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Matthew Jason Bloom (born November 14, 1972) is an American retired
professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
. He is signed to
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
, where he is the head trainer at the
WWE Performance Center WWE Performance Center (WWE PC) is a group of professional wrestling schools owned by American company WWE. They serve as tryout and training facilities for WWE, and also contain sports science and medical facilities as well as live events and ...
in
Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
. Bloom is best known for his in-ring appearances with WWE as Prince Albert, Albert and A-Train from 1999 to 2004, and as Lord Tensai and Tensai from 2012 to 2014, as well as for his appearances in Japan from 2005 to 2012 with
All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...
(AJPW),
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
(NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) as .
Championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
held by Bloom over the course of his career include the
GHC Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), title in Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 19, 2001, when Big Van Vader, Vader and 2 Cold Scorpio, Sc ...
,
IWGP Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of the NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on December 12, 1985 at an NJPW live event. T ...
and
WWF Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster, along ...
.


Early life

Bloom was born in Peabody, Massachusetts. He attended
Peabody Veterans Memorial High School Peabody Veterans Memorial High School (PVMHS), also known as Peabody High School, is a comprehensive and competitive public high school in Peabody, Massachusetts, United States. It is the only comprehensive public high school in the Peabody Scho ...
, where he earned three
letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech or none in the case of a silent letter; any of the symbols of an alphabet * Letterform, the g ...
in
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
and
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, two in
track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
, and one in
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
. Bloom also attended Camp Tevya in
Brookline, New Hampshire Brookline is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,639 at the 2020 census, up from 4,991 at the 2010 census. Brookline is home to the Talbot-Taylor Wildlife Sanctuary, Potanipo Pond, and the Brookline ...
in the early 1980s, and went on to attend the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
, where he played football as an
offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...
and an
offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tende ...
. Bloom graduated in 1996 with a degree in
sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with #Non-manual elements, no ...
. He then became a schoolteacher, teaching
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
to children with behavioral problems and
deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...
children at Revere High School. After rewarding his three most apt students with a trip to a professional wrestling event, Bloom, who as a child had aspired to wrestle professionally, met wrestler and wrestling trainer
Killer Kowalski Wladek Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008) was a Canadian professional wrestler, known by his ring name Killer Kowalski. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, including the ...
and expressed an interest in learning how to wrestle. Kowalski invited Bloom to attend his
school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
, and Bloom opted to leave teaching and train as a wrestler.


Professional wrestling career


Early career (1997–1999)

Bloom wrestled his first match in the WWA on May 15, 1998, facing
Tiger Ali Singh Gurjit Singh Hans (born March 9, 1971) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1997 to 2002 under the ring name Tiger Ali Singh. He is the son of professional wrestler ...
in a loss, during his brief time in WWA he wrestled notable names such as Sgt. Slaughter and
Bart Gunn Michael Polchlopek (born December 27, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1993 to 1999 under the ring names Bart Gunn and ...
. In November 1998, Bloom made his NWA debut losing to
Shawn Stasiak Shawn Emile Stipich (born July 21, 1970) is an American-Canadian chiropractor, motivational speaker and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the professional wrestling promotions the World Wrestling Federatio ...
. During his stay in NWA, Bloom and
Bull Pain Frank Vizi (born June 9, 1961) is a German-born American professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Bull Pain, Rick Gantner and Psycho. He is best known for his appearances with promotion such as the American Wrestling Association, Wor ...
challenged
Nick Dinsmore Nicholas David Dinsmore (born December 17, 1975), better known by his ring name Eugene, is an American professional wrestler. Dinsmore's career began in 1996 in Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he became the OVW Heavyweight Champion a record eight ...
and
Rob Conway Robert Thomas Conway Jr. (born November 28, 1972), is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Conway is also known for his work with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where ...
for the NWA OVW Southern tag team titles ending in a no contest. He briefly wrestled as Baldo, a
gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand out ...
given to him by referee Freddy Sparta that saw him wear a fur rug to the ring. After being introduced to talent scout
Tom Prichard Thomas Prichard (born August 18, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestling, professional wrestler and author better known by the ring name Dr. Tom Prichard. He is the older brother of Bruce Prichard. Professional wrestling career ...
by
George Steele William James Myers (April 16, 1937 – February 16, 2017), better known by his ring name George "The Animal" Steele, was an American professional wrestler, school teacher, author, and actor. His career lasted from 1967 until 1988, though he mad ...
, Bloom was hired by the
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
(WWF). After receiving supplementary training from Dory Funk Jr., Bloom was assigned to the Power Pro Wrestling developmental territory in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
, where he wrestled as Baldo. While wrestling in PPW, Bloom won both the Young Guns Championship and the Heavyweight Championship, and engaged in a
feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...
with Memphis mainstay
Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "the King" Lawler, is an American retired color commentator and professional wrestler signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federati ...
, where he defeated him to become the inaugural PPW Heavyweight champion.


World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment


Prince Albert (1999–2000)

