WWE Raw 2nd April 2012 Discussion *SPOILERS* Options

[ThePhenom]

So, the Tensai thing. It was weird hearing Cole say that Tensai was a returning former WWE superstar now known as Tensai. That means that they're implicitly acknowledging that he's A-Train, which he clearly is as he looks just like A-Train. But then they keep going on about him being an unknown quantity during the match, as if A-Ry couldn't just have looked up a couple of A Train matches.

It's strange to have acknowledged it at all, but having done so it really fucked up the rest of the gimmick presentation for me.

But the whole gimmick is that he's an American who left and went to Japan for years and was trained to wrestle a style that no one else in the WWE is used to. So it's the mystique behind his new skills that he has mastered that is the unknown.

[Golden Eagle]

Both Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson were a very successful tag team in New Japan holding the IWGP tag titles for a record 564 days.

Giant Bernard is better utilised when in a tag team combination as opposed to a singles wrestler as his weaknesses can be hidden better.

But who knows, if he gets booked correctly then his run as a singles monster heel could work out better for him than his last WWE run.

[Arch Stanton]

Here's the WWE back story on Tensai:

He calls himself Lord Tensai, but it turns out the mysterious Superstar who stormed onto Raw SuperShow and defeated Alex Riley this past Monday has a storied history in sports-entertainment, including WWE. When he arrived on Raw, Tensai did not speak and dressed in traditional Japanese garb, which would suggest he is something of an expat.

This, it turns out, is exactly the case. The hulking warrior is in fact the WWE Superstar formerly known as A-Train, who competed in WWE for several years before embarking on a journey of self-discovery in Japan. Once he'd crossed the Pacific Ocean, he immersed himself in the Land of the Rising Sun, embracing a new culture, training regiment, and philosophy that seemingly caused him to forsake the customs of his native United States.

As a final step to his transformation, he took the name "Tensai," which means "disaster." Based on what he did to Alex Riley, he seems to have chosen appropriately.


I am not a fan of the gimmick, but at least the story makes sense.

[fye]

does that disaster comment Johnny Ace made mean we're gonna see Tensai vs Punk then?

[Doog]

I bloody hope not, but yeah I'd imagine so.

I thought Tensai was awful. I liked A-Train near the end of his last WWE run so when I heard he was coming back and how he'd ''improved'' i expected a lot more. His in ring work was so boring, his facial expressions were off and it just all came across very dull.

To be fair, the gimmick doesnt help. He looked a right fucking idiot coming out with his robe and whatver that abomination on his head was called. Just didnt work for me at all.

-EDIT- Just to say, comparing Tensai's squash to Ryback's, Ryback came off a lot better for me personally, not a huge fan of Ryback's look but I have a much bigger urge to see him again then Lord bloody Tensai.

This post has been edited by Doog: Apr 8 2012, 13:15

[Arch Stanton]

When Johnny Ace made that strange 'natural disaster' reference to Punk, my initial reaction was that it was supposed to be subtly hinting at Brock's return, with the 'natural disaster' part being a nod to the F5. However, having now seen the meaning of his name, it is obviously a reference to Lord Tensai. I would say Punk is probably a pretty good opponent for him. It will be a nice little mid-card/WWE title feud.

This post has been edited by Arch Stanton: Apr 8 2012, 14:02

[Kaz Hayashi]

I like him in terms of his general size and move set, im a sucker for the big monster types, especially if they can move etc. I do like the back story, the fact he spent time in Japan, destroyed it and has come back to destroy the WWE. I am also happy enough for him to have a japanese look to an extent, even a Japanese manager.

Saying that, his costume and music are fucking shite. I'm a fan of gimmicks and original looks, i just think his looks a bit shit.

[Big Rob]

-EDIT- Just to say, comparing Tensai's squash to Ryback's, Ryback came off a lot better for me personally, not a huge fan of Ryback's look but I have a much bigger urge to see him again then Lord bloody Tensai.

Ryback's squash was about half the length though. Tensai was hampered by having a long match for a squash, had it been just 90 seconds then it would have been a lot tighter.

[PunkStep]

They would've been a lot better off bringing Slick back. If anyone can create a scene for transforming a worker from one gimmick to another, it's him and Mean Gene.

Here. Uploaded by LISTER of all people!

[Up Chuck]

-EDIT- Just to say, comparing Tensai's squash to Ryback's, Ryback came off a lot better for me personally, not a huge fan of Ryback's look but I have a much bigger urge to see him again then Lord bloody Tensai.

Ryback's squash was about half the length though. Tensai was hampered by having a long match for a squash, had it been just 90 seconds then it would have been a lot tighter.

Yeah, exactly. I can see what they were doing with Tensai, having it be a sort of slow, methodical destruction, but it was much too long. It's nice that they went to the trouble of doing something a bit different, but it was a prime example of the fact that if you want stuff to get over, you've gotta have a proper squash or a proper match.