Lord Tensai: Weak Debut Proves New WWE Character Is Already in Trouble

Monday night provided the WWE Universe with one of the most memorable Raw  telecasts in a long time, which included the debut of Lord Tensai. Based on crowd reaction, however, the new gimmick has a long road ahead to become relevant.

The audience was jacked all night thanks to a wide-ranging opening promo from The Rock, who guaranteed he would be WWE Champion again one day. But the long-awaited return of Matt Bloom was treated by chants of "A-Train," proving the fans haven't bought in to his new character.

That's mostly because diehard fans of the company have known for weeks the former superstar was returning, which ruined a lot of the suspense surrounding his debut. It was almost like one big joke as Lord Tensai destroyed Alex Riley.

Based on vignettes that aired in previous weeks, the WWE has high hopes for Tensai. That means the character isn't doomed yet, but things are definitely off to a rough start.

Not to mention it's tough to have two superstars trying to get over at the same time. Brodus Clay continues to work his way toward meaningful status with his "Funkasaurus" character and now the company needs to get Lord Tensai over as well.

It's a juggling act that will be tough to pull of because there are only so many jobbers they can throw to the wolves. You know they are getting desperate when Riley gets thrown to the wolves. He showed promise last year, but has become an afterthought.

I got the feeling last night that Bloom should have just come back simply as Prince Albert or A-Train. There has been an infusion of past superstars back into the mix recently, and most of the results have been successful.

Fans probably would have been more receptive to Bloom going that route instead of being re-branded as a Japanese character. It's not easily believable.

Nobody should give up on Lord Tensai yet. After all, it's only one night of what's likely going to be an extended storyline. However, things got off to a rocky start in Miami when everybody else seemed to get a massive reaction. That has to be concerning to Vince McMahon.

If Tensai was unable to draw emotion out of that crowd, what will he get from more tentative audiences that are surely on the horizon. An important direction for him better emerge quickly to get the WWE Universe behind him.

As of right now, the character is already in trouble, which isn't good news after only one night of work.