If you were to hold my feet to the fire, I would have to say that, over its long-tenured and rich history of colorful characters, the WWE has yielded more memorable villains than heroes. Sure, the big-time good guys are the ones that everyone remembers, but they were fewer and farther between, at least in my opinion, and there are many, many dynamic antagonists that don’t get the historical credit they deserve. One of those guys was John Tenta, AKA The Earthquake, and during his time in the WWE he scrapped with the best in some very memorable storylines.
Rumbling his way into the (then) WWF in 1989, Tenta came on the back of Dino Bravo and fresh off of a professional Sumo stint in Japan. A character and concept that just oozed pure heel, Tenta began combat with several faces right from the start in Jimmy Hart’s stable as the Canadian Earthquake. It did not take him long to realize that the only way to make a name like “Earthquake” less intimidating was to slap the word “Canadian” in front of it (I kid, I kid), so he quickly became plain old regular “Earthquake” and set his rib-crushing sights right at the top of the wresting food chain via a feud with Hulk Hogan (a real life friend).
The Earthquake was always a thrill to watch whether you like baby faces or heels, and anticipating him landing his devastating “Earthquake Splash” was an anxious time, even if he wasn’t the most technical wrestler out there. The most famous recipient of the splash was not even human, though. No, no, to this day I remember watching the time when the Earthquake “killed” Jake “The Snake” Roberts’ beloved python Damien by delivering that heavy finisher. I, along with every person watching, could not believe it and that single act of cruelty cemented him as one of the WWE’s great villains of the time. Sure, he would eventually have a face turn during his Natural Disasters days (when he teamed with Typhoon, who also needs a figure), but Earthquake will always be a bad guy to me.
Like many of the recent Elite Flashback figures, Mattel has done a nice job of immortalizing the Earthquake in plastic and as a mid-’80s to early 1990s wrestling fan, this is a must-have figure. Sure, there are parts of the figure that are more successful than others, but all together, the ‘quake turned out great, in my opinion. If you are familiar with the Elite figure articulation scheme, you will know what to expect in the Earthquake, even at his large size. I personally think the figure should be a bit taller since Tenta was billed as a solid 6’7”, but he still looks good amongst the crowd of classic superstars inhabiting my toy shelf.
Earthquake’s likeness is actually very good, and everything from his wild beard to his thick legs is instantly recognizable. I love his costume and even though I hope we get another shot at the character once Typhoon is released (in his red Natural Disasters outfit), this is by far my favorite look for him. The lines and letters on the costume are crispy clean and perfectly rendered, just like the giant tiger tattoo on his left arm. I think the figure is actually a little too svelte in the torso as Tenta was a really big guy at that stage in his career, but it is not distracting. Mattel did get his massive legs just right, though, and I love that they caught this part of his build and really rendered it faithfully. I know that might be a strange thing to point out, but Tenta never even wore knee pads, so the giant tree logs were always front and center, especially right after delivering his patented finishing move.
Overall, I think the head sculpt came out well and everything from his “tired” eyes to balding head are present. I think the figure will take some hits in this category, though, and that is primarily due to sub-par final paint job for the eyes in the production figure. Since the figure has a bit of a squint, the actual eyes are very small so I see the challenge with painting them appropriately, but I still wish they were just a tick better because, other than that, the likeness to Tenta is really strong.
Finally, Earthquake comes with two reused accessories to help celebrate that notorious snake-squashing incident I mentioned above. The previously-released Damien and snake bag are back, and while I would have probably liked to have gotten a new accessory, this is actually a really good release that makes me nostalgic for all of the wrong and horrible reasons. That is the WWE for you, though — even after 20 years, a little rubber snake can still make you recall exactly where you were for a rather high-impact, but low-concept, bit of wrestling theatrics.
The WWE Flashback figures have really shot up the chain as far as some of my favorite things to collect in recent months, and Earthquake joins the likes of Razor Ramon, Doink the Clown, and others a strong addition to my collection. Overall, I think he is great, even though his gut could be bigger and his eyes crisper, but those points do not detract much from the chance to add such a memorable character to the shelf. This is a nice tribute piece to man that lost a battle with cancer far too early and hope we will eventually get his pal and tag-team partner in Typhoon into the line soon as well.
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