At first glance, Alexander Rusev seems like a rehash of a character WWE fans have seen countless times: the monster foreign superstar who feasts on unworthy foes while being accompanied by a manager who serves as his mouthpiece.
Some have contended that the character is so unoriginal that it was completely lifted from a Rocky movie of all places, as he has drawn comparisons to Rocky IV villain Ivan Drago and his wife Ludmilla.
Despite the fact that many believe he is a recycled, cliché character, Rusev has managed to make his way through the WWE’s NXT division and to the main roster in a relatively short amount of time.
Rusev has been booked as a monster, but do fans actually view him as one?
Since making his debut on the main roster, Rusev made a brief appearance in this year’s Royal Rumble and has been feasting on jobbers ever since. Unlike some of his critics, I believe that Rusev can be successful at the main level, but only if he is booked differently from similar heels in the past.
In recent years, the WWE has chosen to rely upon the tried-and-true formula of debuting a monster heel and serving him a hearty portion of heels (see Ryback for example). They expect that if the heel is shoved down fans’ throats long enough by competing in squash matches, they will eventually realize his dominance and he will be over in no time.
It appears they are attempting to take the same course of action with Rusev, as he has competed against only jobbers and will face R-Truth and Xavier Woods in a handicap match at Extreme Rules. Hell, they even threw Rusev into the coalition of jobbers that worked to beat down the Shield during the 11-on-3 handicap match a few weeks back on Raw.
— WWE.com has shortened Lord Tensai’s name as he is now simply being referred to as Tensai. This is not the only character tweak as last week during his match against Tyson Kidd on WWE Superstars, he appeared sans robe, shoved Sakamoto and competed more aggressively.
— Mick Foley is advertised for Wednesday’s SmackDown live event in Poughkeepsie, New York as he will appear as the guest referee for World Heavyweight Champion Match between Sheamus, Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio. Also advertised is a No Holds Barred Match between Kane and Randy Orton.
— Independent women’s wrestler Jessicka Havok doesn’t think WWE will ever hire her. Responding to a fan on Twitter who feels she should be on the Divas roster, the reigning WSU Champion explains, “I’m sure I won’t b hired there. I speak my mind too much.”
— Sin Cara competed in his first match of 2012 at Saturday’s WWE Supershow in Florence, South Carolina, defeating Hunico in the opening match. He had been sidelined since Survivor Series due to a patellar tendon rupture.
— The following matches are advertised for WWE’s post-SummerSlam tour of Australia taking place August 30 through September 1: John Cena vs. Lord Tensai and John Laurinaitis, WWE Champion CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan and United States Champion Santino Marella vs. David Otunga.
— Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the passing of Randy Savage. The legendary wrestler died after suffering a sudden, massive heart attack while driving with his wife in Seminole, Florida. He became unresponsive and lost control of his Jeep Wrangler, crashing into a tree.
— Mick Foley stated Wednesday via Twitter that he has been advised to lessen his time in front of a computer due to his history of concussions.
“Strange but true news of the day: two leading concussion experts have advised me to cut back dramatically on my time in front of a computer,” he wrote. “So, I’ll have to make some changes, including the amount of time I spend reading and answering my Twitter messages. Hope you understand.”
— WWE.com had uploaded ten of Hulk Hogan’s “wildest interviews”: “In the heat of battle, Hulk Hogan has said some things that make you go “Huh?” Relive some of The Hulkster’s wildest interviews, where he talks about things like hanging and banging on the Titanic and unleashing The U.S. Constitution on his opponents. You might also find out where the power lies…” (Watch)
— WWE.com has added Lord Tensai’s servant Sakamoto to the Raw Superstars page.
– There has been talk in the past week of CM Punk defending the WWE Championship against Lord Tensai at SummerSlam on 8/19.
Also rumored for the show are Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H and a Money in the Bank match.
– Among the WWE-related topics that trended worldwide on Twitter during RAW were: Paul Heyman, Stephanie McMahon, Lord Tensai, Dr. Death and Pipebomb.
– Tonight’s WWE SmackDown and NXT tapings will take place from the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia. No matches have been announced by Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton vs. Kane in a Street Fight is being advertised locally.
– Last week’s (5/4) episode of SmackDown drew a 1.94 cable rating with 2,709,000 viewers.
— John Cena participated in filming this week for Fred 3: Fred Goes To Camp, which is slated to premiere on Nickelodeon in late 2012. He reprises the role of the title character’s father. (source: PWInsider.com)
— According to a source within WWE, Bill DeMott is expected to assist John Laurinaitis in shaking off ring rust for his scheduled match against John Cena at Over the Limit on May 20. He began training Friday at a warehouse the company owns in Norwalk, Connecticut in preparation for the bout.