Bloom debuted on WWF television on the April 11, 1999, episode of ''
Sunday Night Heat ''WWE Heat'' (formerly known as ''Sunday Night Heat'' and also known as ''Heat'') is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and aired from August 2, 1998 to May 30, 2008. Or ...
'', saving Droz from a beating at the hands of
Big Boss Man Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his appearances with the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name (The) Big Boss Man, a ...
. Introduced as the personal
body art Body art is art in which the artist uses their human body as the primary medium.Oxford Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art, Oxford University, p. 88 Emerging from the context of Conceptual Art during the 1970s, Body art may include performanc ...
ist of Droz, Bloom was dubbed Prince Albert (a pun on the
Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...
genital piercing Genital piercing is a form of body piercing that involves piercing a part of the genitalia, thus creating a suitable place for wearing different types of jewellery. Nevertheless, the term may also be used ''pars pro toto'' to indicate all body p ...
). On the April 25 episode of ''Heat'', Albert made his in-ring debut by teaming with Droz to defeat
Brian Christopher Brian Christopher Lawler (January 10, 1972 – July 29, 2018) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best remembered for his career in the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he performed as "Too Sexy" Brian ...
and Scott Taylor. Albert's first singles match occurred on the May 8 episode of ''
Shotgun Saturday Night ''WWF Shotgun Saturday Night'' is a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It aired from January 4, 1997, through August 21, 1999, as a syndicated broadcast. ''Shotgun Saturday Nigh ...
'', in which he lost to
Meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...
. Shortly after, Albert and Droz formed a short-lived trio with Key. Albert picked up his first win in WWF on the June 27 edition of ''Heat'', by defeating
Val Venis Sean Allen Morley (born March 6, 1971), better known by his ring name Val Venis, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) from 1998 to 20 ...
in a street fight after assistance by Droz. Droz and Albert attacked Venis until his tag team partner
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...
made the save. This led to Albert and Droz facing Godfather and Venis in a match on the July 4 episode of ''Heat''. Droz and Albert continued to team together and received several shots for the
WWF Tag Team Championship WWF may refer to: Computing and games *WWF (file format), a campaign for unprintable PDF documents *Windows Workflow Foundation, a software component of the .NET Framework *''Words with Friends'', a mobile computer game franchise Non-profit orga ...
against
Hardy Boyz The Hardy Boyz are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Jeff and Matt Hardy. They are both signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where they are former three time TNA Tag Team Champions. They also make app ...
(
Matt Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...
and
Jeff Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes ...
) but failed to win the titles. Droz and Albert then resolved their rivalry with Venis and Godfather by losing to them in a street fight on the July 26 episode of ''Raw is War''. They also competed in a
Tag Team Turmoil match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...
at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 22, to earn a future title shot, but were eliminated by
Edge and Christian Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
. Albert received his first singles title shot against
D-Lo Brown Accie Julius Connor (born October 22, 1973), better known by his ring name D'Lo Brown (also formatted as D-Lo Brown), is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to TNA Wrestling, where he works as a producer. He is best known for his t ...
for his
European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...
and Intercontinental Championship on the August 21 episode of ''Shotgun''. The team of Droz and Albert prematurely disbanded when Droz was legitimately
paralyzed Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, r ...
in October 1999, and Albert would then unsuccessfully challenge Brown for the European Championship on the October 17 episode of ''Heat''. Shortly after, Albert became the protege of the Big Boss Man, and became a part of Boss Man's team, consisting of Mideon and
Viscera In a multicellular organism, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to a ...
, who lost to The Big Show in a handicap
Survivor Series match The Survivor Series match is a professional wrestling tag team elimination match held in WWE. The match typically sees two teams pitted against each other and members of the teams are eliminated one-by-one until one entire team is eliminated. Memb ...
at
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
on November 14. Boss Man and Albert would challenge Big Show for the
WWF Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling World championship (professional wrestling), world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American profe ...
in a losing effort in a handicap match on the December 13 episode of ''
Raw is War ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs Live television, live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show fe ...
''. On January 23, 2000, Albert competed in his first
Royal Rumble match The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic battle royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...
at the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
as the #21 entrant. He was eliminated by
Kane Kane or KANE may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Fictional entities *Kane (comics), the main character of the eponymous comic book series by Paul Grist * Kane (''Command & Conquer''), Tiberium universe character in the ''Command & Conquer'' ...
. Shortly after, the team of Albert and Boss Man separated following the debut of
Bull Buchanan Barry Buchanan (born January 15, 1968) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (WWF/WWE) under the ring names Recon, Bull Buchanan and B² and for his appeara ...
, who formed a tag team with the Big Boss Man.


T & A (2000–2001)

In March, Prince Albert was recruited by
Trish Stratus Patricia Anne Stratigeas (; born December 18, 1975), better known by the ring name Trish Stratus, is a Canadian professional wrestler, yoga instructor, actress and former fitness model. She is signed to WWE. An inductee of the 2013 WWE Hall ...
to form a
tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...
with
Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
, with his name being shortened to Albert at
WrestleMania 2000 WrestleMania 2000, also known as WrestleMania 16, was a 2000 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the 16th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 2, 2000, at th ...
on April 2 in a tag team match with Test against Head Cheese (
Al Snow Allen Ray Sarven (born July 18, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Al Snow. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation/ World Wrestling Entertainm ...
and
Steve Blackman Steve Blackman (born September 28, 1963) is an American martial arts instructor and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) from 1997 to 2002, where he was a frequent ...
), which Test and Albert won. The tag team, known as T & A, competed in the tag team division throughout 2000, and feuded with various rival tag teams. Their first rivalry was against
Dudley Boyz The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team who consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley. The team was also joined by various Dudley family members, notably Spike Dudley and ...
( Bubba Ray and D-Von), which saw the two teams trade wins in a series of matches including a match at
Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), a comic book character from ...
on April 30, which T & A won. At
King of the Ring King and Queen of the Ring, formerly and still commonly known as simply King of the Ring, was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The event was established in 1993 and originally c ...
on June 25, T & A competed against
Too Cool Too Cool, originally known as Too Much, was an American professional wrestling tag team and group active in the World Wrestling Federation (later World Wrestling Entertainment) between 1998 and 2001 and for a short time in 2004 and 2014. The group ...
( Grand Master Sexay and
Scotty 2 Hotty Scott Ronald Garland (born July 2, 1973) is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling as a producer and coach. He is best known for his appearances with the WWE, World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWE) under the ring ...
), The
Hardy Boyz The Hardy Boyz are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Jeff and Matt Hardy. They are both signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where they are former three time TNA Tag Team Champions. They also make app ...
(
Matt Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...
and
Jeff Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes ...
), and Edge and Christian in a
four corners elimination match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...
for the Tag Team Championship, which they failed to win. Following the event, T & A began feuding with Hardy Boyz, which led to T & A and Trish Stratus taking on Hardy Boyz and Lita in a losing effort at Fully Loaded on July 23. In October, T & A began feuding with the
Acolytes Protection Agency The Acolytes Protection Agency (APA) was an American professional wrestling tag team who consisted of Bradshaw (John Layfield) and Faarooq (Ron Simmons). They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E) between October 1998 ...
( Bradshaw and
Faarooq Ronald K. Simmons (born May 15, 1958) is an American former professional wrestler and football player. He is best known for his tenures in WWE and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Prior to becoming a professional wrestler, Simmons played fo ...
), leading to T & A and Stratus facing Lita and APA in a match at No Mercy on October 22, which ended in a no contest. T & A and Stratus would then begin feuding with Holly Cousins ( Crash,
Hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
and Molly), which lead to T & A and Stratus facing Crash, Molly and
Steve Blackman Steve Blackman (born September 28, 1963) is an American martial arts instructor and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) from 1997 to 2002, where he was a frequent ...
in a match at
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
on November 19, which Stratus and T & A lost. The feud ended on the November 27 episode of ''Raw is War'', where Holly Cousins defeated T & A and Stratus. At
Rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
on December 2, T & A competed against Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian in a triple threat elimination
tables match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...
, which Dudley Boyz won. On the December 28 episode of ''
SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...
'', T & A dissolved when Bloom attacked Test under the orders of Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley after T & A won a match against Too Cool. As a result, Albert and Stratus briefly feuded with Test, defeating him in a handicap match on the January 8, 2001, episode of ''Raw is War''.


