 Sydal in 2015 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Matthew Joseph Korklan[2] (1983-03-19)March 19, 1983 (age 42)[2] St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.[2] |
| Alma mater | University of Missouri |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Evan Bourne[1] Lance Sydal[2] MATT[3] Matt Sydal[4] The Vision |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[5] |
| Billed weight | 183 lb (83 kg)[5] |
| Billed from | Clearwater, Florida[4] St. Louis, Missouri[1] |
| Trained by | Gateway Championship Wrestling[2] |
| Debut | October 20, 2000[2] |
Matthew Joseph Korklan (born March 19, 1983), better known by thering nameMatt Sydal, is an Americanprofessional wrestler. He is signed toAll Elite Wrestling (AEW).[6] He is also known for his tenure withWWE from 2008 to 2014 under the ring nameEvan Bourne.
Prior to signing with AEW, Sydal wrestled in WWE asEvan Bourne, and was aone-timeWWE Tag Team Champion, withKofi Kingston. Sydal is known for his time inImpact Wrestling where he is a formerImpact Grand Champion andImpact X Division Champion, and inRing of Honor (ROH), where he is a formerROH World Tag Team Champion. He has also wrestled forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former two-timeIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion and a one-timeNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion.
Korklan has also wrestled on the independent circuit, forpromotions includingNWA Midwest,IWA-Mid South, winning both singles and tag team championships. He also wrestled for the short-livedWrestling Society X . Beginning in 2005, he wrestled forDragon Gate in Japan, and won theOpen the Brave Gate Championship in early 2007.
Korklan is known for his dynamic technical cruiserweight hybrid style oflucha libre andpuroresu styles of wrestling and was named theWrestling Observer Newsletter'sBest Flying Wrestler in 2008.
Korklan was on hishigh schoolwrestling team, he didTaekwondo when he was younger as well.[2] While a senior in high school, Korklan began training with theSt. Louis, Missouri-based Gateway Championship Wrestling (GCW) promotion. After three months of training, Korklan began wrestling for GCW in October 2000, becoming the first person under the age of 18 to receive a wrestler's license in Missouri.[2] Prior to this, Korklan had briefly wrestled as Lance Sydal in thebackyard wrestling promotion, Saint Peters Wrestling Organization.[2]
In 2003, Korklan (now known as Matt, forgoing a surname) formed astable in GCW, known as Operation: Shamrock. In addition, Korklan and fellow stable member Billy McNeil formed atag team. Operation: Shamrock maintained afeud with thevillainous Ministry of Hate faction, led by Nikki Strychnine.[2]
Korklan debuted inIndependent Wrestling Association Mid-South (IWA Mid-South) in November 2003, combining two of his old ring names into a new one, Matt Sydal.[2] He won his first championship, theIWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship, on January 17, 2004, by defeatingJ.C. Bailey.[7] Sydal lost the title toDelirious on June 26, 2004.[7] Sydal joinedNWA Midwest that same year. On July 30, he defeated Justin Kage for theNWA Midwest X Division Championship, which he lost to Delirious after holding it for nearly a year.[8] Sydal teamed withDaizee Haze in anintergendertag team match against Delirious andMsChif, of which the male wrestler on the winning team would become champion. Haze pinned MsChif to win the title for Sydal.[8] Sydal lost the title to Jaysin Strife roughly four months later[8] before leaving the promotion.
