358 --> 00:32:30,443 he was Earthquake. Even when he was Golga, 727 00:32:30,443 --> 00:32:31,610 he was Earthquake. 728 00:32:31,610 --> 00:32:33,654 Everybody wanted Earthquake back, 729 00:32:33,654 --> 00:32:35,489 and all these other gimmicks was just trying to 730 00:32:35,489 --> 00:32:38,284 get back to, you know, his glory days. 731 00:32:38,284 --> 00:32:40,452 When Golga ran its course, 732 00:32:40,452 --> 00:32:42,788 he couldn't go back to the WCW. 733 00:32:42,788 --> 00:32:45,040 Ah, where else could he go? 734 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:47,835 Which is likely why that sparked his wrestling school 735 00:32:47,835 --> 00:32:50,254 that he opened up in, in Sanford. 736 00:32:50,254 --> 00:32:52,213 It didn't work out. 737 00:32:52,213 --> 00:32:54,090 It's like always money coming out, 738 00:32:54,090 --> 00:32:55,717 but nothing's really coming in. 739 00:32:55,717 --> 00:32:58,177 We had a bankruptcy. 740 00:32:58,177 --> 00:33:00,096 Everything changed. 741 00:33:00,096 --> 00:33:01,848 He has the school for, 742 00:33:01,848 --> 00:33:04,851 maybe I would say a year or under a year. 743 00:33:04,851 --> 00:33:09,147 And then, he started doing the retail. 744 00:33:09,147 --> 00:33:10,690 He got a job at the mall, 745 00:33:10,690 --> 00:33:12,774 and he worked in the Big & Tall section. 746 00:33:12,774 --> 00:33:14,818 And you know, he'd have fans recognize him. 747 00:33:14,818 --> 00:33:17,112 Dude was working in the men's department, 748 00:33:17,112 --> 00:33:20,574 you know, sweating his ass off. 749 00:33:20,574 --> 00:33:25,871 It is incredibly hard to go from being a superstar... 750 00:33:25,871 --> 00:33:28,957 to working retail somewhere. 751 00:33:28,957 --> 00:33:32,752 John was gonna make a living for his family, 752 00:33:32,752 --> 00:33:34,462 regardless of what it was. 753 00:33:34,462 --> 00:33:36,339 If he had to shovel shit, he'd do it 754 00:33:36,339 --> 00:33:39,133 to provide for his family. 755 00:33:39,133 --> 00:33:42,428 After my dad left retail, he started truck driving. 756 00:33:42,428 --> 00:33:43,971 He, he saw it as an opportunity to make 757 00:33:43,971 --> 00:33:45,306 a little bit more money. 758 00:33:45,306 --> 00:33:46,766 You know, it wasn't a glamorous job. 759 00:33:46,766 --> 00:33:48,184 He would be, you know, peeing in, 760 00:33:48,184 --> 00:33:50,519 in gallon jugs because you just don't have time to 761 00:33:50,519 --> 00:33:52,521 stop at a truck stop. 762 00:33:52,521 --> 00:33:54,189 And he started to notice that there were 763 00:33:54,189 --> 00:33:56,149 blood clots in his urine. 764 00:33:56,149 --> 00:33:58,443 And, he was on the road, and so, 765 00:33:58,443 --> 00:34:01,321 he wasn't able to get to a doctor very quickly and he 766 00:34:01,321 --> 00:34:03,740 kind of kept it a secret from my mom for a little while. 767 00:34:03,740 --> 00:34:06,076 He kind of got away with... 768 00:34:06,076 --> 00:34:09,329 letting this, this thing, this tumour in his bladder 769 00:34:09,329 --> 00:34:12,540 grow for longer than it should have. 770 00:34:12,540 --> 00:34:15,000 When he went to the doctor, 771 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:17,378 they gave him a very short prognosis. 