By Gordon Holmes
Special to Canadian of the Week

From Alberta’s Hart Family to Quebec’s Rougeau Brothers to Ontario’s Edge and Christian, the tradition of Canadian wrestling is full of larger-than-life personalities and unforgettable matches. Join us every week as we count down to Wrestlemania XXVI by taking a look at the Great White North’s finest contributions to the squared circle.

Editor’s Note: The “Modern Era” is defined as the period of wrestling that exists from
SummerSlam 1988 to the present day. Why 1988? Because that’s when I started watching wrestling. I know, I’m lame.

Previous pick: 10. Andrew “Test” Martin

9: John “Earthquake” Tenta
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 462 lbs.
Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia
Greatest Match: Earthquake vs. Hulk Hogan – SummerSlam 90

Wrestling was better when it was real.

Editor’s Note: Yes, I’m aware wrestling hasn’t been an actual competition since the days when Frank Gotch would hold a kangaroo in a headlock for 12 hours.

But to me, there was a time when wrestling was an actual contest. There was a time when Hulk Hogan overcame amazing odds because he fed off the power of his Hulkamaniacs and stayed true to his three demandments. And there was a time when the diabolical Earthquake had killed Hulk Hogan dead on “The Brother Love Show.”

Now I know wrestling is two fine athletes working together to put on a complex show…like figure skating.

Now I know Hulk Hogan always won because he sold tickets.

And now I know that John “Earthquake” Tenta was just one in a long line of super huge wrestlers brought along so Hulk Hogan would have someone impressive to body slam.

But man, there was a time when the Earthquake (originally billed as “Canadian Earthquake) scared the crap out of me.

In his very first appearance he squashed the Ultimate Warrior like a bug. Later that summer he blindsided Hulk Hogan and delivered Earthquake Splashes so devastating that the only way to bring the Hulkster back to life was by brandishing a “Get Well, Hulkster” bracelet.

Don’t judge me.

And then, in the lead up to the big Hogan vs. Earthquake grudge match at SummerSlam 90, he splashed the Tugboat (no pun intended) into oblivion.

But I wasn’t worried. We’d seen it a hundred times before. Hogan is attacked by a guy twice his size, Hogan kicks out of the villain’s biggest move, Hogan emerges victorious. Lather, rinse, repeat.

So, you could image the look on this young mark’s face when Hogan wasn’t able to get the job done. Sure, Hogan had his hand raised that night in the Philadelphia Spectrum, but it was only by countout.

In hindsight, I doubt I’d like Earthquake very much if he came on the scene today. Don’t get me wrong, he was very mobile for a big guy, but you watch wrestling with different eyes once you’ve seen behind the curtain. The fear for the well being of the good guy is impossible to capture once you know they’re both headed out to Cracker Barrel after the show.

But when I was a kid? The Earthquake was awesome.

Gordon Holmes is the wrestling correspondent for Comcast.net’s SlamCast wrestling coverage and the “Survivor” correspondent for Fancast.com. He was also trained to take a beating by WWE Hall of Famer Afa “The Wild Samoan” Anoa’i. You can follow Gordon on Twitter at twitter.com/gordonholmes.