For WWE wrestling fans, something great happened on Monday night's RAW. It wasn't seeing Chris Jericho as champion, nor was it Batista's two-on-one confrontation with JBL and Jericho. And it wasn't the beginning of a "Young Guns" style stable for Orton, Dibiase, and Rhodes.
No, look away and you would have missed it. If you didn't pay attention, and it would have seemed like a nothing bout, but last Monday night marked the debut of Evan Bourne on RAW.
Evan who?
Evan Bourne is perhaps the greatest high flyer in wrestling today. Oh how TNA must be kicking themselves to have let this one go.
Go to YouTube and look him up. I guarantee you'll be impressed. When he moves, it's with such a fluid motion that it's pure poetry in motion. At speed, he even makes Rey Rey look slow. He's destined for greatness...If Vince lets him.
Bourne teamed with Rey Mysterio to take on John Morrison and the Miz. With these three and a half (the Miz being the half) on show, you knew the matchup was going to be entertaining. Bourne hit some excellent acrobatic moves and seemed to get over with the crowd.
When he hits the Shooting Star Press, time almost stands still; you can hear people gasp and see every camera flash. Yes, it is a move of beauty and grace.
If he can match his undoubted in-ring ability with some mic skills, the sky is the limit for this kid. In a small way, he reminds me of a young Eddy Guerrero or even a young Chris Jericho.
But Evan Bourne's biggest battle could be with Vince McMahon. Let's face it; Vince is a mark for big guys with good bodies. He always has been. And he always will. But every now and then, he likes to shake things up by giving someone unexpected a title reign. Think Rey, CM Punk, and even Jericho's first reign. Unfortunately, these title reigns are usually booked to look weak.
The bigger guys like Triple H, Batista, and 'Taker do lose to these guys, but it's always by a fluke. And with Bourne coming in at 5'9" and weighing roughly 200lbs, the way WWE has been booked in the past would suggest Vince's patterns won't change for the future.
But all is not lost for Bourne. He is most reminiscent of Jeff Hardy. And we all know that Hardy has been given every chance under the sun to become champion, only to beat himself time and time again. Yet, he has been forgiven and looks to be Triple H's closest challenger at the moment.
For someone of such a young age (25), Bourne has traveled and learnt what in-ring psychology means and how to portray himself within the squared circle. He has wrestled in TNA, granted he usually jobbed, but they were his formative years.
He had a successful three-year run in ROH, and most recently the failed Wrestling Society X programme on MTV. And now, in WWE, he is within reach of greatness.
So all he has to do is work on his mic work, easy right? Not really. It has taken Evan Bourne eight years to reach the WWE. A few years of watching some of the best mic workers in the business (Jericho,Triple H, Santino) and some of their skills may rub off on him.
If they do, we could see one of the all-time greats.
