WWE: Will Evan Bourne Be Buried When He Returns From Suspension?

On Nov. 1, I went to WWE.com and was surprised when I read this announcement: 

"In accordance with its Talent Wellness Program, WWE has suspended Matthew Korklan (Evan Bourne) for 30 days effective immediately for his first violation of the company’s policy." 

It’s not that Wellness Policy violations are all that shocking anymore. It’s just that Evan Bourne didn’t strike me as someone who would be puffing the synthetic dragon, which is reportedly the reason why he got popped by the WWE. 

Yet, the high-flyer got caught, um, flying high, and he hasn’t appeared on WWE TV since late October. In fact, the last two times Bourne wrestled on TV (the Oct. 28 edition of Friday Night SmackDown and the Halloween edition of Monday Night RAW), he took the pin in a tag team match. 

Uh oh. 

Given that Bourne is eligible to return to the company in just two days, I now find myself wondering if Bourne is headed for a burial once he comes back. But I guess the fact that he was pinned twice in one week and then subsequently written off of TV theoretically could have been his “punishment” for reportedly testing positive for synthetic marijuana. 

Actually, it should be. 

Just a few weeks after Bourne was suspended, R-Truth also found himself suspended for 30 days his first violation of the WWE’s Talent Wellness Program. The biggest news surrounding Truth’s suspension, however, was the story behind it. 

From the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via WrestlingInc.com): 

"

Bourne, who's real name is Matthew Korklan, was suspended for thirty days on November 1, 2011 after testing positive for Spice, a synthetic marijuana brand. The Wrestling Observer reported that Bourne and another wrestler higher up the card smoked the marijuana substitute drug at a party, yet he was the only one of the two to be suspended. The other wrestler was told he had failed for marijuana, which results in a $2,500 fine, as opposed to a thirty-day suspension for synthetic marijuana. According to the source, the wrestler in question was a participant in the Survivor Series match featuring John Cena and The Rock against R-Truth and The Miz. We can now confirm that person was indeed R-Truth. It should also be noted that Bourne and Truth had been traveling together in recent months so it adds up. 

"

So, let me get this straight: Bourne and Truth test positive for the same banned substance, but Bourne disappears from TV in less-than-flattering fashion while Truth goes on to main-event Survivor Series? 

Something’s not right here. 

I get that the WWE didn’t want to “blow up” their Survivor Series main event plans by suspending Truth immediately, and that’s fine. The Talent Wellness Program doesn’t indicate when a performer needs to be suspended for failing a test, just that he will be suspended. 

That being said, it’s still a little disheartening to think that Bourne’s career could be headed for a huge downturn because of his positive test while the biggest moment of Truth’s career happened shortly after his. 

However, I think WWE officials realize that Bourne’s probably been punished enough. He looked incredibly weak during his last week on TV, he missed out on Survivor Series and he lost a lot of money by sitting out all of November. 

Burying him upon his TV return may teach him more of a lesson, but the main thing it’s going to accomplish is hurting the WWE product. 

Let’s say that Bourne returns on next week’s RAW, and the Creative team decides to book he and Kofi Kingston to immediately lose the WWE Tag Team Championship. Assuming this doesn’t lead to Air Boom having a lengthy rivalry with the team that defeats them, it’s probably going somewhere else: Air Boom splitting up. 

Now, what good would that do? None really. 

Though it might help Kingston’s character depending upon how it is booked, the No. 1 thing an Air Boom split would do is depleting an already depleted WWE tag team division. 

Bourne and Kingston are, in many ways, the faces of the tag team division, and it’s hard to imagine that one mistake—especially one that I don’t consider that big of a deal—is worth the WWE ruining the best thing the tag division has going at the moment. 

After all, the recent trend for WWE performers who violate the Wellness Policy is that they end up right back where they were prior to their suspension. Darren Young and Heath Slater found their way back to Jobberville, and Sin Cara was pushed as one of SmackDown’s top mid-card babyfaces upon his return. 

I don’t think the WWE is going to buck that trend with Bourne. 

You get suspended, you do your time and assuming you stay out of trouble while suspended, you come back to find your same spot waiting for you. 

In all likelihood, there are far worse things that WWE wrestlers are doing behind the scenes (and getting away with), and Bourne’s “time should fit the crime.” He doesn’t need to pay for this until 2013, unless the WWE wants to set a seriously controversial standard that main-eventers aren’t subjected to the same drug testing standards as mid-carders. 

And, as we all know, that’s a great way to hurt company morale and the company in general in the process.