Not even the greatness of John “Earthquake” Tenta can make the whole Sumo match interesting so here’s just the finish of it.
I know John was a legitimate Sumo Wrestler, but I’m not quite sure what they were thinking with this.
It didn’t get Earthquake over, they didn’t push him, and he left shortly afterwards anyway.
Plus, it made Yokozuna look weak.
Besides, I don’t want to see Sumo Wrestling on my Pro Wrestling show- I want to see Pro Wrestling on my Pro Wrestling show!
How hard is that to pull off?!
Sheesh…
I have the entire Raw broadcast that this aired on. I taped every Raw from November 1993-February 1997.
I wouldn’t say the WWF wasn’t pushing him. Earthquake won every match he had on television and was to feud with Yokozuna after this, but asked out of his contract to leave for WCW about a week or so later (him not showing up in WCW ’til October can be contributed to a no-compete clause, of course).
I could be remembering wrong but I just don’t remember him being in any meaningful feuds or matches around this time.
He had just returned and was getting a push, first beating Adam Bomb a few times, then feuding with Yokozuna for a number of weeks. My guess is that they would have had Yoko wrestle Earthquake at Summerslam that year, instead of nobody.
Other than the kick-off to the angle with Yokozuna, I agree, he didn’t really do much of note. He was featured often in squashes, went over bottom-card guys like Bastion Booger and Adam Bomb, and then the Sumo Match was to jumpstart an angle with Yokozuna. For whatever reason, the WWF brought Typhoon back for about 2 months to fill in some dates against Yoko on the house show circuit, and to work with him on television as “revenge” for putting Quake out of the WWF.
The real mystery: What if Earthquake vs. Ludvig Borga really happened at WM X, as originally advertised in the WM X Reports?
I shouldn’t have said “for whatever reason” when I gave reasons. Proof reading is our friend. 😛
They’d still be mid carders going nowhere fast, I think.
More than likely. Earthquake probably would’ve been used to re-establish Yokozuna’s “monster heel” persona for Undertaker to crush at Survivor Series and been shipped out by years end. The shelf-life of returning names in ’94 wasn’t exactly long. Anyone remember when Koko B. Ware returned and resumed his role as a JTTS? High Energy Exploded on an episode of Superstars.
There was a sumo match, ‘crap inducted by RD, with the Big SHow
I liked this match. Maybe just because it gave me an excuse to depict Yokozuna after “losing face.”
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5QH6riIFumI/UMAELskmNsI/AAAAAAAAEY8/DN9lL4O2UxM/s320/yokozuna+lost+face.jpg
Yarr! That’ll replace the whale in me nightmares!
Actually, this match is featured on the “RAW: The Beginning” DVD set. Always liked John Tenta no matter whether he was Earthquake, Avalanche, or The Shark. My all-time favorite Tenta moment was when he squashed Adam Bomb in under a minute after Wrestlemania X. Good thing too b/c the fans were furious at the outcome of the previous match between Yoko and Luger & the screw job finish & this gave them something to enjoy after that debacle. RIP John Tenta, and thank you for all the great memories.
AT Wrestlemania X, not after. Spell check strikes again!
This was just a bad idea for a match. No one benefitted from this.
Loved this match as a kid , took the ropes off of every toy ring I had after that point