Who was Tensai in WWE?
Former WWE superstar Tensai is played by Matt Bloom, who currently works as head trainer at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Bloom debuted in professional wrestling in 1997, and is best known for appearing during WWE's Attitude Era, playing the character Albert.
Bloom first appeared as Tensai in 2012, and had a near two-year run with the character. The character was created following Bloom's stint working in Japan for New Japan Pro-Wrestling as Giant Bernard.
He became a two-time IWGP Tag Team Champion on two occasions with Travis Tomko and Karl Anderson, respectively. The Japanese word tensai translated into English means 'genius'.
Who misses/remembers Tensai?!
#WWE #Tensai https://t.co/2nJpfCwfu2
Sadly, the character didn't quite hit it off with the WWE Universe, and Tensai was regularly taunted with 'Albert' chants. The character ended up turning into a comedy gimmick following its failed run.
Former WWE superstar Gene Snitsky was very critical of the way the Tensai character was treated by WWE when speaking with PW Torch:
"Look at my friend Tensai. They’re turning him and his character into a joke. They have [him] coming out there and doing this goofy [stuff] now…When he first started, he was killing everyone. Before you know it, now he’s doing lingerie segments on Raw. I’m like, “C’mon.” It’s insulting to me as a fan, it’s insulting to my intelligence—a guy who’s 6’8″ and 350 pounds and can probably squash 90 percent of the guys on the roster—and they have him go out and do that. It’s just my opinion," Snitsky said.
It was always going to be difficult for Tensai to get the gimmick over, when the WWE Universe fondly remembered his initial run with the company. He did have a run as A-Train on SmackDown between 2002 and 2004, but this gimmick also didn't get over with fans.
How long has Tensai AKA Matt Bloom been head trainer at the WWE Performance Center?
Matt Bloom Officially Promoted to WWE NXT Head Trainer: dailyddt.com/2015/05/19/mat… http://t.co/2w3inclmR8
Tensai, AKA Matt Bloom, has been the head trainer at the WWE Performance Center since May 19th, 2015. He had been the interim head trainer following the departure of former head trainer Bill DeMott. Bloom impressed WWE officials and was given the role full-time.
He is training the superstars of tomorrow and has seen names such as Rick Boogs, Mandy Rose and Bianca Belair graduate recently. All three learned their craft at the WWE Performance Center before advancing in their respective careers under Bloom's guidance.