WWE: 7 Reasons Lord Tensai Will Not Be a Successful Gimmick

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Lord Tensai is going to be pushed as a top-tier WWE superstar.

He only returned to the company a couple of weeks ago, but so far, we've seen him wrestle two quick squash matches and defeat John Cena in the main event of Monday Night Raw.

That's a hell of a start for the man formerly known as A-Train, who has now incorporated his experiences in Japan into his new gimmick as Lord Tensai.

Although Tensai hasn't been around long, though, I can't help but get the feeling that his gimmick will be a failure in the WWE.

Maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but here are seven reasons why Lord Tensai will not be a successful gimmick.

7. It Cannot Be Sustained

I just have to ask myself: How long can Lord Tensai's gimmick be sustained?

My answer is...not very long.

I mean, how many times can we see him spit green mist and dismantle all of his opponents before getting sick of it?

The problem with centering the booking of a wrestler almost entirely around his gimmick is that it gets old, it gets old fast and once it gets old, that wrestler takes a huge drop down the card.

For example, once Mark Henry stopped inducting people into his "Hall of Pain," he lost the World Heavyweight title and dropped out of the main event scene for several months.

When The Miz was no longer able to call himself the most must-see champion in WWE history, he took a plunge down the card. The list goes on and on.

But the general idea is that having a wrestler rely too much on his gimmick, if it's not the right one, generally gives it an extremely short self life.

Lord Tensai's not going to last too long if he can't find more ways to stand out than by spitting green mist, wearing Japanese clothing and no-selling.

6. The Green Mist Is Too Gimmicky

I've only seen Lord Tensai spit out that green mist three times, but I already hate it.

I mean, green mist? Really?

Gimmicks are fine and can work extremely well when done right, but I seriously doubt that anyone over the age of 12 believes that that green mist really temporarily blinds Tensai's opponents and allows him to incapacitate them with his one-handed version of the Khali vice grip.

Wrestling is all about getting the fans to suspend their disbelief, and I just don't think that Lord Tensai will be able to do that unless he drops this green mist-spitting nonsense we've seen every week since his debut so far.

If he wants to have a gimmick, then that's obviously fine. They key, however, is to make sure that his gimmick is not too gimmicky.

I think he's already failing in that aspect.

5. It's the Right Gimmick in the Wrong Era

Aside from already established gimmicks like Kane and Undertaker, most of the gimmicks that work today do so because they resonate with today's fans and are just an extension of the wrestler's actual personality.

I'm just not that sure that Lord Tensai's gimmick does that.

While someone like Zack Ryder's gimmick works in large part because of the success of Jersey Shore and that show's popularity, there is no real connection between Tensai's gimmick and anything in mainstream culture today.

Essentially, Lord Tensai has the right gimmick in the wrong era.

He likely would have thrived in the 1980s and 1990s when extreme, over-the-top gimmicks were the norm. But his gimmick is something that just doesn't resonate with people today.

Most wrestlers today don't have gimmicks so much as they are just being themselves, but Tensai's gimmick is something that would have fit when these ridiculous gimmicks were the norm.

4. He's Not Japanese

I know, I know, Lord Tensai's not supposed to be Japanese. He's supposed to be embracing the Japanese customs.

But it just will seem like too much of a stretch for some people.

Lord Tensai wearing traditional Japanese attire because he worked there for awhile would be like me suddenly wearing traditional Mexican attire 24/7 just because I wrestled in Mexico for a few years.

Yeah, I worked there for an extended period of time. But that doesn't mean I'm suddenly Mexican.

Again, I get that Lord Tensai isn't trying to be Japanese, but it's just hard for people to understand the fact that an average-looking Caucasian man is suddenly embracing all of the customs of Japan.

Some will understand it, but most won't.

I can look past the fact that Lord Tensai is embracing a culture that he wasn't born into, but you just know that somewhere, someone's going to be thinking, "Dude, he's not even Japanese."

3. Most Fans Know About His Past as Albert, a-Train, Etc.

I wonder what percentage of WWE fans know that Lord Tensai is actually former WWE superstar A-Train (a.k.a. Albert or Prince Albert).

Chances are that any young fan or other fan who didn't start watching wrestling until 2005 doesn't associate Lord Tensai with A-Train, but a lot of fans do.

That makes it exponentially harder for Lord Tensai to succeed.

Why? Because every time someone sees Lord Tensai in the ring or on the mic, he is going to have to make them forget that he was once Albert. He is going to have to make them remember that he is now Lord Tensai.

That's easier said than done.

It's proven to be extremely difficult for some wrestlers to separate themselves from prior gimmicks. It can be done, but it's certainly no easy task.

2. Our Lack of Knowledge of Japanese Culture

I don't know about you, but I'm far from an expert of Japanese culture.

I have absolutely no idea what, if anything, Lord Tensai's robe and head gear symbolizes, and I'd bet that about 90 percent of wrestling fans don't understand the significance of Tensai's attire.

This is all due to our lack of knowledge of Japanese customs and traditions.

While those who are from Japan or have spent significant amounts of time there may be well aware of what Tensai's attire means or what the significance of something he does is, the opposite is true for most WWE fans.

For example, would anyone who was completely unfamiliar with the Jewish religion know what a kippah stands for?

No, they wouldn't.

And if his time spent in Japan is going to be the main focus of Lord Tensai's gimmick, then the WWE really needs to start explaining the meaning behind his actions and attire.

1. It Has Limited Appeal

Quite simply, the Lord Tensai gimmick has limited appeal.

Whereas almost everyone can relate to a guy like John Cena "rising above hate" or to CM Punk being Straight Edge to avoid the same problems that plagued his father, who's going to relate to Lord Tensai? Japanese lords?

I really have no idea what exactly Lord Tensai's gimmick is all about, but it's obvious that it's only going to appeal to a very select group of people.

Those who are either from Japan or have studied Japanese culture may appreciate Lord Tensai, but someone who has no idea what the culture is about is probably thinking, "What the hell is this?"

Gimmicks that don't have a worldwide or at least nationwide appeal often fail miserably, and I fear that the lack of range in Tensai's gimmick may doom him to failure.

Note: As part of the new WWE blog, I'll be asking all of the B/R wrestling readers for questions for a new mailbag that I will post on Fridays. It will be a slideshow featuring 10-to-20 questions and answers on a wide range of topics. You can submit questions either through Formspring or Twitter, and the best ones will be answered in the B/R mailbag.