Matthew Bloom
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| Matthew Bloom | |
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| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | Prince Albert Albert A-Train Giant Bernard The Mongolian Baldo Baldo Train Train |
| Billed height | 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) |
| Billed weight | 353 lb (160 kg) |
| Born | November 14, 1972 |
| Resides | Arizona |
| Trained by | Killer Kowalski Dory Funk, Jr. |
| Debut | 1997 |
Matthew Jason Bloom (born November 14, 1972 in Peabody, Massachusetts), better known by his ring names, Albert, Prince Albert, A-Train and Giant Bernard, is an American professional wrestler who previously performed for World Wrestling Entertainment on the RAW and SmackDown! brands and AJPW and currently wrestles for NJPW. One of his trademarks was that he had thick black hair all over his chest and back, but has since replaced his body hair with a special tattoo pattern spanning from his chest/upper back to his wrists.
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[edit] Career
Bloom played football at the University of Pittsburgh as an offensive tackle, then an offensive guard. After graduating, he briefly worked in the NFL, playing for the San Diego Chargers. He then became a schoolteacher, working with children with behavioral problems and deaf children.
[edit] World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (1997-2004)
Bloom portrayed several characters throughout his career since making his debut in 1997. This included a few runs in Power Pro Wrestling in Memphis as Baldo and in the WWF as the bizarre Prince Albert (named after the Prince Albert piercing). The piercing-themed gimmick complemented tag team partner Droz's tattoo-artist gimmick. He made his WWF TV debut on the April 11, 1999 episode of Sunday Night HEAT, saving Droz from a beating from the Big Boss Man. In 2000, he was repackaged as "Albert, the wrestler formerly known as Prince."
The Albert character was in a tag team with Test. T & A (Test and Albert) fell under the tutelage of the vivacious Trish Stratus. His career highlights in WWE include being a one-time WWE Intercontinental Champion after defeating Kane for the championship.
Before Backlash 2001 in Chicago, Bloom joined forces with X-Pac and Justin Credible, forming the team X-Factor. On the June 28, 2001 Albert defeated Kane to win the Intercontinental Championship. With X-Pac holding the Light Heavyweight Title and Albert holding the Intercontinental Title, Justin Credible became jealous and left to join Paul Heyman's ECW revolution thus joining The Alliance. Albert lost his Intercontinental title to Lance Storm on the July 23, 2001 edition of RAW. In late October, 2001 X-Pac suffered an injury thus breaking up X-Factor.
Albert then went on to joined forces with Scotty Too Hotty but after a bad run together, Albert turned heel for the last time by betraying and attacking Scotty on the April 4, 2002 edition of SmackDown! after losing a tag team championship match to Billy and Chuck in which Scotty was pinned.
From here Albert changed his ring attire and was used mostly on WWE Velocity, during which he had a minor feud with Funaki. The December 5, 2002 edition of SmackDown! began Albert's longest and biggest push in his WWE career. Albert defeated Rey Mysterio and attacked and destroyed Rey's knee after the match. Later that night as Rey Mysterio's friend Edge was entering the ring, Albert attacked him with a chair from behind; injuring Edge's knee as well.
The following week on the December 12, 2002 edition of SmackDown!, Bloom joined forces with Paul Heyman and his client at the time Big Show. Albert was given a new name: A-Train by Paul Heyman who described him as "A runaway Train" (A-Train was also the name D-Von Dudley used in his pre-WWE career). That same night A-Train and Big Show defeated Edge and Kurt Angle. Bloom would continue his alliance with the two through the entire administration of Paul Heyman as SmackDown! General Manager and in July, 2003 A-Train became one of Vince McMahon's hired henchmen.This was probably Bloom's highest profile run in the WWE, as he had a number of matches with The Undertaker, Edge, Brock Lesnar, and Chris Benoit. A-Train was also picked to join 'Team Lesnar', along with teammates Brock Lesnar, Big Show, Matt Morgan and Nathan Jones, to face off against 'Team Angle' Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, John Cena, Bradshaw, and Hardcore Holly. In a Ten Man Elimination Tag match at Survivor Series 2003. A-Train continued to be a lackey for Paul Heyman and Vince McMahon until March 22, 2004. During the WWE Draft, A-Train was drafted to the RAW roster along with Chuck Palumbo and in exchange Rico Constantino and Jackie Gayda who were headed for SmackDown!.
A-Train's appearances on RAW were very seldom for a 3 month tenure before being sidelined with a torn rotator cuff in June, 2004. Though, he did have one match on RAW, it was against Chris Jericho on June 2004, in which he would lose.
On November 1, 2004, Bloom was released from the WWE. Bloom was not being used in any meaningful storylines and had been injured for a while.
[edit] Japan (2005-present)
Bloom started wrestling in Japan, where he uses the name Giant Bernard, a takeoff on an older performer who used the name Brute Bernard. When Bloom debuted in Japan, he also debuted a new look, sporting tiger stripe-like tattoo patterns, covering his his entire chest, upper back and spanning along both arms from the shoulders down to the wrists.
In 2005, Bloom appeared on an All Japan Pro Wrestling card, running in to aid two other former-WWE wrestlers, Johnny Stamboli and Chuck Palumbo. He proceeded to join Voodoo Murders, AJPW's main heel group.
On October 18, 2005, Giant Bernard challenged Satoshi Kojima for the AJPW Triple Crown but Kojima successfully defended his title.
In late 2005, Bloom left AJPW and joined the rival New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion.
In April 2006, Bloom entered the New Japan Cup, beating Yuji Nagata in the final to become one of the rare foreigners to win a tournament in Japan. As a result of this victory he received a shot at Brock Lesnar's IWGP World Heavyweight Championship on 3 May, 2006 at the Fukuoka International Center, where he suffered a defeat.
On June 28, 2006, Giant Bernard was announced as a participant in the 2006 G-1 Climax, his first appearance in the tournament. He went onto the semifinals of the tournament, losing to the tournament's eventual winner, Hiroyoshi Tenzan. After this, Bloom entered into another tournament, this time for the vacant IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Bloom reached the finals of the tournament, until being defeated in the final by Hiroshi Tanahashi.
[edit] Wrestling facts
[edit] Finishing and signature moves
- Baldo Bomb / Derailer (Chokebomb pin)
- Train Wreck (Canadian backbreaker drop)
- Bernard Driver (Reverse piledriver) - In Japan
- Corner slingshot splash - In Japan
- Decaptitator (Catapult throat first into bottom-rope from below)
- Giant swing
- Bicycle kick
- Spinning crucifix into a neckbreaker slam
- The Whale (Dancing forearm drop) - (Used as a counterpart to Scotty 2 Hotty's Worm while both were a tag team)
[edit] Managers
- Paul Heyman
- Tony Rumble
- Trish Stratus
- Sable
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
- Impact Zone Wrestling
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- IZW Heavyweight Champion (1 time)
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- 2006 New Japan Cup winner (Defeated Yuji Nagata in the finals of the tournament)
- Power Pro Wrestling
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- PPW Heavyweight Champion (First-ever champion) (1 time)
- PPW Young Guns Champion (1 time)
