WWE fans likely remember Evan Bourne, the high-flyer who was responsible for the single greatest RKO of all time. Bourne, who has gone by the name Matt Sydal both before and after his WWE tenure, has long been a favorite on the indie circuit. Since his release from WWE in 2014, he has been making waves as “Reborn” Matt Sydal and has been a big deal in New Japan, teaming with Ricochet and winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag titles twice and the NEVER Openweight 6-man tag title once. He’s also been wrestling for Dragon Gate, ROH, PWG, Rev Pro and just about any indie promotion you can think of all over the world.
Unfortunately, a run-in with the law last month may have put his Japanese wrestling career in jeopardy. On Thurday, Sydal was convicted on drug charges stemming from a September arrest for marijuana, as originally reported by Nikkan Sports. (Translated details courtesy of Wrestling Inc.)
Nikkan Sports reports that former WWE Superstar and current New Japan Pro Wrestling star Matt Sydal (Evan Bourne) was arrested in Japan on September 23rd while entering the country after police found 2.12 grams of liquid marijuana in his possession at the Kansai Airport in Osaka Bay. The liquid was to be used in an e-cigarette.
Sydal was convicted on October 13th but there are no details on his punishment yet but this could mean the end of his wrestling career in Japan due to their strict drug laws.
When Sydal missed his New Japan dates last month, he explained it away on Twitter by saying he had had visa issues and was stuck in Hawaii, but he was definitely in Japan at the time. PWInsider got comments from an anonymous friend of Sydal’s who insists the wrestler needs to use marijuana as a result of the constant pain he is in ever since mangling his foot in a 2012 motorcycle accident. If you’ve ever seen photos of Sydal’s reconstructed foot, you can definitely believe that. If you’ve never seen photos of it, please do not click this link because it is horrifying.
In November of 2011, Sydal received his first WWE suspension for violating the company’s Wellness Policy. He was suspended for a second time just two months later, in January of 2012. Before he could return from his suspension, he was involved in the aforementioned motorcycle accident, which kept him out of action for over a year while his foot healed. He wrestled one NXT live event in 2013 and was kept off television for another year before being released in 2014.
If Sydal gets banned from Japan as a result of his arrest, look for him to pick up more independent dates in the U.S. or to sign a full-time contract with ROH or another company.
(h/t Wrestling Inc.)