Sydal wrestled several top independent stars during his time as a regular in IWA. He lost three matches toA.J. Styles during a short-lived feud. He also facedCM Punk,Chris Sabin and Nate Webb.[2] On September 24, 2005, Sydal won the fifthTed Petty Invitational tournament, defeatingEl Generico,Tyler Black, and Sabin to reach the final match, where he defeatedKevin Steen andArik Cannon.[9]
Sydal wrestled onTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)'s first monthly pay-per-view event,Victory Road. He participated in a twenty-manX DivisionGauntlet for the Gold match.[10] Sydal was a candidate in an online poll to determine who would meetChristopher Daniels for theTNA X Division Championship atSacrifice, but was not chosen.[11]
Sydal (along with his valet, Daizee Haze) debuted inRing of Honor atReborn: Stage One on April 23, 2004, defeating his nemesis, Delirious.[12] Following a brief feud withTrent Acid, Sydal teamed with Fast Eddie Vegas as The Air Devils, a name chosen by ROH fans. They only teamed once, on February 25, 2005, at3rd Anniversary: Part 2, defeating The Ring Crew Express. After the match, Vegas turned on Sydal and joined theheel stable,The Embassy.[13] On August 12, Sydal and Haze joined Austin Aries,Roderick Strong andJack Evans inGeneration Next, a stable in the midst of a feud with The Embassy.[14] In late 2005, Haze turned on Sydal, leaving him and Generation Next and joining The Embassy. Generation Next fought The Embassy in several multi-man tag matches, culminating in aSteel Cage Warfare match on December 3, which Generation Next won.[12]
After wrestling A.J. Styles atHell Freezes Over, the two teamed to unsuccessfully challenge Sydal's Generation Next stablemates, Austin Aries and Roderick Strong, for theROH World Tag Team Championship. Sydal also teamed withSamoa Joe and Jack Evans to chase the title. Sydal went to the finals of the2006 Survival of the Fittest tournament, before losing to Delirious. Sydal and Delirious renewed their rivalry in ROH, wrestling several matches in mid-2006.[12]
After several matches against each other in 2006, Sydal teamed with Christopher Daniels in another attempt to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship. They feuded with the champions, TheKings of Wrestling, before winning the championship atDethroned. Sydal and Daniels successfully defended the title againstCIMA andShingo, and former champions Austin Aries and Roderick Strong, before losing it to TheBriscoe Brothers at theFifth Year Festival: Chicago.[15] During their title reign, Sydal developed acocky, heelish attitude. After unsuccessful attempts (withClaudio Castagnoli) to regain the title, Sydal joinedLarry Sweeney's heel stable Sweet n' Sour Inc. (which also included Chris Hero,Sara Del Rey andTank Toland).[16] AtMan Up, Sydal wrestled his final match for ROH, losing to long-time rival Delirious.[12]
Sydal began touring Japan with Dragon Gate in May 2006.[17] There, he aligned with CIMA, Don Fuji, and Jack Evans to form the stable New Blood Generation International. He also became a part of CIMA's Typhoon stable. At Wrestlejam, Sydal teamed with Generation Next stablemate Roderick Strong to win the $10,000 Tag Team Challenge.[17]
On February 12, 2007, Sydal won the Dragon GateOpen the Brave Gate Championship fromMasato Yoshino, becoming the firstgaijin to hold the championship. He held it for just over a month, successfully defending it against Yoshino inHyogo and againstAustin Aries at Ring of Honor'sFifth Year Festival: Dayton.[12][18] He dropped the title toGenki Horiguchi on March 25.[19][20]
Sydal was a part of the short-livedMTV promotion,Wrestling Society X, where he competed as aheel against Jack Evans,Scorpio Sky and theHuman Tornado.[21][22][23] He began a feud withSyxx-Pac over Sydal'svalet and on-screen girlfriendLizzy Valentine,[22][24] but WSX folded before they ever had a match.[22][25]
Following the expiration of his WSX contract and the close of the promotion, Korklan signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).[26] Sydal debuted inOhio Valley Wrestling (OVW) at its October 10, 2007 TV taping, defeatingJamin Olivencia.[27] In December, Sydal defeated Mike Kruel to win theOVW Heavyweight Championship.[28] On February 7, 2008, WWE announced it had ended its affiliation with OVW.[29] As a result, Sydal lost the OVW Heavyweight Championship toJay Bradley.[28]
