We recently brought you news that Matt Sydal — the former Evan Bourne in WWE — was arrested in Japan on charges of marijuana possession. Sydal ended up spending over a month in jail while waiting for his case to go to court, and the arrest could have a serious impact on his career with New Japan going forward, as Japan doesn’t take very kindly to possession or use of illegal drugs.
During last week’s episode of X-Pac 1-2-360 on Afterbuzz TV (which you can listen to above), Japanese journalist Fumi Saito was one of the guests on the program and shed a lot of light on the Sydal case, which is finally coming to an end.
“He was in jail for quite some time, over a month or so. It took them eight, nine weeks to have court set. There was finally court this week. He plead guilty right away. It was a rather simple court case procedure. The prosecutor wanted eighteen months in jail or three years probation … He’s going to take the probation. That means next week he’ll have a verdict, then he goes to the airport and goes home.”
Sydal, of course, has a well-known history of enjoying marijuana, so if it seems like he’s been working in Japan for a long time without being busted until now … well, you’re right. The authorities were tipped off to the fact that he was bringing weed into the country, which was even acknowledged in court.
“It was his thirtieth trip to Japan, and they didn’t think it was the first time he brought something in… The reason he got caught this time though, this is where things get really mysterious and tricky, Japanese customs in Osaka were informed by somebody that [Sydal] is bringing in certain things.
“It was mentioned in the court too, that customs was informed by somebody, they’re not saying who, but that [Sydal] from America is bringing in certain things on certain dates. They knew it.”
Sydal is out on bail and will receive his official sentencing on Monday, which will be three years probation and time served. He is expected to return to the United States the same day. There’s no definitive word on whether he’ll still be able to compete in Japan as a result of this arrest, but he still has plenty of promotions he can work for in the United States and the UK, including Ring of Honor, PWG and Rev Pro.
