Getting Heels Over 2: Tensai

[LegendKiller716]

Recently CM Punk has turned heel because, while Cena has a death grip on the #1 face role, Punk says he can be the #1 heel. About two weeks later Orton comes out and says he wants to turn because he can be the #1 bad guy. Why is this? Because WWE's top heels absolutely suck! They can't get over. Because of this I'm starting my first thread series. I'm gonna take WWE's top heels and one by one strap them with a new gimmick and story, and we can discuss if you think this will help them get over.

Part 1: ADR - http://forums.wrestlezone.com/showthread.php?t=227581

Up next is a man labeled by WWE as a flop, yet they keep pushing him against top guys. Tensai is really good in the ring, but he hasn't gotten over on the mic yet.

I read an idea on Twitter a while back that may work for him. Don't remember who it was, but he said change the Japanese characters on Tensai's to English and repackage him as a face: ABC-Train. I thought it was hilarious and I decided to share lol.

I gave two ideas for Mr. Tensai. The first being a repackaging. CM Punk and Paul Heyman have something stirring, and I think Tensai can be a part of it. Tensai and Heyman have history, if I'm not mistaken Heyman renamed Albert to A-Train, but I think Tensai can be part of a Punk/Heyman stable. Get rid of the silly gimmick and give him a real name. Matt Bloom, Bernard Bloom, Albert Bernard, etc. Bring in him, Big Show, and a few more Heyman guys and make a stable of legit bad asses. Just getting a rub from Heyman may be enough.

Number two would be to bring him back with John Laurinitis as a manager. Let Johnny put over how guys who wrestled in Japan are tougher than those who haven't. How Japanese fans appreciate 'real' talent such as himself. Have him announce that's why he brought Tensai in, but so far Tensai has failed so now he'll align himself with Tensai and make sure he dosen't loose another match. If this gets over as well as I think it can, Tensai can become a world champion.

Thoughts?

 

[WRESTLING_GENIUS]

World Champion NO absoulutly not, but he can be the #1 Mid card Heel to a guy like RYBACK, i like the Johnny idea, it gets him back on T.V, it suits his character and hsitory in the buisness well, and Tensai would get MAD HEAT jsut for being alligned with Big Johnny, The Heyman idea aint bad but i dont think Punk and Heyman need em, they have Brock Lesnar for christ sake so that idea thrown out the window, but the second idea is a forsure to work thing, and i can picture Big Johnny starting up an All Japan type stable seeing the WWE finalized a deal to exchange talent with them and John Laurinatis would be the perfect mouth pieace for the stable. GREAT THREAD AND SERIES by the way.....

 

[DirtyD79]

The problem with him is the whole evil foreigner schtick just doesn't fly anymore. His whole character is basically stuck in the `80s. It's the same reason Vladimir Koslov went nowhere. Even the little kids who still think it's real aren't buyin' that corny act anymore. The last we saw of him he became a dancing bear. Yes I know Sheamus had a good run as a heel, but he brought more to the table than just "USA Hawwwk tooey!" otherwise he too would have been sent back to developmental by now.

What they should do is drop the cornball Japanese crap and bill him as a dominating badass heel like Mark Henry was in his "Hall of Pain" run. And give him a mouthpiece too, one who doesn't act like something off of a crappy World War 2 propaganda poster.

 

[Odisho]

Iv got a really great idea. Have Big show and A train join heyman and punk stable. And then have Nexus come back as faces and fight them off. I mean there is a report on WWE wanting to bring the stable back. And cm punk dosent have lots of ppl to fued. Wade barret would be a good choice. Also Nexus are big on merch sales. When they are face it would be better. You are either nexus or against us and the crowd will be nexus. I would have wade barrett, justing gabriel, tysonn kidd. in nexus. But then they get there asses beat because they only have 3 people, which heyman has 4 guys. Then after cena comes back and says hes nexus, refering to the angle where cena had to join them. ect.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I think it's safe to say Tensai is a lost cause at this point. Live crowds aren't buying the "indestructible monster, who reeked havoc in Japan" stuff. Plus, Matt Bloom has one of the most recognizable faces in pro wrestling, so despite a lengthy hiatus from WWE, fans weren't going to forget about Prince Albert. And more importantly, Bloom doesn't have the charisma or talent to successfully pull off the transformation.