X-Factor and The Zoo Crew (2001–2002)

After moving to singles competition, Albert participated in the 2001 Royal Rumble as the #17 entrant, being eliminated by
Kane Kane or KANE may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Fictional entities *Kane (comics), the main character of the eponymous comic book series by Paul Grist * Kane (''Command & Conquer''), Tiberium universe character in the ''Command & Conquer'' ...
. Over the following months, he wrestled primarily at
house show A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...
s and on '' Jakked'' and ''Heat''. In March, Albert formed a faction with
Justin Credible Peter Joseph Polaco (born October 16, 1973) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Justin Credible. Debut ...
and
X-Pac Sean Michael Waltman (born July 13, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his appearances for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring names 1– ...
called
X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
. The group feuded with the Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray, D-Von and
Spike Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (Broderick book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter ...
), defeating them in a six-man tag team match at
Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), a comic book character from ...
. On the June 28 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Albert defeated
Kane Kane or KANE may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Fictional entities *Kane (comics), the main character of the eponymous comic book series by Paul Grist * Kane (''Command & Conquer''), Tiberium universe character in the ''Command & Conquer'' ...
in a
no disqualification match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...
, following assistance by
Diamond Dallas Page } Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr., April 5, 1956), is an American fitness instructor, actor, and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name Di ...
to win the Intercontinental Championship, his first and only title in the WWF. During this time, Credible left X-Factor and joined The Alliance. Albert held the Intercontinental Championship for a month, retaining the title against
The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name the Undertaker, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway ...
,
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
,
Rhyno Terrance Guido Gerin (born October 7, 1975) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Rhyno (or Rhino). He is a freelancer, appearing for various promotions such as All Elite Wrestling (AEW), National Wrestling Alliance ...
, former X-Factor teammate Justin Credible, and
Tommy Dreamer Thomas James Laughlin (born February 13, 1971) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and professional wrestling promotion, promoter better known by the ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestli ...
. At
Invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...
, Albert represented WWF by teaming with
Billy Gunn Monty Kip Sopp (born November 1, 1963), better known by his ring name Billy Gunn, is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to the WWE under a Legends contract and All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also perfo ...
and Big Show against Alliance's
Chris Kanyon Christopher Morgan Klucsarits (January 4, 1970 – April 2, 2010) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1994 to 20 ...
, Hugh Morrus and
Shawn Stasiak Shawn Emile Stipich (born July 21, 1970) is an American-Canadian chiropractor, motivational speaker and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the professional wrestling promotions the World Wrestling Federatio ...
in a losing effort. The following night, Albert lost the Intercontinental Championship to Alliance member
Lance Storm Lance Timothy Evers (; born April 3, 1969), known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a Canadians, Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he works as a producer. He is best known ...
on the July 23 episode of ''Raw is War'', after several wrestlers interfered. Following the title loss, Albert and X-Pac continued X-Factor as a tag team until November, when X-Pac was sidelined with an injury. Albert would then begin teaming with Scotty 2 Hotty after defeating him in a match on the November 4 episode of ''Heat''. On the November 10 episode of ''Jakked'', Albert and Scotty teamed for the first time and defeated Alliance members
Raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...
and Hugh Morrus,
turning Turning is a machining process in which a cutting tool, typically a non-rotary tool bit, describes a helix toolpath by moving more or less linearly while the workpiece rotates. Usually the term "turning" is reserved for the generation of ...
Albert into a
fan favorite In professional wrestling, a face (babyface) is a heroic, "good guy", "good-doer", or "fan favorite" wrestler, booked (scripted) by the promotion with the aim of being cheered by fans. They are portrayed as heroes relative to the heel wrestler ...
. Albert was nicknamed "The Hip Hop Hippo" as he danced with Scotty after matches and became a comical character. At
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
, Albert participated in a
battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...
, with the winner getting immunity from being fired regardless of the result of the match between WWF and Alliance. Albert was eliminated by
Billy Kidman Peter Alan Gruner Jr.(born May 11, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Billy Kidman. He works for WWE, where he is a producer. As a wrestler, Kidman is best known for his work with World Championsh ...
and Test. At
Vengeance Vengeance may refer to: *Vengeance (concept) or revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance Film * ''Vengeance'' (1930 film), action adventure film directed by Archie Mayo * ''Vengeance'' (1937 film) or ''W ...
, Zoo Crew defeated
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
and Test. On the December 13 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Albert and Scotty's team was named Zoo Crew as they teamed with
Tazz Peter Senerchia (born October 11, 1967), better known by the ring name Taz (also spelled Tazz), is an American radio personality, color commentator, and retired professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a color commentator f ...
to defeat Christian and Dudley Boyz in a six-man tag team match. On the December 17 episode of ''Raw is War'', Zoo Crew unsuccessfully challenged Dudley Boyz for the WWF Tag Team Championship. On January 20, 2002, Albert participated in the 2002 Royal Rumble match as the #17 entrant. He was eliminated by Christian and
Chuck Chuck () is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV produce ...
. On the January 24 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Zoo Crew unsuccessfully challenged Spike Dudley and Tazz for the WWF Tag Team Championship. At No Way Out, Zoo Crew participated in a tag team turmoil match to determine the #1 contenders for the Tag Team Championship. The APA won the match. In March, the WWF roster was divided into two
brands A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...
, and both Albert and Scotty were assigned to the
SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...
brand. They disbanded on the April 4 episode of ''SmackDown!'' when Albert attacked Scotty after the duo failed to defeat Billy and Chuck for the WWF Tag Team Championship, turning Albert into a
villain A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...
. Albert defeated Scotty on the following episode of ''SmackDown!''. Albert then moved to singles competition, mainly competing on ''
Velocity Velocity is a measurement of speed in a certain direction of motion. It is a fundamental concept in kinematics, the branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of physical objects. Velocity is a vector (geometry), vector Physical q ...
'' for the next several months. During that time, Albert made a pay-per-view appearance at
Rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
, where he lost to
Rikishi A , or, more colloquially, , is a sumo wrestler. Although used to define all wrestlers participating in sumo wrestling matches, the term is more commonly used to refer to professional wrestlers, employed by the Japan Sumo Association, who par ...
in a
Kiss My Ass match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...
.


