Matt Bloom Matthew Jason " Matt " Bloom ( born November 14 , 1972 ) is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE under the ring name Tensai . Bloom first rose to prominence under the ring name s Albert and A - Train during his first tenure with WWE when it was named the World Wrestling Federation ( and later World Wrestling Entertainment ) , during which he also became a one time Intercontinental Champion . After leaving WWE , Bloom adopted the ring name Giant Bernard and began wrestling extensively in Japan , where he became a three - time World Tag Team Champion by winning New Japan Pro Wrestling ' s IWGP Tag Team Championship twice ( once with Travis Tomko and once Karl Anderson as Bad Intentions ) and Pro Wrestling Noah ' s GHC Tag Team Championship once with Anderson . Early life . Bloom attended Peabody High School , where he earned three letters in football and basketball , two in track and field , and one in baseball . He attended Camp Tevya in Brookline , New Hampshire in the early 1980 ' . Bloom went on to attend the University of Pittsburgh , where he played football as an offensive tackle and an offensive guard . Bloom graduated in 1996 with a degree in sign language . After graduating , Bloom briefly played in the National Football League for the San Diego Chargers . He then became a schoolteacher , teaching mathematics and English to children with behavioral problems and deaf children at Revere High School . After rewarding his three aptest 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 and expressed an interest in learning how to wrestle . Kowalski invited Bloom to attend his school , and Bloom opted to leave teaching and train as a wrestler . Professional wrestling career . Debut ( 1997 – 1999 ) . Bloom wrestled his first match in 1997 , facing Tim McNeany . He briefly wrestled as Baldo , a gimmick 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 by George Steele , Bloom was hired by the World Wrestling Federation . After receiving supplementary training from Dory Funk , Jr . , Bloom was assigned to the Power Pro Wrestling developmental territory in Memphis , Tennessee , 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 with Memphis mainstay Jerry Lawler . World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment ( 1999 – 2004 ) . Bloom debuted on WWF television on the April 11 , 1999 episode of " Sunday Night Heat " , saving Droz from a beating at the hands of Big Bossman . Bloom was dubbed Prince Albert , the personal tattooist of Droz , and together they formed a short - lived trio with Key . Droz and Albert continued to team together until Droz was paralyzed in October 1999 , at which point Albert became the protege of the Big Bossman . The duo separated following the debut of Bull Buchanan , who formed a tag team with the Big Bossman . In March 2000 , Bloom , now known simply as Albert , was recruited by Trish Stratus to form a tag team with Test . The tag team , known as T & A , competed in the tag team division throughout 2000 , feuding with rival tag teams such as the Dudley Boyz and the Acolytes . In December 2000 , the team separated after Bloom attacked Test under the orders of Stephanie McMahon - Helmsley . At this time Bloom became notable for his roaring whenever he executed a high - impact maneuver . In April 2001 , Albert formed a stable called X - Factor with Justin Credible and X - Pac . On June 28 , he defeated Kane with help from Diamond Dallas Page to win the Intercontinental Championship , his first WWF title . He lost it to Alliance member Lance Storm on July 23 , after several wrestlers interfered . In July , Credible left X - Factor and joined The Alliance . Albert and X - Pac continued X - Factor as a tag team until November , when X - Pac was sidelined with an injury . In late 2001 , Albert was nicknamed " The Hip Hop Hippo " as he began teaming with Scotty 2 Hotty . Upon the introduction of the Brand Extension , both Bloom and Hotty were assigned to the " SmackDown ! " brand . They disbanded on April 4 , 2002 when Albert attacked Scotty after the duo failed to defeat Billy and Chuck for the Tag Team Championship . Subsequently , he spent much of his time on " Velocity " until December 2002 , when he joined forces with Paul Heyman and Big Show , 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 . A - Train and Big Show lost to The Undertaker at WrestleMania XIX , after which A - Train continued the feud , culminating in a match at SummerSlam . He then wrestled Chris Benoit at No Mercy and , at Survivor Series , was on Brock Lesnar ' s team in a ten - man Survivor Series match . He competed in the 2004 Royal Rumble match , and was eliminated by the eventual winner , Benoit . After Benoit decided to wrestle Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship on the Raw brand , General Manager Paul Heyman held a SmackDown ! brand - exclusive Royal Rumble , to determine who would meet Lesnar for the WWE Championship at No Way Out . A - Train was eliminated by Eddie Guerrero , who went on to win the match . A - Train was traded to the Raw brand on March 22 , 2004 before making his official " Raw " debut on June 7 . Two weeks later , he was sidelined with a torn rotator cuff 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 Japan ese All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion , adopting the ring name Giant Bernard , a reference to former wrestler Brute Bernard . He went on to join the Voodoo Murders stable alongside fellow WWE alumni Chuck Palumbo and Johnny Stamboli . On October 18 , 2005 , Bloom unsuccessfully challenged Satoshi Kojima for the Triple Crown Championship . New Japan Pro Wrestling . Various feuds ( 2006 – 2009 ) . In January 2006 , Bloom left AJPW and joined the rival New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion . In April 2006 , he defeated Yuji Nagata in the finals of the 2006 New Japan Cup . As a result of his victory , Bloom received a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship . He unsuccessfully challenged IWGP Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar on May 3 , 2006 in Tenjin , Chūō - ku , Fukuoka . In July 2006 , following the vacation of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship by Lesnar , Bloom entered a tournament for the title , losing to Hiroshi Tanahashi in the tournament final . In August 2006 , Bloom took part in the 2006 G1 Climax tournament , losing to Hiroyoshi Tenzan in the semi - finals . On March 11 , 2007 in Nagoya , Bloom and Travis Tomko defeated Manabu Nakanishi and Takao Ōmori to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship . At the February 17 , 2008 New Japan show , they lost the IWGP Tag Titles to Togi Makabe and Toru Yano . Following Tomko ' s departure for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling on a full - time basis , Bernard began teaming with former World Championship Wrestling wrestler Rick Fuller in another powerhouse tag team . On September 5 , 2008 , Bernard and Fuller betrayed Shinsuke Nakamura and Hirooki Goto to align themselves with Togi Makabe ' s Great Bash Heel stable . 