Would You Push #4: Evan Bourne

[CultOfPersonality123]

Evan Bourne is a former Tag Team Champion. He's been injured for quite some time now and I'm actually waiting for his return. I would like to see him hold the Intercontinental and/or the US title. I'm not so sure about how I feel on him holding a top tier belt though. You can really tell what will happen injury/wellness policy wise. How do you feel about him? You think WWE will make something of his return, or just put him in a tag team? Would you push him when he returned? To what belt would you push him?
And as always leave a suggestion on who should be next.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

Absolutely not. There are so many other guys on the roster right now. I just don't see where Bourne fits in and what the point of having him back or even pushing him is. I've really never understood the IWC's obsession with him either. Honestly, until you started this thread, which reminded me of Bourne, I thought he had been future endeavored (he should be).

 

[The Eighties]

We'll need to see what he is like when he returns to truly know if we'd want to see him pushed or not, I mean he has been out a very long time and if he can't perform in the style he used to then that will take away the biggest reason he was getting over at all.

 

[BeastFromTheEast]

I'm afraid not. Though he has great in ring ability, that's about all he has. He lacks charisma, ability to look aggressive and obviously is small in stature. He is no Daniel Bryan so the main event picture is nowhere to be found for Evan Bourne. If there was genuine interest at WWE creative in pushing the tag team division I could be in favor of Bourne being part of a tag team that gets a push, but that's about it. The speculation of his return has been talked about for so long now that I don't even actually see him coming back. If he actually does return, I wouldn't expect anymore out of him than jobbing to virtually everyone he would face.

 

[AmerikanWolves619]

Evan Bourne is entertaining to watch, but with so many injuries that he has incurred since he started with WWE we have not seen much in promos, mic time, or even connecting with the fans. Sure you can point out the "Rey Mysterio factor" on size doesn't matter in the entertainment business; but if you cannot entertain ON ALL LEVELS then there is no money to be made from him. Mid to lower card is where he will be somewhat successful if he stays healthy.

 

[The Shining Wizard]

No, plain and simple.

At the WWE level, Evan Bourne isn't a main event worthy guy. But he'd fit right in at a mid-card/upper mid-card level. He's got a good look and he's got a nice fast paced, high-flying arsenal. That's pure babyface material alone. Use him as a guy to challenge for either the Intercontinental Championship, United States Championship, or the WWE Tag Team Championships. That's where you'd get your most bang for your buck with Bourne.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Bourne has been "fit" for a long time but not wrestled. That screams to me that he is not as he was, and is either learning a new style or not coming back in a position to push.

The parallel is there with Brian Pillman and as much as I loved Pillman, it sucked to see a formerly top 5 in the world guy struggle... Bourne was overall the best flyer of his generation, choices and fate may have robbed him as it did Pillman.

The deal breaker is twofold, if he isn't what he was he doesn't have the charisma and presence to still get over. Pillman could do so on crutches, wearing Marlena's dress or pulling a gun... Bourne has none of that chance. Second, his replacement is next up to the roster... Pac/Adrian Neville has the nickname "The Man Gravity Forgot" for a reason, given the time Bourne had he will be better... So no... Unless he is better than he was or has so radically reinvented himself that we forget Air Bourne ever existed.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

If I had to decide right here & now, I'd have to go with no. Bourne is a young guy, he's only 30 years of age, and he's been on the main roster for just over 5 years now, when you discount the fact that he's been out injured for well over a year now. Bourne's young, fast, athletic and has some flashy offense but, as a person, the guy's as generic as it gets. I get no sense of charisma or personality from him, maybe he has the potential but I just don't sense it. I might be completely wrong, but it's just the feeling I get. There are some high flyers on the main & developmental roster that can do what Bourne does, so he's hardly indispensable.

The biggest issue, in my eyes, with Bourne isn't that he's small but that he's made some questionable choices. He's failed the Wellness Policy twice within a 3 month period, which has never happened to anyone in WWE, so there have got to be legitimate trust issues among WWE officials. Bourne was doing pretty well as pair of Air Boom with Kofi Kingston. This is when WWE started to put some energy back into the tag team picture and Bourne was finally getting a solid push. Like we saw Jack Swagger do earlier this year, Bourne made some personal choices that wound up sabotaging the biggest push of his career.

If you screw up and fail a drug test in WWE, it can be difficult to earn back the trust of the WWE brass. Some wrestlers have been flat out buried while others have been noticeably punished, while not buried. It's taken Randy Orton this long to gain back that trust and be put back into a top level spot on the roster and Orton has been a big level player in WWE since he was in his mid 20s. Bourne doesn't have that kind of track record.