Upon his return, Tensai was headed for a big future. He had a few pinfall wins over Cena and Punk, but still, Tensai couldn't get over as a heel. At this point, a shot into the main event seems unrealistic. And you can't count on him to put younger guys over, because let's face it, a win over Tensai really doesn't mean anything.
He's going to be stuck in the mid-card for a long time, because I honestly can't think of any other options for Tensai.

 

[TheCrusher]

They might be using Tensai about as well as he can be used. He's strong as hell and looks scary, but he just doesn't have a lot else going on. He could possibly be someone's enforcer or something like that and get a rub from someone with more charisma, but that never lasts very long anyway and is usually used for big new guys they hope they can put over on their own later ala Diesel. Most though end up more like Luke Gallows.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

Tensai is one of the few superstars in need of help that I don't think needs to actually be repackaged.

I really like his gimmick & character. Not to mention it makes sense if you are familiar with his career & him being over in Japan.

I think the problem is two main things:
1.) I'm not sure if he is fully committed to the character.

-He shouldn't be making fun of Sakamoto or anything Japanese. He should be telling us all how much better it is & why he should be respected because he is a "Japanese legend". He should take more pride & honor in the Japanese culture & constantly present new concepts on his gimmick mixing with Japanese culture.

2.) His & Sakamoto's booking.

-Sakamoto did almost nothing, and I'm quessing not because that was his choice. Tensai started off strong facing top guys, but no promo? no history of yourself or your new character? If WWE wants him as some stoic, foreign, destroyer, then let him be that animal destroying everyone & telling them it is because he is better & his new found culture is better. Not just push Sakamoto cause he is mad, get put on Superstars, & be a racist.

 

[XXJJ]

I dont think its possible with his current gimmick. He needs to be completely repackaged.

He doesn't have a great backstory.. So to most casual WWE fans he is just a fat white guy that for some reason is trying to act Japanese. Maybe, it could of worked with a wrestler that was actually Japanese, but I still doubt it. It feels a little outdated just like characters like Hunico and Jinder mahal.

 

[Mustang Sally]

So to most casual WWE fans he is just a fat white guy that for some reason is trying to act Japanese.

Yes, and to others, he's still Fat Albert of T & A, which is hardly a ringing endorsement in itself.

What in hell was Vince McMahon thinking with this one? Is he really so knocked out by guys with big bodies that he figured he could bring this off? Yes, Tensai's physical presence is impressive (I keep seeing an image of him fighting Zack Gowen) but didn't it ever occur to McMahon he was stretching the boundaries of credibility by bringing back a guy every wrestling fan knew.....and changing his nationality, to boot? Sure, we know pro wrestling is scripted but it's ability to make the characters seem real is it's strongest point. For two hours a night, we can suspend our beliefs and buy the notion that a guy bounced out of the ring on his shoulder is being stretchered to the back with a head injury.....only to reappear by the end of the show and wreak revenge on his attacker.

Now, we have Tensai. I like the idea of a fearsome Asian guy but Matt Bloom is just the wrong choice for the job. Couldn't they have found a real Japanese guy to play him? Is Toru Tanaka too dead to come back? Is Mr. Fuji.......oh, never mind.

 

[Firewall_Philip_Hanan]

Good ideas, everyone. Personally, I see no reason to repackage Tensai and rather liked the Lord Tensai name. A-Train was a super ugly, stale character. Still, I would love to see a Heyman Alliance where CM Punk and others demand respect from WWE. The Heyman Alliance would feature Punk, Lesnar, Tensei, Big Show, Swagger, and other stars who have been pushed around by WWE. Then, they should face WWE faces and beat them down. Then Wade Barrett should reform the Nexus with mostly younger stars. This time, the younger stars should be allowed to gain wins against the Alliance until the Alliance crumbles due to people blaming other people for losses like how nWo first crumbled. Then the Nexus would peacefully disband and every Nexus member would get a huge push including Wade Barrett who would get a title shot and win it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Tensai, Albert or whatever you want to call him is someone that's a mid-carder for life in my eyes. Don't get me wrong, there's not wrong with that as some of the best of all time have never really risen above the level of a mid-carder.