772 00:34:17,378 --> 00:34:18,963 And, said that there wasn't anything that 773 00:34:18,963 --> 00:34:20,631 they were going to be able to do. 774 00:34:20,631 --> 00:34:22,967 Said it was already advanced too far. 775 00:34:22,967 --> 00:34:25,970 It's already too late 'cause the size of the tumour 776 00:34:25,970 --> 00:34:28,055 is like a baseball size. 777 00:34:36,646 --> 00:34:39,774 After being diagnosed with advanced bladder cancer, 778 00:34:39,774 --> 00:34:42,568 John Tenta and his wife must break the news 779 00:34:42,568 --> 00:34:44,612 to their children. 780 00:34:44,612 --> 00:34:47,156 My parents, um... 781 00:34:47,156 --> 00:34:50,910 sat me and my siblings down, and... 782 00:34:50,910 --> 00:34:54,454 they said that my dad had cancer, um, 783 00:34:54,454 --> 00:34:57,541 and that they were going to Houston for a second opinion. 784 00:34:57,541 --> 00:35:00,294 There were a lot of tears and... 785 00:35:00,294 --> 00:35:03,630 a lot of worry and fear. 786 00:35:03,630 --> 00:35:07,050 My sister works in, in healthcare. 787 00:35:07,050 --> 00:35:09,011 And, she told me that bladder cancer is 788 00:35:09,011 --> 00:35:11,847 one of the most curable cancers. 789 00:35:11,847 --> 00:35:14,890 And so, for that to take him down because 790 00:35:14,890 --> 00:35:16,642 he was away from home or you know... 791 00:35:16,642 --> 00:35:19,103 he kept it a secret, ah... 792 00:35:19,103 --> 00:35:21,313 really, it's a bummer to hear. 793 00:35:21,313 --> 00:35:22,815 Yeah, it definitely sucked. 794 00:35:22,815 --> 00:35:24,650 He felt like if he was still wrestling, 795 00:35:24,650 --> 00:35:27,069 they might have caught it earlier. 796 00:35:27,069 --> 00:35:29,947 And he might have had a fighting chance. 797 00:35:29,947 --> 00:35:33,325 Ah, I walked in on him sitting at the edge of 798 00:35:33,325 --> 00:35:34,952 the bed watching some old tapes. 799 00:35:34,952 --> 00:35:37,120 There were VHS tapes all over the floor, 800 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:39,122 and I heard him laughing. 801 00:35:39,122 --> 00:35:41,916 And he was watching the segment on prime time. 802 00:35:41,916 --> 00:35:45,003 He was quoting himself in the segment, he was loving it, 803 00:35:45,003 --> 00:35:46,838 he was making himself laugh with the jokes that 804 00:35:46,838 --> 00:35:48,840 he was telling. 805 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:50,592 I do think that my dad was kind of 806 00:35:50,592 --> 00:35:52,302 forged to be tough, you know. 807 00:35:52,302 --> 00:35:53,636 And it's funny, you know, you think like, oh, 808 00:35:53,636 --> 00:35:55,138 you just gotta fight as hard as you can. 809 00:35:55,138 --> 00:35:56,764 But it's so much more than that, right. 810 00:35:56,764 --> 00:35:58,390 It's not like he could... 811 00:35:58,390 --> 00:36:02,019 do a body slam to the tumours in his body. 812 00:36:02,019 --> 00:36:04,938 As one of the wrestling world's most imposing figures 813 00:36:04,938 --> 00:36:07,107 takes on the battle of his life, 814 00:36:07,107 --> 00:36:10,611 few in the business even know of his struggle. 815 00:36:10,611 --> 00:36:13,155 John, I wish that... 816 00:36:13,155 --> 00:36:15,616 he told me... 817 00:36:15,616 --> 00:36:17,617 that... 818 00:36:17,617 --> 00:36:19,285 he needed help. 819 00:36:19,285 --> 00:36:23,498 Especially it wasn't just about you, 820 00:36:23,498 --> 00:36:28,336 but it was also for your family. 821 00:36:28,336 --> 00:36:31,047 But... 822 00:36:31,047 --> 00:36:35,760 too late to find out that you kept it to yourself. 