Sydal joined WWE's new developmental territoryFlorida Championship Wrestling, debuting on March 22, 2008, and defeatingTJ Wilson. He was then called up to WWE's main roster.[2][30]
Sydal made his debut for theECWbrand on June 3, 2008, as aface character. He lost a match bycountout toShelton Benjamin, after he was thrown at guest commentatorKofi Kingston.[31] The following week onECW, he was renamed as Evan Bourne, and teamed withKofi Kingston to defeat Benjamin andMike Knox.[32] In the following weeks, Bourne defeatedMatt Striker,[33]Nunzio,[34] andChavo Guerrero Jr.,[35] using theshooting star press as hisfinishing maneuver.[1]
AtCyber Sunday in October, WWE fans chose Bourne to faceMatt Hardy for theECW Championship. He was pinned after Hardy performed aTwist of Fate on him.[36] Two days later, during a six-man tag match onECW, Bourne landed adive from the ring on his right ankle, dislocating it and tearing his deltoid ligament. Surgery was not necessary, but Bourne was not medically cleared to return to the ring until March 17.[37] On December 8, he won the "Best Finishing Maneuver" Slammy award for his shooting star press.[38]
On June 29, Bourne was traded to the Raw brand, and made his debut that night as the first of three wrestlers in aGauntlet match againstWWE ChampionRandy Orton.[39] On the November 2 episode ofRaw, Bourne lost aUnited States Championship match to The Miz. On the December 29 episode ofECW, he defeated Mike Knox in an "ECW Homecoming" match to qualify for the "Homecoming Battle Royal", which would decide the opponent for ECW ChampionChristian at theRoyal Rumble.[40]
Bourne lost a non-title match to WWE ChampionSheamus on the January 4, 2010, episode ofRaw.[41] The following week onECW, he competed in the "Homecoming Battle Royal" but was the first man eliminated.[42] On the March 8 episode ofRaw, he defeatedWilliam Regal to qualify for theMoney in the Bank ladder match atWrestleMania XXVI, which was won byJack Swagger.
The May 31, 2010 episode ofRaw opened with Bourne being assaulted byEdge, after Bourne proposed Edge put his spot in theWWE Championship match atFatal 4-Way on the line in a match. Later in the show,John Cena chose Bourne to replace his scheduled tag team partner, Randy Orton (who was earlier "injured" by Edge), in a match against Edge and Sheamus. Bourne pinned Sheamus to earn the victory for his team.[43] Two weeks later, Bourne defeatedChris Jericho by disqualification. Jericho had threatened the referee and attacked Bourne while he was in the ropes.[44] At Fatal 4-Way, he pinned Jericho in a rematch.[45] The following night onRaw, Jericho challenged Bourne to a third match, stating he would leave WWE if he lost; Jericho pinned Bourne to win the match and stay with the company.[46] On the July 5Raw, Bourne teamed with Randy Orton to defeat Jericho and Edge.[47] Bourne competed in theMoney in the Bank ladder match atMoney in the Bank on July 18, but lost.[48]
On September 19, atNight of Champions, Bourne teamed with Mark Henry in the Tag Team Turmoil match for theWWE Tag Team Championship. They were the final team eliminated, byDrew McIntyre andCody Rhodes. On the October 11Raw, he lost a match (to decide who would be on Team Raw atBragging Rights) toCM Punk, and was subsequently assaulted. This assault was the storyline reason to remove Bourne from television. In reality, he had shoulder surgery.[49]
Bourne returned on the February 28, 2011 episode ofRaw, defeating Sheamus after Sheamus was attacked byTriple H before the match.[50] On May 23, he began feuding with Jack Swagger, with the two trading victories on several episodes ofRaw.[51][52] Bourne then defeated Swagger atWWE Capitol Punishment to end the feud.[53]
On the August 22, 2011, episode ofRaw, Bourne won his first championship in WWE. He andKofi Kingston defeatedDavid Otunga andMichael McGillicutty for the WWE Tag Team Championship.[54] On the August 29Raw, the team was named Air Boom and made their first title defense, defeating Otunga and McGillicutty in a rematch. AtNight of Champions, Air Boom retained the title against The Miz and R-Truth when The Miz was disqualified for attacking the referee. At bothHell in a Cell andVengeance, Air Boom retained the title againstDolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger.[55]
