Tensai is on this list not just because his return to WWE was uneventful, but it was because of the downward spiral he experienced after leaving a successful push in Japan. When Matt Bloom returned to WWE in 2012 as Lord Tensai, there were many people scratching their heads. Even though WWE tried to ignore his previous tenure in WWE as (Prince)Albert/Baldo/A-Train/The Hip Hop Hippo, and downplayed his success in Japan (mind you, he was very good in New Japan), WWE expected Tensai to get over. What they got was an apathetic WWE Universe, and a total flop of a wrestler. To make matters worse, Tensais gimmick soon turned to comedy and embarrassing segments, despite having clean wins over the likes of CM Punk and John Cena. Before we knew it, he was wearing womens lingerie on RAW and dancing alongside fellow big man Brodus Clay. Moreover, shortly after he became part of the team Tons of Funk, it was revealed that he was being paid $400,000 for that position, knowing that he was stuck in a dead end gimmick and he was generally putting on less-than-stellar performances. Albert had a decent run in WWE before his 2004 departure, but had much more success in Japan than in WWE. It was a mistake for him to leave New Japan and his success as part of the team of Bad Intentions with Karl Anderson. Though not as lucrative, it was still better than teaming with Brodus Clay and not getting any reaction whatsoever from the audience. Even if NJPW paid him less than WWE, it wouldve still led to a longer career and less embarrassment.
Alexander Podgorski is a writer for WhatCulture that has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was 8 years old. He loves all kinds of wrestling, from WWE and sports entertainment, to puroresu in Japan.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen's University in Political Studies and French, and a Master's Degree in Public Administration. He speaks English, French, Polish, a bit of German, and knows some odd words and phrases in half a dozen other languages.