A-Train (2002–2004)

Albert competed in his first match on ''SmackDown!'' since July, on the December 5 episode of ''SmackDown!'' by defeating
Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez Rubio (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Widely regarded as both one of the greatest '' luch ...
in a short match. Albert continued to attack Mysterio after the match, until Mysterio's tag team partner Edge made the save. The following week, on ''SmackDown!'', Albert joined forces with
Paul Heyman Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former executive, promoter, and commentator. He is signed to WWE as the on-screen manager of Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed, and is widely regard ...
and
Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...
, which saw Heyman persuade him to rename himself to A-Train and debut new attire, the latter of which saw fans often chant "Shave Your Back!" at him during his matches due to his hairy torso. Following the name change, A-Train continued his rivalry with Edge, losing to him via disqualification after a chair shot at
Armageddon Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...
on December 15. On the December 19 episode of ''SmackDown!'', A-Train and Edge had a rematch, which A-Train decisively lost via pinfall. On January 19, 2003 at the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
, A-Train participated in the
Royal Rumble match The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic battle royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...
as the #25 entrant. He was eliminated by Kane and
Rob Van Dam Robert Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD) is an American professional wrestler. Known for his unique ring style—which includes his variety of kicks, acrobatic movemen ...
. A-Train would then continue his alliance with Big Show as they lost to The Undertaker in a handicap match at
WrestleMania XIX WrestleMania XIX was a 2003 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of WWE pay-per-view events, event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 19th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 30, 2003, at T-Mobile Park, ...
on March 30, after assistance by The Undertaker's originally supposed partner Nathan Jones, who was attacked earlier in the show. A-Train continued the feud with The Undertaker by costing him a match against
John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...
on the August 7 episode of ''SmackDown!''. This culminated in a match between A-Train and The Undertaker at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 24, which A-Train lost. A-Train then lost to
Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit ( ; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career, but is notorious for Chris Benoit double-murd ...
at No Mercy on October 19 and, at
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
on November 16, was on
Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and professional American football player. As a ...
's team in a ten-man
Survivor Series match The Survivor Series match is a professional wrestling tag team elimination match held in WWE. The match typically sees two teams pitted against each other and members of the teams are eliminated one-by-one until one entire team is eliminated. Memb ...
in a losing effort to
Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...
's team, in which he was pinned by Bradshaw. On the January 22, 2004, episode of ''SmackDown!'', A-Train defeated
Shannon Moore Shannon Moore (born July 27, 1979) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1999 and 2001 and with WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for ...
to qualify for the 2004 Royal Rumble match, which he failed to win after being eliminated by the eventual winner, Chris Benoit. After Benoit decided to wrestle
Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...
for the World Heavyweight Championship on the Raw brand,
General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
Paul Heyman held a SmackDown! brand-exclusive Royal Rumble on the January 29 episode of ''SmackDown!'', to determine who would meet Lesnar for the
WWE Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown bran ...
at No Way Out. A-Train was eliminated by the eventual winner
Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and World Championship Wrestling ...
. A-Train was
traded Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of credi ...
to the Raw brand on March 22 before making his official Raw debut on June 7, losing to
Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...
. His last match was a loss to
Val Venis Sean Allen Morley (born March 6, 1971), better known by his ring name Val Venis, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) from 1998 to 20 ...
on ''Heat''. Two weeks later, he was sidelined with a
torn rotator cuff Rotator cuff tendinopathy is a process of senescence. The pathophysiology is mucoid degeneration. Most people develop rotator cuff tendinopathy within their lifetime. As part of rotator cuff tendinopathy, the tendon can thin and develop a defec ...
and was released from his WWE contract on November 1, before he could return.


All Japan Pro Wrestling (2005–2006)

In March 2005, Bloom began wrestling for the Japanese
All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...
promotion, adopting the ring name "Giant Bernard" (a reference to wrestler
Brute Bernard James Prudhomme (June 6, 1921 – July 14, 1984), was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Brute Bernard or Jim 'Brute' Bernhard. He spent much of his career wrestling as part of a tag team with Skull Murphy. He compe ...
). He went on to join the
Voodoo Murders Voodoo Murders (stylised in all capital letters, also stylised as VDM) were a professional wrestling stable who were best known as the main heel group in All Japan Pro Wrestling between 2005 and 2011, and 2022 to 2023. In 2013, the group was ref ...
stable alongside fellow WWE alumni
Chuck Palumbo Charles Ronald Palumbo (born June 15, 1971) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with professional wrestling promotions World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment ...
and
Johnny Stamboli Jonathan Hugger (born April 20, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and author. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Johnny the Bull, for World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring ...
. On October 18, 2005, Bloom unsuccessfully challenged
Satoshi Kojima is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to both New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is a former two-time MLW World Heavyweight Championship, MLW World Heavyweight Champion and former one half of the MLW W ...
for the
Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Japanese All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion. The current champion is Jun Saito, who is in his first reign. Title history The championship was established after the unifica ...
.


New Japan Pro-Wrestling


Various feuds (2006–2009)

In January 2006, Bloom left AJPW and joined the rival
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
(NJPW) promotion. In April 2006, he defeated
Yuji Nagata is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, and former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Considered one of the greatest Japanese wrestlers ...
in the finals of the 2006
New Japan Cup __NOTOC__ The New Japan Cup (NJC) is an annual single-elimination professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) since 2005. It is considered the second most prominent heavyweight tournament in NJPW, after the G1 Climax wh ...
. As a result of his victory, Bloom received a shot at the
IWGP Heavyweight Championship The was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on June 12, 1987, in the final of an IW ...
. He unsuccessfully challenged IWGP Heavyweight Champion
Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and professional American football player. As a ...
on May 3, 2006, in Tenjin,
Chūō-ku, Fukuoka is one of the seven wards of Fukuoka city in Japan. The ward is located in the center of the city and has a high proportion of apartment buildings and single-person households. It includes Tenjin and Daimyō which are among the largest downto ...
. In July 2006, following the abdication of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship by Lesnar, Bloom entered a tournament for the title, losing to
Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, sports executive and Podcast, podcaster. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he serves as the president and representative director of the promotion, and is also an active wrestler. Widel ...
in the tournament final. In August 2006, Bloom took part in the 2006
G1 Climax The is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually – and currently – held as a round-rob ...
Tournament, losing to
Hiroyoshi Tenzan is a Japanese professional wrestler who is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and is better known by his ring name . With Satoshi Kojima, in 2008, they won the World's Strongest Tag Determination League in All Japan Pro Wrestling and the G1 Tag L ...
in the semifinals. On March 11, 2007, in
Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...
, Bloom and
Travis Tomko Travis David Tomko (born March 23, 1976) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2003 to 2006 under the ring name Tyson Tomko, with New Japan Pro-Wrestling ...
defeated
Manabu Nakanishi is a Japanese retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler, who was primarily associated with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a one-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, one-time G1 Climax winner and three-t ...
and
Takao Omori is a Japanese professional wrestling, professional wrestler, working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a one-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and seven-time World Tag Team Championship ( ...
to win the
IWGP Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of the NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on December 12, 1985 at an NJPW live event. T ...
. At the February 17, 2008, New Japan show, they lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to
Togi Makabe , better known by his ring name is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, trained by and performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former one-time IWGP Heavyweight Championship, IWGP Heavyweight Champion, L ...
and
Toru Yano is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, trained by and signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was the KOPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling), KOPW 2020 and the KOPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling), KOPW 2021. He is one of the ...
. Following Tomko's departure for
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...
on a full-time basis, Bernard began teaming with former
World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...
wrestler
Rick Fuller Richard Fuller (born April 1, 1969) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling from 1997 to 2000. Early life Born in Middleborough, Massachusetts, Fuller graduated from ...
in another powerhouse tag team. On September 5, 2008, Bernard and Fuller betrayed
Shinsuke Nakamura is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Nakamura is known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former 3-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, with his first rei ...
and
Hirooki Goto is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He is also one-half of the tag team Bishamon alongside Yoshi-Hashi. ...
to align themselves with
Togi Makabe , better known by his ring name is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, trained by and performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former one-time IWGP Heavyweight Championship, IWGP Heavyweight Champion, L ...
's
Great Bash Heel , often abbreviated to G・B・H, was a professional wrestling stable and tag team in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Originally formed by Hiroyoshi Tenzan in October 2006, G・B・H was the top villainous group in NJPW until April 2009, when ...
stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...
. In addition to wrestling for NJPW, Bloom also wrestled for their affiliate Wrestle Land as Rusher Road, where he was a member of the Roads stable until the brand's closure.


