20 Most Underappreciated WWE Stars Of The 21st Century

Matt Sydal's WWE signing came as a bit of a surprise, given that he was small even by independent standards and that WWE was none too invested in cruiserweights in the late 2000s. Still, when he finally did arrive on WWE TV as Evan Bourne, his smooth high-flying style earned him a following. That wasn't enough for WWE to push him, though, short of a tag title run with Kofi Kingston.

In late 2011, Sydal's minor success started to come apart at the seams. He was suspended for a Wellness Policy violation, then got his second strike in January, just a month after coming back. That forced him and Kingston to drop the tag titles. While suspended, Sydal suffered a serious foot injury in a car accident, putting him on the shelf for a year.

Fans began to wonder when Sydal would heal up, and if he could expect another shot. He ended up never making it back to TV - instead, he wrestled a single NXT match against Sami Zayn in 2013, then remained under contract for another year before being released. It's hard to understand why the company would choose to employ a star for so long without even attempting to get anything out of him, but that was the story of Sydal's WWE career.