On November 1, WWE announced it had suspended Korklan for 30 days for his first violation of the company's wellness policy.[56] Bourne returned to television on December 5.[57] On December 18, atTables, Ladders & Chairs, Air Boom retained the Tag Team Championship by defeatingPrimo & Epico.[58] On January 15, 2012, Air Boom lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Primo and Epico at a house show.[59] The following night onRaw, Air Boom was awarded a rematch, but failed to regain the championship. This was Korklan's final televised match and appearance with the WWE to date.[60] The following day on January 17, Korklan was suspended for 60 days for his second failure of a wellness test.[61]
In March 2012, Korklan was involved in a motorcycle accident which broke his foot in four places and dislocated it in five.[62] After a year-long absence, Bourne returned on March 28, 2013, at aNXT live event, defeatingSami Zayn in his final WWE match.[63] The following year, on June 12, WWE announced that Korklan had been released from his contract, ending his six-year tenure with the promotion.[64][65]
Korklan revealed in a 2020 interview that he received an offer to return to the company to compete in the 2016Cruiserweight Classic but declined.[66]
Sydal made his return to Ring of Honor on September 27, 2014, losing to A.J. Styles at theRing of Honor Wrestling television tapings.[67] In November, he was part of the2014 Survival of the Fittest tournament, won byAdam Cole.[68] He unsuccessfully challenged Jay Lethal for theROH World Television Championship atFinal Battle 2014.[69] AtSupercard of Honor IX Sydal defeatedMoose,Tommaso Ciampa,Caprice Coleman,Cedric Alexander, andAndrew Everett in a Six-man mayhem match. On August 21, 2015, Sydal defeatedNew Japan Pro-Wrestling'sIWGP Junior Heavyweight ChampionYujiro Kushida in a non-title match, after which Kushida accepted his challenge for a title match.[70] AtSurvival of the Fittest Sydal was defeated byA. C. H. in 5 match in the Best of 5 Series. The next night Sydal was defeated byA.J. Styles. AtFinal Battle Sydal teamed withAlex Shelley andA. C. H. and defeatedThe Addiction andChris Sabin in a Six-man tag team match. On February 6, Sydal scored an impressive victory over former ROH World ChampionAdam Cole. AtROH 14th Anniversary Show Sydal teamed withKushida andA. C. H. as they were defeated byThe Elite (Kenny Omega andThe Young Bucks) for theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. AtGlobal Wars (2016) Sydal teamed withKushida andThe Motor City Machine Guns and they were defeated byBullet Club (The Young Bucks,Tama Tonga andTanga Loa) in an eight-man tag team match. At War Of The Worlds, Sydal was defeated byHiroshi Tanahashi.
On April 15, 2017, Sydal made his return savingFrankie Kazarian fromMarty Scurll andHangman Page. On May 12, during the third night of theWar of the Worlds tour, Sydal was unsuccessful at winning theROH World Television Championship against Marty Scurll. The match marked Sydal's final appearance for ROH.[71]
Sydal made his PWG debut on the second night ofBattle of Los Angeles on August 30, 2014, by defeatingChris Hero in the opening round of thenamesake tournament. However, Sydal was eliminated from the tournament byKenny Omega in the quarterfinal round on August 31. AtBlack Cole Sun, Sydal teamed withChris Sabin to defeatThe Young Bucks. AtFrom Out Of Nowhere, Sydal was defeated by his tag team partnerRicochet. AtDon't Sweat The Technique, Sydal and Sabin defeatedThe Monster Mafia (Ethan Page andJosh Alexander).
At PWG Battle Of Los Angeles 2015 – Night 1 Sydal defeatedFenix in the First Round of the Battle Of Los Angeles, The next night Sydal was defeated byWill Ospreay in the Second round. At PWG All Star Weekend 11 – Night 1 Sydal was unsuccessfully at winning thePWG World Championship againstRoderick Strong, The night Sydal was defeated byTrevor Lee. At PWG All Star Weekend 12 – Night 1 Sydal teamed withRicochet as they were unsuccessfully againstThe Young Bucks for thePWG World Tag Team Championship.
