In the early 90s, WWE was dominated by big men. Such was the case for singles stars Earthquake and Tugboat. John Tenta had a wide array of gimmicks in his wrestling career, such as being Avalanche in WCW, and later the masked Golga as part of his Oddities run with WWE during the Attitude Era, but it was his first WWE run, as Earthquake, that he’s best remembered for. Meanwhile, Fred Ottman became infamous for his Shockmaster gimmick in WCW, but prior to that, in WWE, as both Tugboat and Typhoon, he got to show that he was no joke. Both men were larger than life, and when they joined forces to become the Natural Disasters, they were nearly unstoppable.
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Earthquake And Tugboat Were Dominant Singles Stars
Tugboat Was Renamed Typhoon For The Natural Disasters
- John Tenta and Fred Ottman both joined WWE in 1989.
- Earthquake had feuds with Hulk Hogan and Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
- Jimmy Hart managed The Natural Disasters when they were heels.
The character of Earthquake was created when John Tenta joined WWE in 1989. With his size, he was a menacing heel who destroyed everyone in his path with his Earthquake splash, where he’d jump around his fallen opponent before sitting on them. Even Hulk Hogan felt his wrath as the two had a long feud in 1990 and 1991. The most dastardly thing he did though was crush Jake “The Snake” Roberts’ python Damien. Meanwhile, Fred Ottman also came to WWE in 1989 as Tugboat, a babyface who looked like a burly tugboat operator. He was at the side of Hogan for part of his rivalry with Earthquake, but in the summer of 1991, Earthquake and Tugboat went from foes to friends.
In a six-man tag that saw Tugboat and The Bushwhackers battling Earthquake and The Nasty Boys, Tugboat turned heel on his partners. This quickly led to the two giants becoming a tag team, with Tugboat now named Typhoon to go along with the Earthquake moniker. Collectively, with Jimmy Hart as their manager, they were fittingly named The Natural Disasters. At a combined 852 pounds, they quickly became the most dominant tag team in WWE.
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The Natural Disasters Became Fan Favorites
Earthquake And Typhoon Beat Money Inc. To Become WWE Tag Team Champions
- The Natural Disasters beat The Bushwhackers at SummerSlam 1992.
- The Legion of Doom feuded with The Natural Disasters.
- Earthquake and Typhoon were WWE Tag Team Champions for three months.
The Natural Disasters first worked against The Bushwhackers, who wanted revenge for the attack, but there was little they could do. They were destroyed by The Natural Disasters at SummerSlam 1991. They then began a feud with perhaps the greatest tag team of all-time, the Legion of Doom, who were also the tag team champions. The Natural Disasters weren’t able to beat the icons, but when LOD left WWE in early 1992, they dropped their belts to Money Inc., made up of Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster. They, too, were a heel team managed by Jimmy Hart, but Earthquake and Typhoon weren’t happy about it, so they kicked Hart to the curb and got themselves a title shot with the new champions on the biggest stage of all, WrestleMania 7.
Money Inc. took the cowardly way out and got themselves counted out of the championship match, thus allowing them to keep the gold, but come July The Natural Disasters crushed Money Inc. to become the WWE Tag Team Champions for the one and only time. The Natural Disasters went on to defend their titles against the likes of The Beverly Brothers and The Nasty Boys, but in October, just three short months after winning the championship, they lost it back to Money Inc.
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Earthquake And Typhoon Didn’t Last Long Without Each Other
The Natural Disasters Are Going Into The WWE Hall Of Fame
- The Natural Disasters last teamed up at the 1992 Survivor Series.
- Earthquake and Typhoon fought against each other in the 1993 Royal Rumble.
- Bruce Prichard told Fred Ottman that he and Earthquake were going into the WWE Hall of Fame.
The Natural Disasters had been a fun and formidable tag team in 1991 and 1992, but they were too good individually to be paired up permanently. They teamed up at Survivor Series 1992, then never again, as they went back to being singles competitors. This was the end of them as a tag team, but it was also the beginning of the end of their time in WWE. They fought against each other in the 1993 Royal Rumble, showing that their alliance was over, but Earthquake was out of WWE shortly after, killing the chance of having a rivalry with each other. Just months later, Typhoon was out of WWE too.
The Natural Disasters were a moment in time, not even making it a year-and-a-half together as a tag team. Although their one title reign was too short, they excelled in the ring and as characters. As bad guys, they were extremely intimidating, and as babyfaces, fans loved their charisma as they beat down the bad guys. In a division made up of mostly smaller guys, few could stop The Natural Disasters.
Over three decades after their breakup, The Natural Disasters are set to get the ultimate recognition. Although WWE has yet to announce it, thus making it official, Fred Ottman recently told Bill Apter that he had received a call from Bruce Prichard to let him know that he and Earthquake, who passed away in 2006, would be going into the Hall together at the 2025 ceremony. Ottman said:
“It is an honor. It was crazy when I got that phone call… Mr. Pritchard called me. I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘Wow, what an incredible thing’, you know? I always say, there are so many guys that are so worthy to be in there that aren’t yet. For this to happen is amazing.” (h/t Cageside Seats)
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