I want to address something the OP mentioned regarding Tensai. It's true the WWE has labeled Tensai as a flop, rightly so. However, they're not "pushing" him against the top guys. Right now, they're feeding him to everyone they put up against him. He hasn't won a match on Raw or SD! in months and most of the matches he does win these days happen on Superstars.

Tensai is one of those ideas that sounds better on paper than in practice. The idea of having a white man embrace the Japanese culture so completely and adopt the role of an Asian monster, on paper, does sound somewhat appealing to me. The problem is that WWE made Tensai far too one dimensional and haven't actually taken the effort of displaying Tensai really adopting elements of the Japanese culture aside from uttering a few words and a few other novelties. This might've worked 20 years ago but it just won't fly today.

Tensai is someone that could be a solid mid-card player in my opinion if WWE does away with the Tensai gimmick and simply brings him back as something more realistic. I'm not even talking going back to where he was Albert. Tensai is a big guy and while he does have a few extra pounds, the guy's pretty solid. You don't see him jiggling all over the place whenever he moves, walks or runs. Tensai is someone that I think would do well as playing someone that's simply tired of the lack of disrespect he's gotten in American wrestling, such as being saddled with lame characters & gimmicks. It would require him to break the fourth wall just a little, but not go over the top with it. Portraying him as just this tough guy, as either a heel or a face or possibly just a tweener, that has a good deal of intensity is simple but it's believable. Probably also give him something of a blue collar tough guy edge. Everyone loves a character that's both tough, works hard and believes in the American dream even to this day.

It's not original, but I think it could probably work. Sometimes, most of the time in fact, simple is the way to go. It's especially the way to go with someone that's probably a bit limited.

 

[TheLoneCharles]

Honestly, Tensai was done as soon as he was recognized as Albert during those interesting pre-debut promos. The gimmick could have worked if he appeared with a mask, because aside from shaving and gaining a little weight Tensai looked the same from his Albert days.

Even then, no real on-screen explanation or promos featuring Tensai's background and why he decided to become Tensai and change his culture. Tensai looks pretty solid in the ring, but still cannot connect with the crowds.

So how do we get him over? Turn Tensai back into an American during a promo, and will go by his known name of Albert once again. Have him become an all American character in the APA style of Farooq and Bradshaw. Give him another large partner that can't get over like Mason Ryan, and have them be hired muscle.

The backstage skits would be hilarious...have Albert drinking a beer while Mason Ryan has a healthshake. Albert dishes on Ryan for not being American enough to have a beer, and Ryan says too much of that beer is affecting Albert and pokes him in the belly. They are about to beat the hell out of each other before another superstar barges in and hires them...and they immediately go take out that rage on someone they are hired to beat up.

 

[Brothervis]

"Recently CM Punk has turned heel because, while Cena has a death grip on the #1 face role, Punk says he can be the #1 heel. About two weeks later Orton comes out and says he wants to turn because he can be the #1 bad guy. Why is this? Because WWE's top heels absolutely suck! They can't get over. Because of this I'm starting my first thread series. I'm gonna take WWE's top heels and one by one strap them with a new gimmick and story, and we can discuss if you think this will help them get over." it really has nothing to with being a heel which reinvents a character that gets over with fans says John Cena

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The new AJPW deal will probably see him head back there as Giant Bernard - and when he returns it'll be under that gimmick.

The problem he has is not even the gimmick or his look, it is that he is on paper one of the biggest guys, but has never been booked as such. Ever since the Albert days he has not only been beatable, but beatable by much lesser guys. When he debuted this time, it seemed like he was going to be pushed right, but within 2 months he was midcard. The battle royal at NIC was a prime example, someone his size should be winning that not Zack Ryder - Heel v Heel notwithstanding.

 

[zones.]

you know... one day this week i was watching a Tensai match for whatever reason and one of my close friends in which i used to watch wrestling with in our school days walked in. this man has not watched wrestling since we were about 15 and therefore has been out of the loop for years yet he walks in and the very first thing he says upon looking at the screen is "hey! he finally shaved his back." needless to say, the fact that he so easily remembered Albert is the general issue here. i have no advice as to what to do NOW and not much input as far as the OP goes... i simply feel that its a lost cause at this point. Tensai should have debuted with a mask. but then the image of awesome and krusher kong come to mind and its just as frightening.