At PWG Battle Of Los Angeles 2016 – Night 2 Sydal teamed withRicochet andWill Ospreay as they defeatedAdam Cole andThe Young Bucks, The match was given a 5 star byDave Meltzer. At PWG Mystery Vortex IV Sydal defeatedPete Dunne. On March 18, 2017, Sydal and Ricochet was involved in a triple threat tag team for thePWG Tag Team Championship which was won byPenta el 0M &Rey Fenix. On June 16, at Man On The Silver Mountain, Sydal was defeated bySami Callihan. Sydal entered the 2017 Battle Of Los Angeles being eliminated in the first round byPenta El Zero M. The next day he and Ricochet were defeated by The Leaders Of The New School(Zack Sabre Jr. &Marty Scurll). On night two of PWG All Star Weekend 13, Sydal was defeated byTrent? in a three-way match also including Rey Horus.[citation needed]
Sydal became active in the UK scene in 2014, most notably inRevolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro), feuding withWill Ospreay.[72][failed verification] They came up short in the bout, when Cima tapped out to Yoshino.[73] After another year away from Dragon Gate, Sydal made a surprise return to the promotion on June 28, 2015.[74] On July 20, Sydal and Ricochet unsuccessfully challengedNaruki Doi andYamato for theOpen the Twin Gate Championship.[75]
On February 7, 2015, Sydal debuted forFamily Wrestling Entertainment (FWE), unsuccessfully challengingPaul London for the FWE Tri-Borough Championship.[76] On October 3, 2015, at a show inSouth Korea, Sydal briefly held the PWF Lord Of The World Championship, defeating Namsuk Kim, before being defeated in an immediate rematch. This was his first singles championship since leaving WWE.[77]
In March 2018, Sydal competed inWestside Xtreme Wrestling's 16 Carat Gold 2018 Tournament. He lost in the first round toLucky Kidd.[78] Sydal competed for theBorder City Wrestling Heavyweight Title in a fatal four-way that includedCody Deaner,Johnny Impact andKongo Kong. This took place at the October 6, 2018BCW/Impact Wrestling event BCW 25th Anniversary.[79] AtAll American Wrestling's event AAW Unstoppable 2018 on November 24, 2018, Sydal teamed with Colt Cabana in a losing effort againstDavid Starr andEddie Kingston.[80] Sydal would then faceMarty Scurll at CWA Christmas Showdown 2018 inSan Juan, Puerto Rico.[81]
In November 2018, Sydal took some time off to have surgery to repair torn cartilage in his knee with an estimated recovery time of six months.[82][83] At the same time,Dave Meltzer of theWrestling Observer reported that Sydal was no longer signed to Impact Wrestling as of January 1, 2019, and that there was interest fromWWE andAll Elite Wrestling to sign Sydal.[84] In April 2019, Sydal won theIPWA Heavyweight Championship in a match against Gery Roif atIsraeli Pro Wrestling Association's Passover Bash.[85][86] His next appearance for a major promotion would be at RevPro's Epic Encounter 2019 in May, where he would defeat A-Kid.[87] He has since defended the title against local wrestler Yuval Goldshmit and WWE Hall of Famer "Bad Ass"Billy Gunn.
On August 8, 2014, Sydal made his debut forEvolve, defeatingJohnny Gargano. The following night, Sydal unsuccessfully challengedRicochet for theOpen the Freedom Gate Championship in the main-event of Evolve 32.[88]
On September 23, 2015, Sydal made his debut for NJPW atDestruction in Okayaka, teaming withHiroshi Tanahashi in a tag team match, where they defeatedBad Luck Fale andTama Tonga. During the same event, the newIWGP Junior Heavyweight ChampionKenny Omega nominated Sydal as the first challenger for his title.[89] On October 12, atKing of Pro-Wrestling, Sydal unsuccessfully challenged Omega for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.[90] On October 24, Sydal and Ricochet entered the2015 Super Jr. Tag Tournament, defeatingTime Splitters (Alex Shelley and Kushida) in their first round match.[91] On November 1, Sydal and Ricochet defeatedThe Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) to advance to the finals of the tournament.[92] On November 7, atPower Struggle, Sydal and Ricochet defeatedRoppongi Vice (Beretta andRocky Romero) in the finals to win the 2015 Super Jr. Tag Tournament.[93] On January 4, 2016, atWrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome, Sydal and Ricochet took part in a four-way match for theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, but were defeated by The Young Bucks.[94] On February 11 atThe New Beginning in Osaka, Sydal and Ricochet defeated The Young Bucks andreDRagon (Bobby Fish andKyle O'Reilly) in a three-way match to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.[95] They lost the title to Roppongi Vice on April 10 atInvasion Attack 2016,[96] before regaining the title on May 3 atWrestling Dontaku 2016.[97] Later in the month, Sydal entered the2016 Best of the Super Juniors. He finished the tournament with five wins and two losses, tied withRyusuke Taguchi, but failed to advance to the finals due to losing to Taguchi in their head-to-head match.[98] On June 19 atDominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall, Sydal and Ricochet lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to The Young Bucks in a four-way elimination match, also involving reDRagon and Roppongi Vice.[99]
