Dear Scott,
Longtime fan. Really love the Blog. Laurinitus said to Punk something about disasters and they are referring to Lord Tensai on the wwe site as a natural disaster. If they are in fact building him up to face Punk this feels a lot like it was when there were still territories. The WWF would always bring in a big dominant heal to face Bruno, Backlund, and to some degree Hogan. The awesome thing would be (and why only partially apples to Hogan) is that you may have known about him from the Apter mags, but you never saw him before. There would be a cool vibe to this newcomer ready to challenge the Champ. Guys like Ken Patera, the Masked Superstar and Jimmy Snuka. Or guys who returned after a while with a new gimmick or look like Superstar Billy Graham did in 82. This feels like that. Albert was gone for like 10 years and off most people’s radar because he didn’t go to TNA where fans could see him and he would be looked at as just another guy coming back to WWE.
If they can build it right, I think the two of them have the potential to have some awesome matches.
I just don’t know about the Tensai thing. It was an OKish debut for him, but not a main event one. It depends how they follow up, of course, but John Cena is more the guy who needs the Monster of the Week to occupy him, not Punk. Cena had a run like that a few years back where he’d defend against Khali and Lashley and even last year with stuff like the random R-Truth shot when he got hot. It would also work well with someone like Sheamus who doesn’t really have a defined character like the other main eventers. I’d be fine with Tensai as a one-shot deal for Punk a few months down the line, but they’re clearly positioning him to be a big thing and I’m pretty sure the belt will be involved in the Brock thing by the time he’s ready for it.
I feel A-Tensai Train will either be a solid upper mid card guy, occasionally main eventing. Or be repackaged or released in a month. There is no middle ground with him.
ReplyDeleteAs long as Tensai gets over I wouldn't mind him feuding with Punk by the Summer. Speaking of Punk local Chicago ads are promoting Punk/Cena for the WWE title at Backlash. If this happens it actually makes logical sense due to Jericho not having the right to a rematch, the history both guys have there, and more importantly Laurenitis had his TV debut at MitB last year. Just so long as Cena does NOT get the title.
ReplyDeleteThey can, and should, take their time with Tensai. Mark Henry proved on Monday that he's more than capable of still filling the big scary monster role.
ReplyDeleteLet Tensai build up some momentum so it's not just a silly gimmick. Umaga managed to move beyond the 2-D gimmick and when he did he was a solid main eventer. Tensai needs to do the same
I was hoping Johnny was referring to the return of Typhoon
ReplyDeleteThis was the worst time for Tensai to debut since, through no fault of his own, he got overshadowed by Brock's return, and to a less extent, Daniel Bryan's increasing popularity. It was a good enough debut but I was hoping for some promo time to explain the character (I had to go to Japan to get the respect I deserve so I am now embracing the Japanese culture). That promo would have been made easier since the crowd was already chanting "A-Train."
ReplyDeleteHe should've debuted on Smackdown. Less there to overshadow him and he could've moved over to Raw the next week.
ReplyDeleteI hope they keep him far away from the title for awhile, I like Albert but there is no way he should be getting the rocket push.
ReplyDeleteSomeone was asking in the Live RAW thread, basically, when have any of these Japanese super-ninja characters ever gotten over?
The closest we could come up with was Yoko, but even he wasn't billed as the "mist-spitting ninja" type of guy, hew was just sold as a regular Sumo.
Calling Tensai a "ninja" is just about the most wrong comparison you could make. He's just an American dude who became immersed in Japanese culture. As long as he's booked like a monster he should get over.
ReplyDeleteI just mean as far as the ring entrance, mist, costume, fake tattoos...etc.
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily the move set but everything else is cut right out of "standard Japanese character 101"
Yeah I guess but it's still a unique look. One of the big complaints nowadays is how generic wrestlers look and at least WWE seems to be attempting to change that with guys like Brodus, Tensai, and the soon to be debuting Damien Sandow.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame because if this was 1998 we'd be seeing the first ever tentacle-based character, complete with Sailor Moon manager over Mr. Fuji knock-off. I want REAL Japanese culture, damnit.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Russo at least considered some of that with Kaientai.