Bad Intentions (2009–2012)

In 2009, after betraying Togi Makabe, Bernard and the rest of GBH left the stable to join Shinsuke Nakamura and form the new stable known as
CHAOS Chaos or CHAOS may refer to: Science, technology, and astronomy * '' Chaos: Making a New Science'', a 1987 book by James Gleick * Chaos (company), a Bulgarian rendering and simulation software company * ''Chaos'' (genus), a genus of amoebae * ...
. Bernard formed the tag team Bad Intentions with CHAOS partner
Karl Anderson Chad Allegra (born January 20, 1980) known by the ring name Karl Anderson , is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is primarily performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is also known for his time in WWE. Ander ...
and together the two of them went on to win that year's
G1 Tag League __NOTOC__ The is a professional wrestling Round-robin tournament, round-robin tag team professional wrestling tournament, tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a spin-off of the popular singles tournament, the G1 Climax. It was created in ...
after defeating
Apollo 55 were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi. One of the most accomplished junior heavyweight tag teams in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) history, the team held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Cha ...
(
Prince Devitt A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in some ...
and
Ryusuke Taguchi is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, trained by and performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a former List of IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions, two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, List of IWGP Junior He ...
) in the finals of the tournament on November 1. They went on to challenge for the IWGP Tag Team Championship, but their match with the defending champions
Team 3D The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team who consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley. The team was also joined by various Dudley family members, notably Spike Dudley and ...
( Brother Ray and
Brother Devon Devon Hughes ( ; born August 1, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, under a legends contract. He is best known for performing in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1995 to 1999 and for the World Wrestli ...
) at
Destruction '09 Destruction '09 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on November 8, 2009, in Tokyo, at Ryōgoku Kokugikan. The event featured nine matches, three of which were conte ...
ended in a double countout. In April 2010, both Bernard and Anderson left CHAOS when the stable turned on them. Through NJPW's working agreement with
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...
, Bloom did his first tour of
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
in May 2010, where he and Anderson managed to win six successive Two-out-of-Three Falls tag team matches in two straight falls, before he lost his final match of the tour on June 11 via disqualification. Upon his return to Japan, Bernard and Anderson defeated the teams of
Seigigun was a professional wrestling stable in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, led by Yuji Nagata. History 2009 Seigigun was first formed in September 2009 as a branch of New Japan Seikigun ("regular army") that seeks justice. Upon the formation of the g ...
(
Yuji Nagata is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, and former mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Considered one of the greatest Japanese wrestlers ...
and
Wataru Inoue is a Japanese retired professional wrestler working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Professional wrestling career Inoue made his debut on New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1999. He aligned himself with New Japan Junior Seikigun, a face stable creat ...
) and No Limit (
Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his 20-year run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he served as the leader of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japon'' stable, and was a multi-time world champion. ...
and
Yujiro Takahashi , is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of House of Torture and a former member of Bullet Club. He is one-third of the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions with Ren Narit ...
) in a
Three-Way Elimination match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...
on June 19 at Dominion 6.19 to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship. Bad Intentions made their first successful defense of the IWGP Tag Team Championship on July 19, defeating Seigigun and No Limit in a three-way "Dogfight". In late October, Bad Intentions entered the 2010 G1 Tag League, where, after three wins and two losses, they finished second in their block. This put them in the semifinals where, on November 7, they were defeated by eventual winners Yuji Nagata and Wataru Inoue. On January 4, 2011, at Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome, Bad Intentions successfully defended the IWGP Tag Team Championship in a three-way match against
Beer Money, Inc. Beer Money, Inc. was a professional wrestling tag team which consisted of Robert "Bobby" Roode and James Storm in the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where they are record-tying five-time TNA World Tag Tea ...
(
James Storm James Allen Cox (born June 1, 1977) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name James Storm. He currently competes on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He sta ...
and
Robert Roode Robert Francis Roode Jr. (born May 11, 1976) is a Canadian retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is a Producer (professional wrestling), producer and was formerly an in-ring performer. Roode is known ...
) and Muscle Orchestra (
Manabu Nakanishi is a Japanese retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler, who was primarily associated with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a one-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, one-time G1 Climax winner and three-t ...
and
Strong Man {{disambig *Ring name of American professional wrestler Jon Andersen *Strong Man, a cartoon superhero in '' The Mighty Heroes'' ...
). On May 3, Bad Intentions defeated No Limit to make their seventh successful IWGP Tag Team Championship defense, tying the record for most defenses, set by Hiroyoshi Tenzan and
Masahiro Chono is an American-born Japanese retired Professional wrestling in Japan, professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26-year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of New World Order (professional wrestling), nWo Japan, Tea ...
. Bad Intentions made their record-breaking eighth successful IWGP Tag Team Championship defense on June 18 at
Dominion 6.18 Dominion 6.18 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on June 18, 2011, in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Osaka, at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium. The event featured ten mat ...
against Pro Wrestling Noah's Takuma Sano and
Yoshihiro Takayama is a Japanese former professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Debuting for UWF International (UWFI) in the 1990s, Takayama joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1997 after UWF-i folded. In 2000, he joined Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), an ...
, and in the process also became the new
GHC Tag Team Champions The is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), title in Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 19, 2001, when Big Van Vader, Vader and 2 Cold Scorpio, Sc ...
upon defeating Sano and Takayama for the title. After the main event of the show, Bernard challenged Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which Tanahashi said he would accept, if Bad Intentions beat him in a match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship, alongside the man he just defeated - Hirooki Goto. On July 3, Bernard and Anderson successfully defended the IWGP Tag Team Championship against Tanahashi and Goto. By winning, Bernard earned an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match against Tanahashi on July 18, but failed. On July 23, Bad Intentions made an appearance for Pro Wrestling Noah, making their first successful defense of the GHC Tag Team Championship against the team of
Takeshi Morishima (born October 15, 1978) is a Japanese former professional wrestler. Morishima is best known for his work with Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a former three-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He has also performed for Ring of Honor (ROH) in the U ...
and
Yutaka Yoshie was a Japanese professional wrestler, who worked as a freelancer in Japan, performing most notably for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he was a former World Tag Team Champion. He had previously worked for promotions such as New Japan Pr ...
. On September 9, Bad Intentions became the longest reigning IWGP Tag Team Champions, breaking the previous record of 446 days set by
Hiroyoshi Tenzan is a Japanese professional wrestler who is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and is better known by his ring name . With Satoshi Kojima, in 2008, they won the World's Strongest Tag Determination League in All Japan Pro Wrestling and the G1 Tag L ...
and
Masahiro Chono is an American-born Japanese retired Professional wrestling in Japan, professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26-year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of New World Order (professional wrestling), nWo Japan, Tea ...
in 2003. Bad Intentions made their second GHC Tag Team Championship defense on October 31, defeating
Go Shiozaki is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. He is a record-holding five time former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He made his debut for the Pro Wrestling Noah in July 2004 and initially remained with Pro Wrestling No ...
and
Shuhei Taniguchi is a Japanese professional wrestler who has worked for Pro Wrestling Noah since his debut in December 2005. He is also known by the ring name , under which he portrays a villainous masked character. Professional wrestling career Amateur backg ...
at a Pro Wrestling Noah event. During New Japan's 2011 G1 Tag League, Bad Intentions suffered their first tag team loss in a year, when they were defeated by the Complete Players (
Masato Tanaka is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in Japan where he was a FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship#Title History, one-time FMW Brass Knuckle ...
and Yujiro Takahashi), but still managed to win their four other matches and advance to the semifinals of the tournament. On November 6, after defeating the Billion Powers (Hirooki Goto and Hiroshi Tanahashi) in the semifinals, Bad Intentions were defeated in the final of the 2011 G1 Climax by Suzuki-gun (
Minoru Suzuki (born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, known for his tenure in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former one-time IWGP Intercontinental Ch ...
and
Lance Archer Lance Hoyt (born February 28, 1977), better known by his ring name Lance Archer, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where is a member of The Don Callis Family and one-half of The Murder Machines w ...
). On November 12 at
Power Struggle A power struggle is situation where two or more people or groups fight to gain dominance over each other. The term is most commonly used in a political context, when parties contend for power or leadership positions, but can also be applied to a ...
, Bad Intentions made their tenth successful IWGP Tag Team Championship defense against Archer and Suzuki. On January 4, 2012, at
Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) Professional wrestling promotion, promotion, which took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on January 4, 2012. It was the 21st January 4 Tok ...
, Bad Intentions lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to
Tencozy Tencozy (occasionally spelled "Ten-Koji") is a professional wrestling tag team that has competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. Regarded as one of the greatest tag teams in New Japan history, They are seven-time tag team c ...
(Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima), ending their record-setting reign at 564 days. They followed suit with their other title on January 22, losing the GHC Tag Team Championship to
Akitoshi Saito is a Japanese retired professional wrestler primarily known for his tenures with Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) where he is a former five-time GHC Tag Team Champion and a former two-time Global Tag League winner in 2008 and 2011. Saito is also kno ...
and
Jun Akiyama (born October 9, 1969) is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he is a former KO-D Openweight Champion. He is best known for his time working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he was the president, rep ...
.


