Matt Bloom
Matthew Jason Bloom is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the head trainer at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
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, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah as Giant Bernard. Championships held by Bloom over the course of his career include the GHC Tag Team Championship, IWGP Tag Team Championship and WWF Intercontinental Championship.
Early life
Bloom was born in Peabody, Massachusetts. He attended Peabody Veterans Memorial High School, where he earned three letters in football and basketball, two in track and field, and one in baseball. Bloom also attended Camp Tevya in Brookline, New Hampshire in the early 1980s, and 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. 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 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 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
Early career (1997–1999)
Bloom wrestled his first match in the WWA on May 15, 1998, facing Tiger Ali Singh in a loss, during his brief time in WWA he wrestled notable names such as Sgt. Slaughter and Bart Gunn. In November 1998, Bloom made his NWA debut losing to Shawn Stasiak. During his stay in NWA, Bloom and Bull Pain challenged Nick Dinsmore and Rob Conway for the NWA OVW Southern tag team titles ending in a no contest. 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, 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, saving Droz from a beating at the hands of Big Boss Man. Introduced as the personal body artist of Droz, Bloom was dubbed Prince Albert. On the April 25 episode of Heat, Albert made his in-ring debut by teaming with Droz to defeat Brian Christopher and Scott Taylor. Albert's first singles match occurred on the May 8 episode of Shotgun Saturday Night, in which he lost to Meat. 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 in a street fight after assistance by Droz. Droz and Albert attacked Venis until his tag team partner The Godfather 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 against Hardy Boyz 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 at SummerSlam on August 22, to earn a future title shot, but were eliminated by Edge and Christian. Albert received his first singles title shot against D-Lo Brown for his European and Intercontinental Championship on the August 21 episode of Shotgun. The team of Droz and Albert prematurely disbanded when Droz was legitimately paralyzed 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, who lost to The Big Show in a handicap Survivor Series match at Survivor Series on November 14. Boss Man and Albert would challenge Big Show for the WWF Championship in a losing effort in a handicap match on the December 13 episode of Raw is War.
On January 23, 2000, Albert competed in his first Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble as the #21 entrant. He was eliminated by Kane. Shortly after, the team of Albert and Boss Man separated following the debut of Bull Buchanan, who formed a tag team with the Big Boss Man.
T & A (2000–2001)
In March, Prince Albert was recruited by Trish Stratus to form a tag team with Test, with his name being shortened to Albert at WrestleMania 2000 on April 2 in a tag team match with Test against Head Cheese, 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, which saw the two teams trade wins in a series of matches including a match at Backlash on April 30, which T & A won. At King of the Ring on June 25, T & A competed against Too Cool, The Hardy Boyz, and Edge and Christian in a four corners elimination match 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, 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, which lead to T & A and Stratus facing Crash, Molly and Steve Blackman in a match at Survivor Series 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 on December 2, T & A competed against Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian in a triple threat elimination tables match, which Dudley Boyz won. On the December 28 episode of SmackDown!, 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. Over the following months, he wrestled primarily at house shows and on Jakked and Heat. In March, Albert formed a faction with Justin Credible and X-Pac called X-Factor. The group feuded with the Dudley Boyz, defeating them in a six-man tag team match at Backlash. On the June 28 episode of SmackDown!, Albert defeated Kane in a no disqualification match, following assistance by Diamond Dallas Page 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, Edge, Rhyno, former X-Factor teammate Justin Credible, and Tommy Dreamer. At Invasion, Albert represented WWF by teaming with Billy Gunn and Big Show against Alliance's Chris Kanyon, Hugh Morrus and Shawn Stasiak in a losing effort. The following night, Albert lost the Intercontinental Championship to Alliance member Lance Storm 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 and Hugh Morrus, turning Albert into a fan favorite. Albert was nicknamed "The Hip Hop Hippo" as he danced with Scotty after matches and became a comical character. At Survivor Series, Albert participated in a battle royal, 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 and Test. At Vengeance, Zoo Crew defeated Christian and Test. On the December 13 episode of SmackDown!, Albert and Scotty's team was named Zoo Crew as they teamed with Tazz 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. 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, and both Albert and Scotty were assigned to the SmackDown! 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. Albert defeated Scotty on the following episode of SmackDown!. Albert then moved to singles competition, mainly competing on Velocity for the next several months. During that time, Albert made a pay-per-view appearance at Rebellion, where he lost to Rikishi in a Kiss My Ass match.