– A fraudulent Twitter account for Lord Tensai’s manager Sakamato said his master would be waiting for Evan Bourne when he returns from injury. Bourne responded, “What kind of man has a master? #iaintscared”
— With The Bellas Twins no longer in WWE, WWE.com looks to a new set of celebrity siblings to fill the void in this article. WWE writes, “Step inside and discover our dream list of 10 twins we’d like to watch compete in the squared circle.”
Despite getting crushed by Lord Tensai several weeks ago, Yoshi Tatsu continues to rant about Tensai, stating that Tensai’s name is in bad taste and vowing to defeat Lord Tensai. Here’s what Tatusu wrote:
“As of today, I am planning to post several tweets regarding my thoughts and feelings toward Lord Tensai. First of all, I have a strong reason why I must defeat Lord Tensai. As in my Japanese lesson, “tensai” means natural disaster.”
“As everyone knows, Japan experienced a major earthquake and tsunami on March 11th of last year. More than 15,000 people lost their lives, over 5,000 people are still missing, and more than 5,000 people were injured. In addition, over 130,000 people lost their homes. Sadly, the recovery has been very slow. Many people are still living in temporary housing, without jobs. Moreover,the Japanese people haven’t been able to recover from the grief of losing family members,including children who lost their parents.”
“Out of respect, I strongly urge Lord Tensai to change his name. As Japanese superstar of WWE, I cannot tolerate him using this name during Japanese appearance. Even though he is tremendously big and very strong, I will defeat him someday. Japan was defeated by natural disasters – “TENSAI”. And I, Yoshi Tatsu is the one who defeats that “TENSAI”. When I beat him, I will make him change his name. This is #YoshiRevolution Episode 1.”
– Lord Tensai’s claw finishing move has been modified for safety precautions. The hold now comes from the standing position, giving the opponent the ability to land back-first. The move originally started from Tensai’s knee, which caused the point of impact to be the back of his opponent’s head.
– Zack Ryder’s complaints that WWE edited his Youtube show and censoring him are likely just part of storylines.
– DigitalTrends.com has an article up looking at video game publisher Electronic Arts being on the lookout for acquisitions of gaming studios. With THQ in major financial trouble, they speculate that EA could take them over – which would give them the rights to the WWE video game franchise.
– MVP has posted a 30-minute discussion with fellow former WWE superstar Carlito. The two discuss their time in WWE, backstage heat, how working for WWE completely takes over your life and a lot more. Check it out:
— Speaking to WWE Magazine, Kelly Kelly discussed her WWE rookie year in 2006 and recalled an angle where The Sandman struck her on the head with a Singapore Cane.
“I remember I took a hit one time from Sandman, and I don’t think a girl has ever taken that kind of shot before in WWE,” she says. “And, holy moly, I saw stars and I wanted to cry. He hit me right on top of the head. Mike Knox even hit his finisher on me. Come to think of it, when I signed up, I had some pretty brutal things done to me. I definitely was fearless back then.”
The complete interview is featured in the May 2012 issue.
— Stephanie Finochio, who appeared for WWE’s ECW brand in 2006 and 2007, has joined the Suffolk County, New York-based roller derby team Strong Island Derby Revolution. (‘Trinity’ Joins the ‘Derby Revolution’)
— Former WWE star MVP tweeted the following in response to whether he knows Lord Tensai: “I worked with Giant Bernard. I don’t know this Lord Tensai.”
— CM Punk wasn’t on hand to accept the “Most Metal Athlete” Award during the 2012 “Revolver” Golden Gods Awards ceremony Wednesday night in Los Angeles, California so the show’s host, Chris Jericho, accepted the award on the WWE Champion’s behalf.
“I want to accept this for him, and even though he beat me at WrestleMania, and basically embarrassed me, I will give this to him in good standing,” Jericho said before smashing Punk’s award over his knee and tossing it off the stage.
Video and photos from the incident are available here.
— At Monday’s Raw SuperShow at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C., WWE had arena security confiscate signs referencing Lord Tensai’s prior characters—Prince Albert, Albert and A-Train. The signs were taken away prior to his match against Yoshi Tatsu. During the bout, the crowd could be heard chanting “Albert,” which Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler did not acknowledge.
While Cole referred to Lord Tensai as a returning WWE Superstar in his Raw SuperShow debut last week, there has not been any specific references made to any of his former personas on television. However, WWE.com has acknowledged that he previously competed as Albert and A-Train before “embarking on a journey of self-discovery in Japan.”
— Matthew Bloom, who formerly competed as Prince Albert, Albert and A-Train for WWE, resurfaced as Lord Tensai on Monday’s Raw SuperShow as he decimated Alex Riley in a squash match. WWE announcer Michael Cole acknowledged Tensai as a former WWE Superstar who “became a huge international star in Japan.” He did not, however, make specific references to any of his prior personas. WWE.com subsequently published an article acknowledging his time as A-Train.
