5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Hall Of Fame 2025 (Results & Review)

2. The Good Side Of An Earthquake

Fred Ottman Hall of Fame
WWE

For anyone who watched the “Dark Side of the Ring” episode focused on John Tenta, the heartwarming stories his children and former tag team partner Fred Ottman (Typhoon) shared during the Hall of Fame ceremony should not have been a surprise.

But the broader WWE audience had the opportunity Friday night to hear more about what a warm human being Earthquake was, how he might have been a terrifying big man in the ring, but was a silly, compassionate family man at home who sadly was lost far too soon.

Fans also got to hear about the closeness between the two heels, how they were best friends long after their time in the spotlight ended. And for a chuckle, the story about Ottman and Tenta on a Dumbo ride laughing like children provided a visual that was almost too ridiculous to believe.

You couldn’t help but be gutted by Ottman recounting a phone call from Tenta telling him that his cancer had returned.

While it was a short induction, it was a heartwarming moment that humanized two wrestlers who were characters many fans grew up watching.

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Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.