12 Wrestlers Who Mysteriously VANISHED
8. Matt Sydal
Matt Sydal’s high-flying style made him a standout in WWE as Evan Bourne, and later a respected name on the indie and international scene. But in 2016, while working for NJPW, Sydal suddenly vanished from upcoming cards—with no explanation.
For weeks, fans were left guessing. Injury? Visa issues? Creative limbo? The truth turned out to be far more serious—and far more unexpected.
Sydal had been arrested in Osaka for attempting to bring liquid cannabis into Japan, a country with notoriously strict drug laws. He was detained and spent time in a regional jail, completely off the grid.
When the news finally broke, it stunned fans. Sydal wasn’t just missing—he was incarcerated overseas. He was eventually released and returned to wrestling, but the incident remains one of the more surreal disappearances in modern wrestling history.
One moment he was soaring through the skies in Japan. The next, he was grounded—literally and legally.