On July 3, Sydal and Ricochet teamed up withSatoshi Kojima to defeat The Elite for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[100] On July 20, Sydal, representing ROH, entered the2016 Super J-Cup, defeatingKaientai Dojo's Kaji Tomato in his first round match.[101] On August 21, Sydal defeated Will Ospreay in the second round of the tournament, before being eliminated in the semifinals byPro Wrestling Noah'sYoshinobu Kanemaru.[102] On September 25, Sydal, Ricochet and Kojima were stripped of the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship due to Sydal failing to make a scheduled title defense atDestruction in Kobe.[103] Sydal missed two shows over three days, officially due to "travel issues".[104] It was later revealed that he had actually been arrested upon entering the country (see below). He was replaced at Destruction in Kobe byDavid Finlay, who afterwards also took his spot as Ricochet's regular tag team partner.[105] Sydal's profile has since been removed from NJPW official site.[106]
Sydal made his return toImpact Wrestling on the April 27, 2017Impact Wrestling TV taping, defeatingTrevor Lee in his first match.[107] On the May 4 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sydal defeatedEddie Edwards and after the match they shook hands. On the May 11 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sydal competed in a fatal four-way match which was won byAndrew Everett. On the June 22 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sydal won The Sony SIX Way X-Division Elimination Match. On the June 29 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sydal andSonjay Dutt defeatedLow-Ki andTrevor Lee.
On the July 6 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sydal defeatedBraxton Sutter. On the July 20 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sydal defeated El Hijo del Fantasma and Low Ki in a 3-way dance. On the August 10 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sydal,Alberto El Patrón and Sonjay Dutt lost a six-man tag team match toLashley, Low-Ki and Trevor Lee. On Augustv 17 at Destination X, Sydal defeated Lashley. On the September 7 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sydal was defeated byEli Drake in a match for the GFW IMPACT World Heavyweight title.
AtBound for Glory, Sydal competed in a Six-way lucha rules match for the Impact X Division Championship but failed to win the title. On November 10, 2017, Sydal defeated Ethan Carter III to win the Impact Grand Championship. On March 8, 2018, Sydal defeatedTaiji Ishimori to win the Impact X Division Championship in a match that Sydal's Grand Championship was also on the line, thus becoming a dual champion. On March 15, it was revealed thatJosh Matthews was his "spirit guide" thus allying himself with Matthews and turning him heel. On March 29, Sydal lost the Impact Grand Championship toAustin Aries in a match that Aries'Impact World Championship was also on the line. On April 12 episode of Impact, he attackedPetey Williams during Williams' match with Matthews causing a disqualification loss for Matthews. AtImpact Wrestling Redemption, Sydal defeated Petey Williams to retain the Impact X Division Championship.[108]
On the April 26 episode of Impact Wrestling, Sydal successfully defended his Impact X Division Championship againstBrian Cage by count out. However, Sydal would end up losing the title to Cage atSlammiversary XVI in July.[109] He would lose a rematch for the title at the following episode ofImpact Wrestling.[110]
Following his loss he attempted to recruitRich Swann to be his partner, however Swann denied him. This resulted in a feud between the two.[111] Sydal would beat Swann in their first encounter due to interference from the debutingEthan Page.[112] Sydal would go on to form a team with Page based around following Sydal's teachings of "seeing through yourthird eye." Their team would lose to Rich Swann and his surprise partnerNWA National ChampionWillie Mack atBound for Glory.[113] On the November 1 episode ofImpact Wrestling, Sydal and Page lost a Tag Team Championship match againstThe Latin American Xchange.[114][115] Sydal later lost an X-Division championship qualifying match to Page.[116] Korklan left Impact when his contract expired on January 1, 2019.[117]
On October 25, 2019, it was announced that Sydal would return to Evolve under his WWE ring name "Evan Bourne".[118] Despite speculation, he denied that he would be returning to WWE. On November 9, Sydal was defeated by Leon Ruff due to count out in his return match after Sydal suffered an injury during the match. He returned the next month unsuccessfully challengingA. R. Fox and Leon Ruff for theEvolve Tag Team Championship alongsideAndrew Everett.