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 . Bernard formed the tag team Bad Intentions with CHAOS partner Karl Anderson and together the two of them went on to win that year ' s G1 Climax Tag League after defeating Apollo 55 ( Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi ) 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 ( Brother Ray and Brother Devon ) 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 , Bloom did his first tour of Mexico 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 Blue Justice Army ( Yuji Nagata and Wataru Inoue ) and No Limit ( Tetsuya Naitō and Yujiro Takahashi ) in a three - way elimination match on June 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 the Blue Justice Army and No Limit in a three - way " Dogfight " . In late October Bad Intentions entered the 2010 G1 Climax Tag League , where , after three wins and two losses , they finished second in their block . This put them in the semi - finals 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 . ( James Storm and Robert Roode ) and Muscle Orchestra ( Manabu Nakanishi and Strong Man ) . 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 . Bad Intentions made their record - breaking eighth successful IWGP Tag Team Championship defense on June 18 against Pro Wrestling Noah ' s Takuma Sano and Yoshihiro Takayama , and in the process also became the new GHC Tag Team Champions 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 and Yutaka Yoshie . On September 9 , Bad Intentions became the longest reigning IWGP Tag Team Champions , breaking the previous record of 446 days set by Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Masahiro Chono in 2003 . Bad Intentions made their second GHC Tag Team Championship defense on October 31 , defeating Go Shiozaki and Shuhei Taniguchi at a Pro Wrestling Noah event . During New Japan ' s 2011 G1 Climax Tag League , Bad Intentions suffered their first tag team loss in a year , when they were defeated by the Complete Players ( Masato Tanaka 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 was defeated in the final of the 2011 G1 Climax by the Suzukigun ( Minoru Suzuki and Lance Archer ) . On November 12 , 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 , Bad Intentions lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to Ten - Koji ( 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 and Jun Akiyama . Return to WWE . Return ( 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 . In the following weeks , Tensai went on a winning streak , scoring pinfall victories over lower card wrestlers and even main stars including John Cena and WWE Champion CM Punk . 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 Sheamus . 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 to break his losing streak and also qualify for a spot in the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank ladder match at Money in the Bank , though the match was ultimately won by Dolph Ziggler . Over the next three months , Tensai ' s losing streak resumed , as he lost to the likes of Tyson Kidd , Sin Cara , Randy Orton , and Ryback . Tensai finally ended his losing on the October 5 episode of " SmackDown " , defeating Big Show by disqualification after Sheamus interfered . However , he would be back on losing end the following week , after being defeated by Sheamus . On November 18 at the Survivor Series 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 . In December , Tensai was reduced to a comedy act , with Santino Marella calling him " Fat Albert " before proceeding to defeat Tensai . Tons of Funk ( 2013 – present ) . On the January 28 , 2013 episode of " Raw " , Tensai was forced to wear lingerie while participating in a dance - off with Brodus Clay . Two days later on " WWE Main Event " , after being mocked for his lingerie dance , Tensai defeated Titus O ' Neil in a singles match . Clay came out to support Tensai during the match and Tensai danced with Clay after the match , signalling a face turn . Following this , Clay and Tensai formed a tag team and they went on to defeat established teams such as Primo and Epico , Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal of 3MB and Team Rhodes Scholars ( Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow ) , with the latter match taking place during the pre - show of Elimination Chamber 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 . < ref name = SmackDown3 / 22 / 13 > < / ref > Tensai and Clay announced their official tag - team name " Tons of Funk " on the March 27 episode of " Main Event " , where they accompied The Funkadactyls ( Cameron and Naomi ) to 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 . < ref name = MainEvent3 / 27 / 13 > < / ref > The two teams were originally booked to face each other in an eight - person mixed tag team match on April 7 at Wrestlemania 29 , 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 June 6 episode of " Superstars " , defeating Primo & Epico . On June 24th , Tensai and Clay competed in a triple threat tag team match to determine # 1 contenders for WWE Tag Team Championships against The Usos and 3MB which was represented by Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal . Personal life . Bloom married Farah Louise on September 3 , 2005 . At one point , Bloom had twenty - eight body piercings , the first of which he received at the age of fourteen . Bloom is also Jew ish . Other media . Bloom has appeared in several video games under his various gimmicks , such as Prince Albert in " WWF Wrestlemania 2000 " , as Albert in " WWF No Mercy " , " WWE WrestleMania X8 " , " WWF SmackDown ! " , " " , " WWF SmackDown ! Just Bring It " , " WWE Raw " , and " WWE SmackDown ! Shut Your Mouth " , as A - Train in " WWE SmackDown ! Here Comes The Pain " , " WWE Raw 2 " , and " WWE SmackDown ! vs . Raw " , and as Tensai in " WWE ' 13 " as downloadable content .