Well, you can't say they didn't try.
Well, you can’t say they didn’t try.

This week’s #TBT takes us to February of 2012 when Prince Albert / A-Train made his return to WWE after many years over in Japan. Because of his time there, it apparently seemed to be a good idea to rebrand him as a man who had perfected the blend of American and Japanese wrestling – two styles! Though he was meant to be seen as an intimidating force, he came off as a weak mix of Hakushi and The Sultan. Michael Cole sure tried to sell us on this gimmick, though.

Joshua Schlag

For most of the last 30+ years of my life, I've been watching WWE. As a kid, Monday Night Raw hooked me from the start. From Bret Hart and Razor Ramon, to Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, to CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.. I've witnessed the ups and downs and I'm proud to have enjoyed pro wrestling through the years.

Though I now watch in a much different fashion than I did when I was a kid (finding out Vince McMahon was the owner and Jack Tunney no more than a figurehead was like finding out Santa Claus did not exist), I feel like I have a much greater appreciation for the hard work pro wrestlers do and the things they sacrifice to entertain us.

It's still real to me, dammit!