WWE.com writes, “The hulking warrior is in fact the WWE Superstar formerly known as A-Train, who competed in WWE for several years before embarking on a journey of self-discovery in Japan. Once he’d crossed the Pacific Ocean, he immersed himself in the Land of the Rising Sun, embracing a new culture, training regiment, and philosophy that seemingly caused him to forsake the customs of his native United States.”
— Dwayne Johnson has been announced as the recipient of the Action Star of the Year Award at the annual CinemaCon convention taking place later this month in Las Vegas, Nevada.
CinemaCon general manager Mitch Neuhauser says, “An exciting performer who first gained attention from audiences around the world when he developed the iconic character The Rock, Dwayne Johnson has taken his charismatic presence to the big screen and has proven over and over again that he can entertain audiences of all ages – whether it be an action-paced film or a family comedy.”
— Jim Ross is heading to Florida Championship Wrestling headquarters in Tampa, Florida today to assist WWE developmental talent.
Lord Tensai, played by former WWE superstar Matt “Albert” Bloom, made his WWE debut on Monday’s RAW, brutalizing Alex Riley in a match that was stopped by the referee after Riley was clearly unable to continue. WWE announcer Michael Cole acknowledged Tensai as a former WWE Superstar who “became a huge international star in Japan.” After the bout officially ended, he clutched Riley’s skull in a claw and drove him to the canvas.
Lord Tensai wrote on Twitter that there is a fake Lord Tensai account going around, @WWE_Lord_Tensai.
Tensai’s disciple Sakamoto has joined Twitter: @WWEMrSAKAMOTO.
WWE Superstar Yoshi Tatsu wrote the following on Twitter last night about Tensai and Sakamoto:
“Who is Lord Tensai’s young boy!? At first I should kick his head off. Just bring it!!!”
“I just wanna let you know Lord Tensai is NOT Japanese. I’m REAL Japanese!!!”
“Open challenge to Lord Tensai from @YoshiTatsuWWE”
– The Hall of Fame inductions for Edge, the Four Horsemen and Mike Tyson will be spotlighted on the one-hour special next Monday before RAW next Monday night. This year’s Hall of Fame ceremony will not air (live or on tape delay) on Saturday night, when the event takes place.
– WWE ran another promo during Monday’s RAW for the new Lord Tensai character, who will be played by Matt “Albert” Bloom. This week’s video showed another person with Tensai, played by developmental wrestler Sakamoto. Sakamodo, who currently wrestles at FCW, was trained by former WWE superstar Taka Michinoku
The WWE has website posted the following translations of the Japanese phrases that were shown during the vignette:
“It was said he would find himself in a faraway land.”
– Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez will be teaming together during WWE’s upcoming tour of Puerto Rico. The duo will be facing WWE tag team champions Primo and Epico at the three scheduled shows.
– Zack Ryder noted on Twitter he will be testing out a new format for his Z! True Long Island Story show this week, which premiers on Friday.
– Former WWE superstar Matt Bloom (Albert/A-Train) will be debuting in the coming weeks as Lord Tensai. Upon his return, Tensai is expected to push him into a top feud with either John Cena or Randy Orton, much like we’ve seen with Kane.
– WWE has published the latest episode of WWE Inbox, featuring superstars and divas talking about the Most Annoying Superstar and predictions on who will win at WrestleMania 28 between The Rock and John Cena:
On Monday’s WWE RAW Supershow, we saw the first vignette for Lord Tensai, a new character who is coming soon.
WrestleZone.com is reporting exclusively that former WWE superstar Matt “A-Train” Bloom is currently backstage at tonight’s WWE Smackdown tapings from Newark, NJ.
No word on whether or not WWE plans to use Bloom at tonight’s tapings, but he is backstage, which virtually confirms that he will be playing the character of Lord Tensai.
WWE aired a vignette on Monday’s RAW promoting a new character by the name Lord Tensai.
The identity of this new character has been revealed to be Matthew Bloom, who previously competed for the organization as Prince Albert, Albert and A-Train.
Bloom parted ways with WWE back in 2004 and has been wrestling in Japan ever since, winning the IWGP Tag Team Championship with Karl Anderson on two occasions as well as the GHC Tag Team Championship in Pro Wrestling NOAH.
News broke this weekend that Bloom had re-signed with WWE, although he denied this on Twitter.
A report by the Wrestling Observer indicates that Lord Tensai will be getting “pushed to the top” upon his debut and might be used as a henchman for John Laurinaitis.
WWE Superstar Yoshi Tatsu tweeted on Mondaay night that the letters seen on Lord Tensai’s body in the teaser video were Japanese. Tatsu added that Tensai means “a natural disaster or an act of God.”