Return to WWE (2012–present)


Lord Tensai (2012–2013)

On March 17, 2012, it was reported that Bloom had re-signed with WWE. Bloom publicly denied the signing; however, on the March 19 episode of ''Raw'', he appeared in a vignette under the new ring name "Lord Tensai" (天災). On the April 2 episode of ''Raw'', Bloom made his WWE re-debut as Lord Tensai, where he was accompanied by his follower Sakamoto before defeating
Alex Riley Kevin Robert Kiley Jr. (born April 28, 1981) is an American former professional wrestler and commentator. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, under the ring name Alex Riley, where he was a participant in the second season of '' NXT''. Pr ...
. In the following weeks, Tensai went on a winning streak, scoring pinfall victories over lower card wrestlers and even main stars including
John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...
and
WWE Champion The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown brand ...
CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...
. On the May 21 episode of ''Raw'', Tensai dropped the "Lord" portion of his ring name and his Japanese outfit worn during his entrance. Following this, Tensai began losing much more frequently throughout the rest of 2012, beginning with John Cena ending his winning streak before he also suffered a loss to
World Heavyweight Champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, tho ...
Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on th ...
. His losing streak caused Tensai to often vent his frustrations by abusing and attacking Sakamoto, who eventually ceased appearing with Tensai. On the June 29 episode of ''SmackDown'', Tensai defeated
Justin Gabriel Phillip Paul Lloyd (born 3 March 1981) is a South African-American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE, under the ring name Justin Gabriel. He is currently wrestling under the ring name P. J. Black. A second-generation w ...
to break his losing streak and also qualify for a spot in the World Heavyweight Championship
Money in the Bank ladder match The Money in the Bank ladder match is a multi-person ladder match held by the professional wrestling promotion WWE. First performed at WWE's annual WrestleMania event beginning in 2005, a separate WWE Money in the Bank, Money in the Bank event w ...
at Money in the Bank, though the match was ultimately won by
Dolph Ziggler Nicholas Theodore Nemeth (born July 27, 1980) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he performs under his real name, stylized as Nic Nemeth, where he is one-half of the TNA World Tag ...
. Over the next three months, Tensai's losing streak resumed, as he lost to the likes of
Tyson Kidd Theodore James "TJ" Wilson (born July 11, 1980), better known by the ring name Tyson Kidd, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he works as a road agent (professional wrestling), producer. The final graduate o ...
,
Sin Cara Sin Cara may refer to: * Místico (born 1982), Mexican professional wrestler, wrestled as Sin Cara in WWE between 2011 and 2013 * Cinta de Oro (born 1977), American professional wrestler, wrestled as Sin Cara in WWE during 2011 and between 2013 ...
,
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...
, and
Ryback Ryback Allen Reeves (born Ryan Allen Reeves; November 10, 1981) is an American retired professional wrestler and YouTuber. He is best known for his tenure with WWE, where he performed under the ring name Ryback. One of the eight finalists on ' ...
. Tensai finally ended his losing streak on the October 5 episode of ''SmackDown'', defeating Big Show by disqualification after Sheamus interfered. However, he would be back on the losing end the following week, after being defeated by Sheamus. On November 18 at the
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
pay-per-view, Tensai took part in a traditional Five-on-Five Elimination tag team match, but he was the second man eliminated from his team, but not before eliminating
Brodus Clay George Murdoch (born February 21, 1973) is an American cable news personality, actor, and former professional wrestler known by his ring/stage name Tyrus. As a wrestler, he was formerly signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he i ...
. In December, Tensai was demoted to a comedy act, with
Santino Marella Anthony Carelli (born March 14, 1974), better known by the ring name Santino Marella, is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he works as the on-screen director of authority. He is best kn ...
calling him "Fat Albert" before proceeding to defeat Tensai.