823 00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:39,262 In the summer of 2005... 824 00:36:39,262 --> 00:36:42,682 gosh, my dad looked actually great that summer. 825 00:36:42,682 --> 00:36:45,310 He looked a lot like himself. 826 00:36:45,310 --> 00:36:48,188 He was going through chemo and all that stuff, and... 827 00:36:48,188 --> 00:36:50,232 you know, they still had high hopes that 828 00:36:50,232 --> 00:36:53,193 they were gonna beat it, and... 829 00:36:53,193 --> 00:36:57,863 I was getting married that June 2005. 830 00:36:57,863 --> 00:37:01,075 Before the wedding, he called me on the phone, he says, 831 00:37:01,075 --> 00:37:05,830 "Fred," he says, "The cancer is back," you know. 832 00:37:05,830 --> 00:37:09,208 We're trying to see if it can be fixed, you know. 833 00:37:09,208 --> 00:37:13,045 So, we didn't tell the kids. 834 00:37:13,045 --> 00:37:16,924 At the wedding, my brother and his wife had 835 00:37:16,924 --> 00:37:19,259 the karaoke machine set up and... 836 00:37:19,259 --> 00:37:22,053 one of my mom's songs to my dad 837 00:37:22,053 --> 00:37:24,055 is, "You Needed Me". 838 00:37:24,055 --> 00:37:29,227 And, so she was starting to sing that song and... 839 00:37:29,227 --> 00:37:31,062 kind of halfway through, 840 00:37:31,062 --> 00:37:34,190 she just started breaking down and crying. 841 00:37:34,190 --> 00:37:37,235 My dad came to my mom, and 842 00:37:37,235 --> 00:37:39,820 they had that crying session, 843 00:37:39,820 --> 00:37:43,866 just hugging each other and crying. 844 00:37:43,866 --> 00:37:46,952 Love him so much. 845 00:37:46,952 --> 00:37:49,580 When you love someone, nothing is hard, 846 00:37:49,580 --> 00:37:51,081 as long as you... 847 00:37:51,081 --> 00:37:55,377 you're with that person that you love. 848 00:37:55,377 --> 00:37:59,422 At that point, they pretty much figured it was, 849 00:37:59,422 --> 00:38:01,549 you know, game over for my dad. 850 00:38:11,392 --> 00:38:14,437 Just before his eldest son Jeff's wedding, 851 00:38:14,437 --> 00:38:16,731 John Tenta learns that the cancer has 852 00:38:16,731 --> 00:38:19,274 spread throughout his body. 853 00:38:19,274 --> 00:38:20,525 You know, looking back, it's not shocking that 854 00:38:20,525 --> 00:38:22,944 he wasn't quick to tell us. Maybe, 855 00:38:22,944 --> 00:38:25,989 maybe he knew it was bad from the beginning and, 856 00:38:25,989 --> 00:38:28,033 you know, was just trying to stretch out 857 00:38:28,033 --> 00:38:31,286 as much time as he could. 858 00:38:31,286 --> 00:38:34,080 And I told him that... 859 00:38:34,080 --> 00:38:36,249 "Don't you worry." 860 00:38:36,249 --> 00:38:39,668 ♪ 861 00:38:39,668 --> 00:38:43,756 "The kids and I are gonna be okay. 862 00:38:43,756 --> 00:38:47,426 So if it's time..." 863 00:38:47,426 --> 00:38:49,595 He can go. 864 00:38:49,595 --> 00:38:52,598 But before he closed his eyes, 865 00:38:52,598 --> 00:38:55,893 one by one, they, they talked to him. 866 00:38:55,893 --> 00:38:59,063 I couldn't stop thanking him for the life that he's 867 00:38:59,063 --> 00:39:01,940 been able to give us, you know, give me. 868 00:39:01,940 --> 00:39:03,983 He didn't need to take me along, 869 00:39:03,983 --> 00:39:05,860 but he did anyways. 