By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Like a lot of folks, I was tremendously disappointed to hear that Evan Bourne was suspended yet again this week for violating WWE’s Wellness Policy. He was just suspended for a violation this past November, and the fact that he got in trouble again so soon is somewhat alarming.

I can only assume that this marks the end of Air Boom, the high flying tag team of Bourne and Kofi Kingston. If that’s what happens, it’s a damn shame. I don’t think Air Boom even scratched the surface of what they could have achieved in terms of popularity. These guys could have been the first really marketable tag team to come down the pipe in quite some time, in the same vein as some of the really popular babyface teams like the Legion of Doom, The New Age Outlaws, The Hardy Boyz, etc. That’s not to say they’d have been as big as those teams, but they could have brought some of that thunder back into the industry.

Poor Kofi. He really caught a bad break on this one, didn’t he?

There’s been a decent amount of speculation about whether these suspensions will lead to the real life Matt Korklan’s departure from WWE. The company has a three strikes rule when it comes to these wellness suspensions, but they can certainly release him at their discretion. Although, Jeff Hardy and William Regal both violated the policy twice. Regal’s still around, and Jeff Hardy became a three-time heavyweight champion before he left the company.

Personally, I’ve got high hopes that Bourne sticks around. In an era where wrestling is really hurting for new big name stars, Evan Bourne is someone who can be a highly marketable, big money commodity for WWE if he’s booked the right way.

It’s fairly obvious that for quite some time now WWE has been looking for someone to take Rey Mysterio Jr.’s spot. Rey’s been wrestling for over two decades now, and the injuries are piling up. Couple that with the fact that he’s slowed down quite a bit, and the writing seems to be on the wall. Early last year, WWE thought they’d found the next Mysterio in Luis Alvirde, an extremely popular wrestler from Mexico who started wrestling for them as Sin Cara. Much like Mysterio, Sin Cara became a masked dazzler, wowing devoted wrestling fans with his lucha libre arsenal, and delighting kids with his masked superhero-type look. But a wellness suspension during the summer took a some of the wind out of his sails, and a ruptured patellar tendon suffered in November took him out of the game completely. With Sin Cara on the long road to recovery, and Mysterio out with yet another injury, the company has lost both their luchador sensations. Truth be told, things could have gone better…

But in retrospect, I’m wondering if it was a mistake to make Mysterio’s successor an act that resembles his so closely. For as long as Mysterio has been wrestling for WWE, the company has (with few exceptions) made him the sole masked luchador on their shows. In countries like Japan and Mexico, you might see several masked wrestlers on a card on any given night. But in the most watched wrestling promotion in the United States (if not the world), Rey has been the only one for about a decade now. Thus, any masked lucha star that comes in after him is, fairly or not, going to be compared to him, and expect to succeed at his level. Those are lofty expectations for any wrestler, and the chances of failure are high.

Enter Evan Bourne.

Remember when Rey lost his mask in WCW? Yeah, he’d rather you didn’t remember, but it happened. It was a decision made by the WCW higher-ups. In his memoir, Controversy Creates Cash, former WCW President Eric Bischoff explained his decision: ”I wanted Rey to be a character that kids could really relate to. He had a lot of characteristics going for him. But he wore a mask, and the camera couldn’t see his facial expressions. The expressions tell the story…Rey is a good looking guy, and I thought taking the mask of would take him to the next level, make him a real superstar.”

Obviously Rey has gone on to become a huge star with the mask, but Bischoff’s logic makes sense. I think he wanted Mysterio to become someone akin to who Evan Bourne is today. Bourne’s not a natural on the mic, but neither is Mysterio. Both are among the few talents on the mainstream American stage who can do most of their talking in the ring. Even so, Bourne’s got a winning smile, and his positive attitude naturally shines through to the viewers at home. He’s a perfect fit for today’s PG product. He’s a great underdog, who can deliver an inspiration message about overcoming the odds, much like Rey does today.

The problem is, Bourne seems to have become his own worst enemy. I’m not sure any WWE star has violated the company’s wellness policy twice in such a short period of time. If I’m on the creative team, I’m really hesitant about giving Bourne a prominent role any time soon. Why put him back in the limelight if he’s just going to get himself fired in a month?

Evan Bourne may have to scratch and claw to get himself back into the spot he just lost. But if he can find his way back, he’s capable of really great things. He knows it. The fans know it. I just wish WWE knew it. Who knows? Maybe if they’d paid a bit more attention to him earlier, he wouldn’t be in the mess he’s in now.

Front page image from allwrestlingsuperstars.com. Image 1 and image 3 from wwe.com. Image 2 from gaiaonline.com. Image 4 from pimpmyspace.org.