WWE News: Vignettes Prove That WWE Is Committed to Making Lord Tensai a Success

Whenever a vignette airs for a new superstar in the WWE, there is reason for excitement and anticipation. That was the case when a Lord Tensai promo aired on Raw on Monday.

When Tensai's true identity was leaked, those expectations were tempered, but there is reason to believe that Tensai will be a force to be reckoned with.

According to Justin LaBar of Wrestle Zone, as well as several other wrestling news outlets, Lord Tensai will be played by Matt Bloom, who also played the characters of Albert and A-Train in his previous stint with the company.

The promo itself was quite ominous and seemed to be touting a pretty cool character, so the Internet was abuzz with who it might be. The red tattoo on the chest of Albert matched that of Tensai in the promo, so that ended up being the dead giveaway. With the secret out, it seems that many are now expecting Tensai to get buried by John Cena or CM Punk in short order.

There is no guarantee that Lord Tensai will be a heel, but based on the feel of the promo as well as Albert's size, it seems likely that he will be precisely that. Some may find it hard to look past the fact that Tensai is, in fact, Albert, but all signs point to the creative team making Lord Tensai a completely independent character.

Although Albert was always a midcarder during the Attitude Era, he wasn't as bad as some make him out to be. He even briefly held the Intercontinental championship. When evaluating Lord Tensai, however, it will be best to pretend that Albert never existed—just as people have learned to do with Kane, whose previous gimmick was that of evil dentist Isaac Yankem.

The creative team is committed to making Lord Tensai a major player and that much is evident by the vignette. When you think back to the past few new superstars who have been introduced through vignettes, it becomes pretty clear that they aren't used for just anyone.

Alberto Del Rio's character was responsible for the rebirth of vignettes in a way as he was hyped for several weeks two summers ago. He ultimately won the Royal Rumble and the WWE championship during his first year with the company. Since then, Sin Cara and Kharma have also gotten the vignette treatment.

While neither has made the same impact as Del Rio, Kharma was clearly on the fast track to the Divas Championship before it was revealed that she was pregnant. Also, Sin Cara was receiving a monster push, but botches, a wellness violation and an injury have set him back in a big way.

The overarching point is that the WWE doesn't air vignettes for characters that it intends to bury. Back in the early-to-mid 1990s, essentially every debuting wrestler had his own vignettes. It didn't mean as much. They are few and far between now, though, so there is a true importance to them.

Rather than having Tensai job out to one of the top stars right away, I expect him to be built up with wins of increasing difficulty before capturing either the United States or Intercontinental championship. Giving a rising star a mid-card title is the old-school way of building somebody up, and there is reason to believe that will be the case with Lord Tensai.

Perhaps Tensai will eventually enter a program with Cena or Punk, and while I don't think he will or should go over them, I have hope that he'll be made to look legitimate at the very least. The fact that Tensai is Albert has some disappointed, but I'm encouraged simply by the use of a vignette.