AtAll Out, Sydal was a surprise entrant in the Casino Battle Royale drawing in as the Joker. During the match, Sydal botched his Shooting Star Press finishing move as he slipped on the ropes and landed on his head (kayfabe caused by Michael Nakazawa oiling up the turnbuckle). Despite this, he was able to continue the match and was eventually eliminated byEddie Kingston.[119] On the September 22 episode of Late Night Dynamite, Sydal facedShawn Spears in the main event where he was defeated. On the October 6 episode ofAEW Dark, Sydal picked up his first victory in AEW when he defeatedMichael Nakazawa.[120] On the November 11, 2020 episode ofAEW Dynamite, Sydal, who had been on a four match winning streak, fought Brian Cage in a FTW title match, losing for the first time in five matches.[121] On November 17, 2020, after months of appearing at AEW shows despite not being under contract with the company, AEW confirmed that Sydal was now officially signed with the company.[122][123]
On September 7, 2022AEW Dynamite, he was a judge forROH Pure Championship.
Sydal returned to ROH, now owned byTony Khan as a sister promotion to AEW, reformed his tag team withChristopher Daniels, defeating The Outrunners (Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd) on the February 26, 2023 episode of Ring of Honor.[124] On the June 6 episode of Ring of Honor, Sydal defeated Zack Clayton, after the match he challengedROH World Television ChampionSamoa Joe, which he lost.[125][126]
Image Entertainment, Inc. released a DVD titled "Before They Were Stars: Matt Sydal: Bourne Is Born" on January 20, 2009, which features every match fromWrestling Society X Korklan participated in as well as various promos and a music video.[127]
Korklan appeared in WWE video gamesWWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 (as DLC),WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010,WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 andWWE '12 .
Korklan's parents are school teachers.[128] He has a younger brother named Mike, who is also a professional wrestler.[129] Korklan attendedParkway West High School near St. Louis.[128] In 2001, Korklan enrolled at theUniversity of Missouri, studyingmarketing, as he was unsure whether he could earn a living from wrestling.[130] He continued to wrestle, attending college three days a week, while wrestling mid-week and on weekends.[130] He graduated with abachelor's degree in 2005, and began working as a sales and marketingvice president for a small mailbox company in St. Louis owned by his uncle, he worked there since he was 18 and worked himself up from shopboy to the marketing department and having his own shop, while continuing to wrestle.[2][128][130] He resigned around 2006 using his vacation days for his first international tour of the UK.
Korklan was bornJewish.[86] He resides inClearwater, Florida.
Korklan dealt with self confidence issues for most of his career. The weekend of his WWE release he went to anayahuasca retreat inPeru, the ayahuasca didn't work but he was next given Echinopsis pachanoi, legally and medicinally from a monk, this caused his spiritual rebirth.He has studiedBuddhism and citesAlan Watts andRam Das as his spiritual influences. He spoke about this onColt Cabana's Art of Wrestling podcast, Airey Bros Radio, Bad Yogi podcast and onDavid Nichtern's podcast. He clarified onRJ City’s YouTube comedy interview show that he does not consider himself a Buddhist as he does not have any personal dogma but loves studying and as a student of David Nichtern he can lead meditation ceremonies.
On September 23, 2016, Korklan was arrested at theKansai International Airport under suspicion ofmarijuana smuggling. According to local authorities, Korklan had 2.12 grams of liquid marijuana hidden within an electronic cigarette. Korklan was convicted inOsaka on October 13.[131][132] On December 1, it was reported that Korklan had pled guilty to the charges and accepted three years of probation as his sentence. After a verdict the following week,[133] Korklan was released from prison and returned to the United States on December 12.[134]
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