870 00:39:05,860 --> 00:39:08,529 And, I greatly appreciated everything that he's done, 871 00:39:08,529 --> 00:39:12,408 made me a better person, better man, you know. 872 00:39:12,408 --> 00:39:15,453 I told him how much I loved him. 873 00:39:15,453 --> 00:39:19,499 I told him- [Voice breaking] Thank you... 874 00:39:19,499 --> 00:39:24,044 for being, um, such a great dad. 875 00:39:24,044 --> 00:39:25,921 [Sniffling] 876 00:39:25,921 --> 00:39:30,008 And I remember just throwing myself on top of him 877 00:39:30,008 --> 00:39:33,845 one more time and giving him one more hug. 878 00:39:33,845 --> 00:39:36,014 [Sniffling] 879 00:39:36,014 --> 00:39:39,726 ♪ 880 00:39:39,726 --> 00:39:43,396 [Sighing] 881 00:39:43,396 --> 00:39:45,022 My dad loved to laugh, 882 00:39:45,022 --> 00:39:47,191 and so any time he would tell a joke... 883 00:39:47,191 --> 00:39:48,943 or if he would tease my mom, 884 00:39:48,943 --> 00:39:51,237 or he saw me from across the room, 885 00:39:51,237 --> 00:39:54,907 he'd flash a wink at me. 886 00:39:54,907 --> 00:39:58,286 And so... 887 00:39:58,286 --> 00:40:02,580 I remember when it was, it was my turn to go in. 888 00:40:02,580 --> 00:40:03,790 I went to go and talk to him- 889 00:40:03,790 --> 00:40:06,501 I don't remember what I said. 890 00:40:06,501 --> 00:40:08,920 But he winked at me. 891 00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:11,089 ♪ 892 00:40:11,089 --> 00:40:13,258 In his final moments, 893 00:40:13,258 --> 00:40:16,970 he was looking at each of us in the room, 894 00:40:16,970 --> 00:40:21,598 and locking eyes with us, and... 895 00:40:21,598 --> 00:40:25,477 my dad died while I was holding his hand. 896 00:40:25,477 --> 00:40:29,523 He passed away on June 7th, 2006. 897 00:40:29,523 --> 00:40:31,775 Which was just, gosh, 898 00:40:31,775 --> 00:40:35,738 a couple weeks from his 43rd birthday. 899 00:40:35,738 --> 00:40:41,577 And, a couple months before his first grandkid, so... 900 00:40:41,577 --> 00:40:46,289 You can never forget about it, you know. 901 00:40:46,289 --> 00:40:49,083 It's still hard. 902 00:40:49,083 --> 00:40:51,794 It was Fred who called me about John. 903 00:40:51,794 --> 00:40:55,006 But, those calls... 904 00:40:55,006 --> 00:40:59,093 for our era of guys happen too many times. 905 00:40:59,093 --> 00:41:01,387 Too many times. 906 00:41:01,387 --> 00:41:02,971 It was just horrible to hear it 'cause 907 00:41:02,971 --> 00:41:05,640 he was such a sweet man. 908 00:41:05,640 --> 00:41:08,977 John Tenta was laid to rest in Houston, Texas 909 00:41:08,977 --> 00:41:11,146 surrounded by the love his family, 910 00:41:11,146 --> 00:41:13,106 but without any representation from the 911 00:41:13,106 --> 00:41:17,152 business he devoted himself to for over 20 years. 912 00:41:17,152 --> 00:41:20,072 There's no wrestlers. 913 00:41:20,072 --> 00:41:25,284 No flowers from... 914 00:41:25,284 --> 00:41:28,120 the boss. 915 00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:30,956 The amount of work that my dad had put out there, 916 00:41:30,956 --> 00:41:34,126 for the amount of punishment he put, you know, 917 00:41:34,126 --> 00:41:37,088 his body through for entertainment and 918 00:41:37,088 --> 00:41:38,923 for his bosses and, 919 00:41:38,923 --> 00:41:41,300 I just wish that they would've, you know, 920 00:41:41,300 --> 00:41:43,843 tried a little harder to reach out to him and 921 00:41:43,843 --> 00:41:45,553 to show more love. 922 00:41:45,553 --> 00:41:47,305 Because he was a gentle giant, 923 00:41:47,305 --> 00:41:50,141 and he would've done anything for anybody. 