ReplyDeleteI like Albert/A-Train/Giant Bernard/Lord Tensai since he has improved a lot from wrestling in Japan but after watching his debut I couldn't help but think he has just been repackaged into a big ass version of Hakushi. I've also noticed big monster type wrestlers don't get enough heel reactions from the crowd initially nowadays causing management to loose faith on them. I blame this on a lack of managers as I can't imagine Andre the Giant getting as much heel reactions after he turned on Hogan if he hadn't alligned himself with Bobby Heenan. In fact without Heenan I'd even say that there would of been quite a number of fans cheering Andre. Some people like an underdog, whilst others prefer a massive kick-the-absolute-shit-out-of-you-and-enjoy-doing-so-type monster!
ReplyDeleteThings like that are where ECW came in handy: they could field test new talent & gimmicks before deciding whether they were ready for the main show. They can't really do that with an NXT and Superstars on the website.
ReplyDeleteI read about Sandow debuting on Smackdown, I'm kinda shocked that he got to leapfrog Rollins and Ambrose to TV, but I guess they wanted to be sure they knew what they were doing with him.
ReplyDeleteI think all the difference will be made in how much they hype up his success in Japan. I know they can't show video or anything but if they really sell how he went over as a giant and took the country by storm, and how much he's hated and feared over there, the whole gimmick will seem more "monster that ran through Japan now has his sights on America" and less "Mortal Kombat character come to life". If they do that, he'll seem like a viable opponent for Punk, because it will seem more realistic and will have more visceral impact. If they just have him grunting and acting like a generic Japanese samurai type, he should be on Smackdown challenging Sheamus, where it will fit in easier.
ReplyDeleteWell Hunter said they won't debut new talent unless they have proper build up and storyline so I'm glad to see that happening for now. Ryback kinda came out of nowhere though.
ReplyDeleteThe only WWE second who create that type of heel heat is Vicki Guerrero but I'm not sure if the Tensei character is good fit with her stable (although that stable does need some freshening up).
ReplyDeleteI wish he would just look like a guy immersed in Japanese culture and not act like he's an ancient samurai come to life.
ReplyDeleteI thought Johnny was referring to Brock Lesnar when he said something about a natural disaster, given that his finisher is an F5, in reference to the strongest of tornadoes.
ReplyDeleteand Tensai looked fucking terrible, in my opinion. After every move he had to ROLL OVER to get up. He needs to get back on the cycle.
ReplyDeletethere is no backlash, mon frére.
ReplyDeleteNo one in Japan writes characters on their face. How that is embracing the culture is beyond me. The reason people think he looks a super ninja or MortalKombat character is because HE DOES. That's not embracing Japanese culture, it's embracing the worst misconceptions of what Japanese culture is like. If Tennis is so wrapped up in it, he would actively be going AGAINST what he is portraying.
ReplyDeleteI agree Vicki Guerrero is an excellent heat magnet and that her stable needs a big bodyguard guy like Mason Ryan. I'm sure putting them in six man tags could help progress to the next level similar to Batista during his Evolution days which is a perfect example of how you limit a big guys role so not to overexpose him but still allow him to work tag matches against more seasoned veterans so he learns how to work properly.
ReplyDeleteI think they could of bought back Armando Estrada as he was effective in getting heel reactions for Umaga, unless this Sakimodo (spelling?) has buckets loads of charisma.
Tensai is there to make Brock look good by comparison.
ReplyDeleteYeah, hopefully they make the transition smoothly. My vote for Rollins? Team him up with Justin Gabriel as a modern Rock N Roll Express type team, and let them hold the tag belts. There'd be a hell of a feud with Zig Swag in that.
ReplyDeleteAlbert was pretty notorious in his WWF/E time for being over-pushed and rather shitty, aside from a few neat moves and good matches, so I'm kind of curious to see how much he's really improved. It's kind of a cliche to say "he went to Japan and then he got good", but I've heard it's really true in his case (having ***-ish matches with Brock and others).
ReplyDeleteWeeaboo's really don't have very much menace to them...
ReplyDelete