This morning, I got the sad news that John Tenta (better known as Earthquake to old-school WWE fans) passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was only in his early 40s, and in fact, his birthday would have been later this month.

Back in the day, I was a fan of Tenta’s. I still remember when he first showed up in 1989; Dino Bravo brought him out of the crowd during a strength contest against Ultimate Warrior, and both men did push-ups with Tenta sitting on their back. Of course, Tenta squashed Warrior when it was his turn and the Canadian Earthquake was born.

Over the years, he provided a lot more memorable moments. No one will ever forget the time he injured Hulk Hogan on the Brother Love Show, putting Hulk out of action for a few months. He’s also the one responsible for squashing Jake Roberts’ python Damien, dropping a massive Earthquake splash onto the bag holding the python in early 1991.

Of course, his career wasn’t only filled with moments like that. While in WCW in 1995, he was a member of the Dungeon of Doom with both Big Show (then known as The Giant) and the Big Boss Man (then known as Big Bubba Rogers). After a loss to Show on Nitro, Boss Man shaved half of Tenta’s hair and beard off. It was funny at the time, but of course, Tenta got his revenge on Boss Man later on. And in 2001, it was god to see Earthquake back in WWE as part of the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania X-Seven.

I actually was lucky enough to meet Tenta once. While he was originally from Canada, Tenta later was a resident of central Florida, where I lived for a few years. I was at the Altamonte Mall outside of Orlando one day, and as I was getting ready to sit down for some lunch I saw Tenta sitting at one of the tables nearby. He was hard to miss, really, being such a recognizable man. Anyway, after waiting for him to finish eating, my friend and I went up to him to solicit an autograph. He was more than happy to oblige, and we got to talk to him for a few minutes. He was a nice guy and thanked us for being fans, which really struck me. Sometimes when you meet a celebrity they’re a little standoffish, but he genuinely seemed to appreciate the fact that two random guys came up to him in a mall to get his autograph.

Oddly enough, perhaps my favorite memory of Tenta happened just a few weeks after our meeting. It was just after Christmas in 2001, as a matter of fact. SmackDown came to Orlando, and it was the night that Ric Flair challenged Mr. McMahon to a match at the 2002 Royal Rumble. But before all that, there were a few extra matches. A local wrestler made his way to the ring, and of course, no one in the crowd knew who was coming out to face him. When Earthquake’s music hit, the TD Waterhouse Centre exploded. Outside of WrestleMania X-Seven no one had really seen Tenta in years, but the crowd went nuts. He won with his signature Earthquake splash, and the crowd went crazy again; when he got to the top of the stage, Tenta stopped and waved to the fans, drawing one last thunderous ovation before heading back to the locker room.

And now just a few short years later, John Tenta is no longer with us. On the shelf above my desk, I have several of our Classic Superstars action figures hanging out up there. And as I look up there right now, it brings an empty feeling in my stomach when my eyes lock onto the Earthquake figure in the corner.

I know that fans and wrestlers alike will have even more positive things to say about John Tenta. I guess all that’s left for me is to say thank you. Thank you, John, for all the entertainment you’ve provided me over the years. I know that you’ve moved on to a better place, hopefully re-united with former partner Dino Bravo on the other side.