A fan wrote on Twitter last night that the back tattoo on Lord Tensai was common and could be anyone. Matt Bloom replied to the tweet and agreed the back tattoo was too common to make a positive identification.
However, a closer look at the vignette that aired on RAW shows that Albert is indeed returning to WWE.
Credit to SEScoops Facebook page follower Jordan Zelisko for sending in this screen cap – which shows Tensai and Albert have a very similar taste in body art:
— WWE aired a vignette on Monday’s Raw Supershow promoting a character by the name Lord Tensai. The person in question is Matthew Bloom, who previously competed for the organization as Prince Albert, Albert and A-Train. Bloom achieved great success in Japan after parting ways with WWE in 2004, having won the IWGP Tag Team Championship with Karl Anderson on two occasions as well as the GHC Tag Team Championship in Pro Wrestling NOAH.
Through Twitter, Bloom denied online reports over the weekend that he had signed a contract to return to WWE.
— Matches taped Monday night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for this week’s episode of WWE Superstars are as follows:
* Alex Riley and Mason Ryan vs. Epico and Primo (accompanied by Rosa Mendes)
* Natalya and Tamina vs. Beth Phoenix and Eve
Brodus Clay beat Michael McGillicutty in a pre-show dark match. The bout lasted approximately two minutes.
— The New Yorkreports former WWE Diva Stacy Keibler is in talks to join Simon Cowell’s The X Factor show on Fox.
She may land a hosting role after Steve Jones was fired in January. In a move that may help cause, Simon Cowell stated, “I always wanted a boy and a girl to host the show. And I like hosts who don’t kind of have a hosting background . . . it’s a different kind of dynamic.”
A Post source says of Keibler, “She looks fantastic and has bags of charisma.”
— Matthew Bloom (a/k/a Prince Albert, Albert and A-Train) continues to deny online reports that he has signed a contract to return to WWE. When asked on Twitter Saturday night if he has a signed contract to return to the organization, he replied, “Nope.”
— WWE.com has published a photo gallery looking back at WrestleMania XIX featured memorable matches between Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho, The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship.
Matthew Bloom, who previously wrestled as Prince Albert, Albert and A-Train for WWE, denied on Twitter on Saturday that he has signed a contract to return to the promotion after WrestleMania XXVIII as he will be appearing for New Japan Pro Wrestling on their next tour. He also said that he does not know how the rumor got started, calling it “comical.” Regarding the rumor, four WWE sources have said within the past week that he is returning to the organization, with one saying it has been assumed for two months that is was happening. Furthermore, numerous WWE performers were talking about his pending return at Friday’s live event in Montreal, Quebec, Canada after being informed by management of the news.
A source close to creative says he is set for “a big push” upon his return to WWE programming in April as a villainous henchman for Raw Interim General Manager and Executive Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis. F4WOnline.com reported that there has been talk of Bloom feuding with John Cena since the Raw Superstar does not have a post-WrestleMania XXVIII program in place at the moment. However, the note of Bloom possibly feuding with Cena has since been deleted.
Bloom, who will turn 40 years old in November, previously competed for WWE from 1999 to 2004 as a mid-card wrestler. He tore his rotator cuff in June 2004 and was released from his contract before returning from the injury. He would go on to achieve greater success in Japan as Giant Bernard in a tag team partnership with Karl Anderson.
— Matthew Bloom (a/k/a Albert, A-Train) has denied online reports stating he has signed a contract to return to WWE.
“Haha! False. Wife just had a baby. I’ll be on next tour,” he wrote Saturday on Twitter referring to New Japan Pro Wrestling’s next tour where he competes as Giant Bernard. When asked how the rumor started, he replied, “Not sure but it’s comical.”
Both F4WOnline.com and PWInsider.com reported this morning that Bloom would resurface next month as a heel.
— Joey Styles noted on Twitter that for the first time in years, The Miz did not make WWE.com’s Power 25 Rankings ranking the top 25 Superstars in WWE. The former WWE Champion has lost ten consecutive televised singles bouts and eighteen altogether.
— WrestlingFigs.com reports the wrestler formerly known as Tugboat and Typhoon will appear at Downsview Park Farmers and Merchant Market 40 Carl Hall Rd. Toronto, Ontario, on Saturday, March 31 from noon to 3:00 p.m. Call 226-600-4351 or 416-638-2525 for more information.
WWE has reportedly signed Matthew Bloom, 39, to a contract to return to the organization as a performer. He previously worked for WWE from 1999 to 2004 as Albert and A-Train, which included a brief reign as Intercontinental Champion.
Bloom has achieved great success in Japan since parting ways with WWE, having won the IWGP Tag Team Championship with Karl Anderson on two occasions (they hold the record for the longest reign and the most defenses). They were also Tag Team Champions in Pro Wrestling NOAH.
He is scheduled to return as a henchman in April for Raw Interim General Manager and WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis.