The first of the high-profile indy high-flyers signed to WWE, Evan Bourne's career took a pronounced downward spiral in November 2011 when he was suspended for 60 days for testing positive for synthetic marijuana. Yes, pro wrestling is an inherently difficult job, and without the use of muscle developing (and strength building) anabolic steroids, or the use of marijuana, alcohol or other prescription and non-prescription drugs, recovering from the wear and tear of in-ring competition can be difficult. Thus, Bourne's use of synthetic marijuana makes sense, and his suspension an unfortunate side effect of working in a company that must ban certain substances as a corporate entity, but still make very non-taditionally corporate demands of it's employees. Two major moments stick out from Bourne's run. His June 2, 2010 Raw match teaming with John Cena versus Edge and Sheamus (ending with Bourne's shooting star press to Edge for the win) as well as Bourne's "Air Boom" tag team with Kofi Kingston were terrific fun. However, when Adrian Neville was signed to the company while Bourne was convalescing after breaking four bones in his foot after a car accident, Bourne's time in WWE was certainly growing shorter by the second. In a company where they appreciate having one of everything so that everyone is unique, Bourne being branded as merely a stupefying high-flyer with his shooting star press was easily overshadowed by Adrian Neville's Red Arrow. Thus, Bourne became expendable.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
