10 Failed WWE Pushes One Tweak Away From Excellence
2. Lord Tensai
Why it failed: The Lord Tensai gimmick was !*$% on top of !*$% all because the former A-Train/Albert had just happened to have found fame and fortune in Japan during his time away from WWE.
Man behind the piercings and tattoos Matt Bloom had enhanced his reputation tenfold following a successful stint alongside Tyson Tomko and Karl Anderson in New Japan Pro Wrestling, but came back looking like a bad 1980s caricature of what Vince McMahon probably imagined NJPW looked like.
One Tweak: No bullsh*t, more beatings.
In spite of absurd costuming and an over-gimmicked act clearly destined for sinking, WWE did give him high profile wins over John Cena and CM Punk virtually straight after his debut. His persona was so poorly received that the wins only damaged his opponents, and his work, in spite of reports to the contrary, didn't seem all that different from the man that had left years earlier.
For all it felt like the company were trying, they'd missed the mark by such a margin that it didn't matter. From that point on, only being a destroyer could have saved the day. In a very WWE move, he pivoted to comedy instead.