We’re celebrating our friend John Tenta this week to coincide with the new Dark Side of the Ring featuring his story. He portrayed several characters in the wrestling world but of course he was most famous for his original stint in the WWF when he was known as the Earthquake and feuded with Hulk Hogan. And of course, he was managed by THIS MAN:
Yep, the doctor of style himself, Slick! Surely you remember that right? No? Then let me educate y’as!
See, there he is right there, hailing from the Northern Yukon Territories, good ol’ Earthquake Evans! This footage comes to us courtesy of the September 20, 1989 Superstars of Wrestling tapings with John SQUASHING future member of the Four Horsemen Paul Roma.
What’s interesting here is that they were still working out what the gimmick would wind up being. The outfit was just some flannel shirt and what appears to be a pair of dark jeans. Oh! And a ROPE BELT! Thank God they got rid of that, it always spells doom. He didn’t even use the Earthquake splash as his finisher, instead dropping a brutal elbow right in the center of Roma’s chest.
Slick would come in to celebrate, but unfortunately for the good doctor, he wouldn’t wind up long-term with Quake. Instead, John would be paired with “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart and the rest, as they say, is history. But for a brief moment, we got a glimpse of what it would look like if John Tenta was a Jive Soul Bro!