Tons of Funk (2013–2014)

On the January 28, 2013, episode of ''Raw'', Tensai was tricked into wearing
lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...
while participating in a
dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
-off with Brodus Clay. Two days later on ''
Main Event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
'', after being mocked for his lingerie dance, Tensai defeated
Titus O'Neil Thaddeus Michael Bullard (born April 29, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and former arena football player. He is signed to WWE as a Global Ambassador. Described by the company as "one of the most philanthropic superstars in WWE hist ...
in a singles match. Clay came out to support Tensai during the match and Tensai danced with Clay after the match, signalling a
face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...
turn. Following this, Clay and Tensai formed a tag team and they went on to defeat established teams such as
Primo and Epico Eddie and Orlando Colón are a Puerto Rican professional wrestling tag team. They work with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where they perform as The Colóns. The team, composed of real-life cousins, are former WWE Tag Team Champions T ...
,
Heath Slater Heath Wallace Miller (born July 15, 1983) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE under the ring name Heath Slater. He also performed in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Impact Wrestling ...
and
Jinder Mahal Yuvraj Singh Dhesi (born July 19, 1986) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is performing on the independent circuit under his real name, stylized as Raj Dhesi. He is best known for his tenures in WWE, where he performed under the ring nam ...
of 3MB, and Team Rhodes Scholars (
Cody Rhodes Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (born June 30, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. As of April 2022, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. He is also known for co-fou ...
and
Damien Sandow Aron Steven Haddad (born August 3, 1982) is an American retired professional wrestler working as a manager in the National Wrestling Alliance under the name Aron Stevens. He is best known for wrestling with WWE under the ring name Damien Sandow ...
), with the latter match taking place during the pre-show of
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was created by Triple H, and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure which ...
on February 17. On the March 22 episode of ''SmackDown'', Tensai and Clay were defeated by Team Rhodes Scholars in a tag team match after an interference from their associates
The Bella Twins The Bella Twins are an American former professional wrestling tag team that performed in WWE and consisted of identical twin sisters Nikki Bella and Brie Bella. Each of the Bella Twins are former WWE Divas Champions. Brie was the first twin in ...
. Tensai (also now referred to by the name Sweet T) and Clay announced their official tag-team name "Tons of Funk" on the March 27 episode of ''Main Event'', where they accompanied The Funkadactyls (
Cameron Cameron may refer to: People * Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan * Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) ;Mononym * Cam'ron (born 19 ...
and
Naomi Naomi or Naomie may refer to: People and biblical figures * Naomi (given name), a given name and a list of people with the name * Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth * Naomi (Romanian singer) (born 1977 ...
) to the ring in a losing effort to The Bella Twins with Team Rhodes Scholars in their corner when Nikki pinned Naomi after an interference by Cody Rhodes. The two teams were originally booked to face each other in an eight-person mixed tag team match on April 7 at
WrestleMania 29 WrestleMania 29, also promoted as WrestleMania NY/NJ, was a 2013 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It was the 29th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 7, 2013, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New J ...
, but their match was cut due to time constraints. The match instead took place the following night on ''Raw'', where Tons of Funk and The Funkadactyls emerged victorious. After nearly a month of in-ring absence, Tons of Funk returned on the June 6 episode of ''Superstars'', defeating Primo and Epico. On June 24, Tensai and Clay competed in a Triple Threat tag team match to determine the number one contenders for the
Tag Team Championship In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling match types, professional wrestling matches, in which competitors a ...
against
The Usos The Usos were a Samoan-American professional wrestling tag team which consisted of twin brothers Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They are signed to WWE, where Jey performs on the WWE Raw, Raw brand while Jimmy performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), Sma ...
and 3MB (represented by
Drew McIntyre Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June, 1985) is a Scottish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. Galloway began ...
and Jinder Mahal), although The Usos would ultimately win the match. In November 2013, Tons of Funk began to show signs of instability once Clay started a storyline where he became angry and jealous of the debuting
Xavier Woods Austin Watson (born September 4, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and YouTuber. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Xavier Woods and is part of The New Day and is one-half of the current World ...
. As Clay began to exhibit more
heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...
-oriented tendencies, such as repeatedly attacking Woods after he had defeated Woods in a match, Tensai and the Funkadactyls slowly became alienated from him. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Clay faced Woods' partner,
R-Truth Ronnie Aaron Killings (born January 19, 1972) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under his real name, stylized as Ron Killings and R-Truth. Killings worked for World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) ...
, and continually assaulted Truth instead of going for a win, resulting in Tensai and the Funkadactyls leaving in protest and Clay subsequently losing the match. On the December 20 episode of ''SmackDown'', Tensai defeated Clay in a singles match after a distraction from Woods and the Funkadactyls.