 

[I_Am_Electro_Boy]

I wouldn't push him as on his own, but I'd put him in a tag team. He's obviously talented, but he doesn't have enough about him to be pushed on his own. There's a few guys he can team with, Kofi (again), Cara, Gabriel, Ryder etc. Whoever he teams with they should have a similar style to Bourne, but you could always do the big guy and the smaller guy, which could also work.

Another problem I have with Bourne is that there's a lot of similar guys on the roster and NXT that I think should be pushed before him. He's already let himself down by failing the drug test a few times, so why not give a guy who hasn't done anything wrong a push?

Gabriel, Kidd, Zayn, Neville etc all are similar to Bourne and maybe a couple need more developing, but in my opinion they're pretty much on the same level as Bourne.

 

[blindman]

I liked Bourne, I felt that the injures seem to happen at the worse times. Also got suspended 2 times after winning his championship, that's some bad choices so no I wouldn't push him. Cause while he got screwed he also screwed himself.

 

[TheLittleOne]

i watched all of his work for Ring of Honor up close.. closer than anyone and i saw him many times perform perfect 4-5 star matches, and taking all the fans breath away ( even without high flying ) his strikes are solid, he can wrestle ( mat, chain, timing) just as good as aries, punk, danielson, daniels, cesaro, rollins, ambrose....

now i haven't seen or spoken to him in years so i am not sure of his current physical and mental situation.. perhaps he has a serious injury that even after surgery, will prevent him from performing at his prior ability...

also, sadly, many times any man or woman once they experience horrible pain, become dependant on prescribed pain medicine.. and the wwe doesnt allow an athlete to perform full time on them even if its taken as prescribed by his physician..
so he will have to piss clean, which is hard when you are in serious pain..

for those of you who never saw his work in Ring of Honor, check out some of it.. i recall a bout vs AJ Styles in nov or dec 2005 that freakin would pop the " wwe universe" into a " this is awesome" chant ...

he has it, and he had a look, ripped shredded not jakked, but super lean and vascular pumped all the time, kickpads different than n e 1 on roster and had EZ way to connect to fans with his throwin up the peace sign.. u do it, they do it.. it catches on like fire, stamford makes foam fingers and more air bourne products..

i hope for the best..

not braggin but in 2006 while trainin in gym with Mike bucci, i was beggin for a tryout, but he knew i needed to improve my in ring work, he said hunter wanted a good young high flyer that can bump crazy and help put over guys.. bucci asked " can you get ahold of sydal for me and tell him to call me? "... i emailed him that night and the rest is history...

i'm not taking credit, its just how it happened... bottom line is he has the talent and all the tools.. i just dont know now what he has and or what he wants or what wwe wants.

he has paid his dues long ago, and is UBER talented, i pray he is healthy, cause when he is HE CAN GO

 

[Aquaman6686]

No. Absolutely not worth a push at all.

Evan Bourne has never generated one ounce of excitement for me. I usually wound up changing the channel whenever he came on, he's mediocre in the ring, terrible on the mic, and is THE most bland-looking wrestler I've ever laid eyes on. The only place on the card he fits in for me is in a tag team, so he can be the guy getting the crap kicked out of him and eventually get the hot tag.

I'd just release him and get it over with. He seems to be very injury-prone and has drug problems.

 

[Mantaur Rodeo Clown]

No. He's a drug addled waste of space who only attracts fans because it's easy to be weak like him, rather than be strong than our lord and savior CM Punk.

While normally being addicted to drugs is only a minor problem in wrestling and you can still be a phenomenal draw during, he also has the distinction of being a vanilla midget who is more injury prone than Dave Batista.

The only push he deserves is one off a cliff.

Off of which he'll no doubt nail a 450 Corkscrew splash into jobbing spot on Saturday Morning Slam.

 

[lifelongfan]

there is no way i would ever put the wwe whc or even the ic title on him. he puts on good matches flys good and all but just dont have the IT factor. he is more for the kiddos to cheer. some little guys can break throu but i cant see Bourn as a top champ. not even counting he is alful on the mic. i would not b surprised if we never see him on tv again after being gone so long.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Evan Bourne is fantastic and is probably the best seller on the WWE Roster, next to Ziggler. Every time Evan takes a finisher, it looks like he died in the middle of the ring. I love to see this guy get pummeled around. Sheamus High Crosses him and he lands on his neck in the middle of the ring. I always drop my jaw thinking this guy just got injured. Evan is fantastic and should definitely be pushed up the card.

I would have him feud with Ambrose for the US title. They can have some fantastic matches, and with Bourne's impressive selling, Ambrose will look more legit than ever. I wouldn't have Bourne win the feud, but after the impressive outing, I could see him winning the IC title off Axel, and then defending it against guys like Fandango and Bray Wyatt. He could make any of those guys look good, and after he drops the title to Wyatt, I can see Bourne joining a tag team. He could team with Gabriel, Kofi or Adrian Neville and win some tag title gold.