924 00:41:50,141 --> 00:41:52,519 John, and Jimmy Hart, and my brother 925 00:41:52,519 --> 00:41:55,814 who just passed away last July, 926 00:41:55,814 --> 00:41:57,649 we were a family on the road. 927 00:41:57,649 --> 00:42:00,110 This was my family. 928 00:42:00,110 --> 00:42:04,029 Talking about it now, it's heart breaking for me. 929 00:42:04,029 --> 00:42:07,408 When you lose a good friend like that. 930 00:42:07,408 --> 00:42:09,952 I will always remember John because 931 00:42:09,952 --> 00:42:12,871 this is my sumo brother. 932 00:42:12,871 --> 00:42:17,084 And that's how I am gonna remember John forever. 933 00:42:17,084 --> 00:42:18,627 A brother. 934 00:42:18,627 --> 00:42:21,171 He should be remembered as 935 00:42:21,171 --> 00:42:23,965 a wrestler who lived the fullest. 936 00:42:23,965 --> 00:42:25,550 You know, he came to Japan, 937 00:42:25,550 --> 00:42:28,177 and he had very healthy good run 938 00:42:28,177 --> 00:42:30,138 as a professional wrestler. 939 00:42:30,138 --> 00:42:33,683 I stopped watching wrestling for years, 940 00:42:33,683 --> 00:42:36,352 and recently I've now been more interested in 941 00:42:36,352 --> 00:42:38,396 watching my dad's matches. 942 00:42:38,396 --> 00:42:39,981 I feel a sense of pride. 943 00:42:39,981 --> 00:42:42,650 I can watch them, and I can be amazed... 944 00:42:42,650 --> 00:42:45,318 that my dad did that. 945 00:42:45,318 --> 00:42:46,903 He was a true legend. 946 00:42:46,903 --> 00:42:48,572 Not just for his talent. 947 00:42:48,572 --> 00:42:52,451 Him as a person, he was the entire package. 948 00:42:52,451 --> 00:42:55,287 I love you, brother. 949 00:42:55,287 --> 00:42:58,290 I love you. 950 00:42:58,290 --> 00:43:00,542 What is that picture of Mom and Dad right there? 951 00:43:00,542 --> 00:43:02,669 John is the love of my life. 952 00:43:02,669 --> 00:43:04,795 My... 953 00:43:04,795 --> 00:43:06,338 soulmate. 954 00:43:06,338 --> 00:43:09,383 Well, this is the first picture of him and me. 955 00:43:09,383 --> 00:43:11,510 And he wrote something in the back too, 956 00:43:11,510 --> 00:43:13,220 so this was in 19... 957 00:43:13,220 --> 00:43:14,263 -'86? -'86? 958 00:43:14,263 --> 00:43:17,016 -December. -Yeah. 959 00:43:17,016 --> 00:43:18,559 Would you like- 960 00:43:18,559 --> 00:43:19,852 [Laughing] 961 00:43:19,852 --> 00:43:23,022 "This is our first picture taken together. 962 00:43:23,022 --> 00:43:25,273 I was so happy being with you. 963 00:43:25,273 --> 00:43:27,525 It made me feel so good. 964 00:43:27,525 --> 00:43:33,823 I can hardly wait until we are together all the time." 965 00:43:33,823 --> 00:43:36,493 "Always remember... 966 00:43:36,493 --> 00:43:39,996 I love you, John." 967 00:43:39,996 --> 00:43:43,625 If you look up to the heaven, 968 00:43:43,625 --> 00:43:46,210 you're gonna see him smiling, 969 00:43:46,210 --> 00:43:49,671 to see how the kids turned out. 970 00:43:49,671 --> 00:43:52,966 He's proof that you can be nice and 971 00:43:52,966 --> 00:43:55,552 work really hard, and... 972 00:43:55,552 --> 00:43:58,639 leave an impact. 973 00:43:58,639 --> 00:44:02,518 My dad was many things to many different people. 974 00:44:02,518 --> 00:44:06,604 But to us, he was just a great dad. 975 00:44:06,604 --> 00:44:07,772 Yeah.