Retirement and trainer (2014–present)

After Tons of Funk disbanded, Bloom was taken off television and, in January 2014, began working in WWE's developmental territory NXT as a commentator under the new ring name "Jason Albert". On August 7, Bloom stated he decided to retire from in-ring competition and announced that he would begin working as a trainer in the
WWE Performance Center WWE Performance Center (WWE PC) is a group of professional wrestling schools owned by American company WWE. They serve as tryout and training facilities for WWE, and also contain sports science and medical facilities as well as live events and ...
, resuming his teaching profession.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
On March 6, 2015, Bloom was reportedly promoted to interim NXT head trainer following the departure of
Bill DeMott William Charles DeMott II (born November 10, 1966) is an American retired professional wrestler, road agent, and trainer. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Hugh Morrus and World Wrestling Federatio ...
. On May 19, Bloom was promoted to NXT head coach from his previous interim role.


Personal life

Bloom married Farah Louise on September 3, 2005. At one point, Bloom had 28 body piercings, the first of which he received at the age of 14. His numerous
tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...
s represent his 8-year tenure in Japan. Matt Bloom is
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
.


Other media

Bloom has appeared in twenty video games under his various gimmicks, such as Prince Albert in '' WWF WrestleMania 2000'', as Albert in ''
WWF SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...
'', '' WWF No Mercy'', '' WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role'', ''
WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It ''WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It'', known in Japan as , is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's, and published by THQ for PlayStation 2, and was released in November 2001. It is the third game in the ''WWF SmackDown!'' series, ...
'', '' WWF Raw'', '' WWE WrestleMania X8'', ''
WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth ''WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth'' (known as ''Exciting Pro Wrestling 4'' in Japan) is a 2002 professional wrestling video game released for the PlayStation 2 by THQ and developed by Yuke's. It is the fourth game in the '' WWE SmackDown!'' vid ...
'', as A-Train in '' WWE Raw 2'', ''
WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain ''WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain '' (known as ''Exciting Pro Wrestling 5'' in Japan) is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for PlayStation 2 in North America on October 27, 2003. It is the sequel to ...
'', '' WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw'', as Giant Bernard in ''
Fire Pro Wrestling 2 The following is a list of all video games in the '' Fire Pro Wrestling'' series produced by either Human Entertainment or Spike starting in 1989. Most of the titles in the series were released exclusively in Japan. Human Entertainment Games Fire ...
'', '' Fire Pro Wrestling Returns'', ''
Wrestle Kingdom Wrestle Kingdom is a professional wrestling event produced annually by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), a Japan-based professional wrestling promotion. Since 1992, NJPW has held the January 4 Tokyo Dome Show. The January 4 Tokyo Dome Show becam ...
'' and '' Wrestle Kingdom 2'', as Willy Pearce in '' Wrestling Empire'', and as Tensai in ''
WWE '13 ''WWE '13'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii. It was released on October 30, 2012, in North America and November 2, 2012, in United Kingdom. It is the fourteent ...
'' (as DLC) and in ''
WWE 2K14 ''WWE 2K14'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K (company), 2K for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was released on October 29, 2013, in North America, October 30, 2013, in Japan, October 31, 2013, i ...
'.'' Bloom also appears as a trainer in MyCareer Mode in ''
WWE 2K16 ''WWE 2K16'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It is the sequel to ''WWE 2K15'', and was succeeded by '' WWE 2K17''. It w ...
'', credited as Jason Albert, and ''
WWE 2K17 ''WWE 2K17'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. It is the eighteenth game in the ''WWE'' game series (fourth under the '' ...
'', ''
WWE 2K18 ''WWE 2K18'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K (company), 2K. It is the nineteenth instalment in the WWE 2K, WWE game series (fifth under the ''WWE 2K'' banner) and a follow-up to ''WWE 2K17''. It wa ...
'', and ''
WWE 2K19 ''WWE 2K19'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K. It was released worldwide on October 9, 2018, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the twentieth game in the ''WWE'' series, th ...
'' under his real name.


Championships and accomplishments

*Impact Zone Wrestling **IZW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Elite Xtreme Wrestling **EXW Tag Team Championship (1 time) *
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
**
IWGP Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of the NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on December 12, 1985 at an NJPW live event. T ...
(
2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...
) – with
Travis Tomko Travis David Tomko (born March 23, 1976) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2003 to 2006 under the ring name Tyson Tomko, with New Japan Pro-Wrestling ...
(1) and
Karl Anderson Chad Allegra (born January 20, 1980) known by the ring name Karl Anderson , is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is primarily performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is also known for his time in WWE. Ander ...
(1) **
G1 Tag League __NOTOC__ The is a professional wrestling Round-robin tournament, round-robin tag team professional wrestling tournament, tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a spin-off of the popular singles tournament, the G1 Climax. It was created in ...
(
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
) – with Travis Tomko **G1 Tag League (
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
) – with Karl Anderson **
New Japan Cup __NOTOC__ The New Japan Cup (NJC) is an annual single-elimination professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) since 2005. It is considered the second most prominent heavyweight tournament in NJPW, after the G1 Climax wh ...
(
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
) *''
Nikkan Sports is the first-launched Japanese daily sports newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background ...
'' **Best Tag Team Award (2007) with Travis Tomko **Best Tag Team Award (2011) with Karl Anderson *
Power Pro Wrestling Memphis Power Pro Wrestling (Power Pro Wrestling) was a Memphis, Tennessee based professional wrestling promotion that was founded by Randy Hales. It was affiliated with Memphis Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation. It was the ...
** PPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **PPW Young Guns Championship (1 time) *''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...
'' **Ranked No. 32 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''
PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...
'' in 2001 * Pro Wrestling Noah **
GHC Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), title in Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 19, 2001, when Big Van Vader, Vader and 2 Cold Scorpio, Sc ...
( 1 time) – with
Karl Anderson Chad Allegra (born January 20, 1980) known by the ring name Karl Anderson , is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is primarily performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is also known for his time in WWE. Ander ...
*
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
**
WWF Intercontinental Championship The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster, along ...
( 1 time) *''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...
'' ** Tag Team of the Year (2011) – with Karl Anderson


See also

*
List of Jewish professional wrestlers This list of Jewish athletes in sports contains athletes who are Jews, Jewish and have attained outstanding achievements in sports. The topic of Jewish participation in sports is discussed extensively in academic and popular literature. Sport ...


Notes


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bloom, Matt 1972 births 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers American football offensive linemen American male professional wrestlers Chaos (professional wrestling) members American expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan Faux Japanese professional wrestlers GHC Tag Team Champions IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Jewish professional wrestlers Living people Pittsburgh Panthers football players Players of American football from Essex County, Massachusetts Professional wrestlers from Massachusetts American professional wrestling announcers American professional wrestling trainers Sportspeople from Peabody, Massachusetts WWF/WWE Intercontinental Champions World Tag League (NJPW) winners Jewish American players of American football New Japan Cup winners