Bourne is a guy who will never be a main event guy due to his stature and appearance, but he can still put on solid main event performances. He can get some great matches out of Ambrose, Punk, Bryan, Cesaro, Ziggler and the other heavy players. I can see Bourne going a long way if given the chance. Sadly, I don't see that ever happening.

 

[HEELKris]

Evan Bourne sucks. When I heard him talk for the first time, which was in a segment with Kane, I started laughing. Then Kane started laughing too, and it looked like he was laughing at Bourne's horrible talking skills. He's not a good wrestler either, just an average spot-monkey with the look of a generic jobber. So no, I wouldn't push him. I would fire him, because he's useless. I would much rather push Tyson Kidd, who's much better than Bourne.

 

[LODemolition]

No way would I bring him back for any other reason than to help out the tag division. He can team with Gabriel or Kofi/Kidd when they return. On his own, there's nothing believable about a feud between him and Ambrose or Axel over one of the midcard championships.

 

[LSN80]

Evan Bourne wasn't pushed in the years he was active before his two Wellness Policy Violations, and his injury. While I enjoy his high-flying ability and think some of the things he does are incredible, he's someone I'd be very, very tenuous about.

It's a shame, too, because he was enjoying the most success of his life when he was working with Kofi Kingston and they were Air Boom. They were the tag team champions, beating all challengers and getting legitimate crowd reactions. But it's hard to get behind a guy who, while he's returned to the ring, has still been deemed 'not ready' by WWE officials, and is one strike away from being fired. It's taken Randy Orton over a year of being in marginal feuds and proving himself all over again to where he's even trusted right now to carry the MITB briefcase, which still guarantees him nothing.

And with no offense intended towards Evan, he's no Randy Orton.

When he's deemed ready to return, I wouldn't mind seeing an Air Boom reunion, and for them to challenge the Shield. Kofi's had issues with the Shield in the past, so it makes for an organic feud already. I have no doubt that the pairing of Kofi/Bourne Rollins/Reigns could have excellent matches together, but that's as far as I would go. I wouldn't mind if they were the guys who took the Tag Team Titles from the Shield when they(The Shield) are ready for bigger and better things.

But as a single's competitor, not a chance. You could plug him in to a feud with an Axel or an Ambrose as a challenger for one of the mid-card titles, but certainly not to win. His mic skills are severely limited, and as a face, it's not as if he's going to get a manager/mouthpiece, because faces simply don't get them in 2013.

If he can show reliability over time, put he and Kofi back together. Let him challenge for the U.S. or IC Title. But certainly no more, even if he didn't have those two strikes against him and he wasn't injury prone.

 

[Dagger Dias]

No.

Evan Bourne is exciting to watch in the ring, but it takes more than being able to do a Shooting Star Press to justify a push to the top of the card. He is not main event material. Bourne is not believable in defeating most of the roster due to him being a cruiserweight. Sure, guys like Rey Mysterio have been WWE Champion before so it can be done. However, the difference between them and Evan Bourne is they can make you care about seeing them win matches against main event tier guys, whereas with Bourne you fully expect him to get squashed if he faced someone like Cena or Orton.

If I was making the decision on where to push Bourne to, I would consider giving him a chance at the United States or Intercontinental Championship. He could be a good midcard title holder and make the fans get excited to see his title defenses. That's the furthest he could be and still be believable in the role. Bourne's BEST time was as part of Air Bourne. If Kofi is not going to ever get a main event push then those two need to get back together. They were a perfect choice for the focal team of the tag team division. So.... midcard championships and another run as Air Bourne for the giant pennies would be fine, but Bourne is NEVER going to be a WWE or World Heavyweight Champion. I just don't see it happening and I would not push him into the main event.

 

[MCMG]

I'd have to give him a shot on the roster. Yes, he has had his problems that have prevented him being a main-stay on TV but his talent is undeniable. He is someone that could put on consistently good matches which is obviously an asset. Moreover, he could make the company money. Lets remember, he has a very exciting move-set and a pretty cool finisher. IF the WWE were to push him he could be a big hit with the younger audience who would be desperate to see the Shooting Star press.

 

[Jstrike]

I would push evan cause he can wrestle evan is actually a good wrestler, evan has had a bad injury when he returns i could see him wearing a mask and teaming with sin cara, i think the wwe universe would like that cause they normally get behind a fast tag team, evan comfort zone is in the tag team so keep him there

 

[Tech N9ne]

I voted NO...

I have never been an "Evan Bourne Guy." Sure he can do some high flying moves but I don't find him very entertaining. I do not like his moveset and he can't spit a lick on the stick. So, for me it is a RESOUNDING N-O.