Lord Tensai: Newest Character Has Limited Appeal to WWE Universe

The WWE is banking on Lord Tensai to make a major splash, but I just don’t see it.

The guy that used to be called A-Train and Prince Albert, whose real name is Matt Bloom, has been transformed into some sort of Japanese ninja that just so happens to weigh 350 pounds.

The whole entrance with the old wise-man throwing dust up in the air and the Asian-themed music on top of the laughable costume make Tensai more of a sideshow than anything else.

Sure, the creative team had him absolutely destroy Alex Riley to the point where it wasn’t even really a match. They had to make a big splash.

After delivering a cheap blow to Riley after the bell sounded, I suppose it increased his “mysterious tough guy” persona. In reality, it was nothing more than a cheap way to create buzz.

It was a desperate attempt and the crowd in Miami didn’t really buy it. The cheers weren’t very loud as they tried to process what they were looking at. Tensai is a familiar face, but now he has all sorts of tattoos and apparently is from another country? How much did he learn during his time in Japan? That is a question that has yet to be answered.

It’s a weird decision and I think the timing is awful. Brodus Clay—aka the “Funkasaurus”—is starting to gain some serious fanfare recently and tossing in another guy to the fold is going to hamper his rise.

With the way former stars like The Rock and Brock Lesnar are reemerging into the WWE universe, why not just bring back Bloom as one of his former characters? Why roll him out with a lame new look that is going to take a long time to win over the fans?

I’m not going to throw in the towel with Tensai after only one match, but without any sort of mic work and a very odd angle, chances are this guy is not going to be a long-term star in the WWE. 

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