10 Wrestlers Who Debuted As "Fans"
4. Earthquake
On an episode of WWF Superstars in November 1989, Dino Bravo made a challenge to The Ultimate Warrior.
Bravo chose a heavy-looking man from the audience to sit on The Warrior's back whilst he did press-ups. Warrior accepted the challenge, but to his dismay the fan jumped on Warrior leaving him prone.
The fan then joined Bravo and his manager, Jimmy Hart, in a beatdown of Warrior and revealed himself to be in cahoots with the two heels.
This was the WWF faithful's first introduction to John "Earthquake" Tenta, who went on to be pushed as an absolute monster during his run with the company.
The gargantuan man was primed as a successor to the departing Andre The Giant. He went on to feud with Hulk Hogan and was the final man eliminated during the 1991 Royal Rumble.
Earthquake never had the full-on main event heel run that the WWF might have had in mind, but, for a while, he was one of the hottest things in the company. He was pushed very strongly and got to share ring time with a legend like The Warrior in his very first appearance.
Not bad for a man who would go on to become The Shark in WCW.