Bourne to fly....on live television?

Evan Bourne must probably feel like he's the luckiest ECW wrestler there is right now. He has gone from starting in the indies, to being neglected by TNA, to having great matches in ROH, to wrestling on MTV, to now being a candidate for the ECW Title at Cyber Sunday, granted he gets the votes for it. How did he do it? He took his high-flying, high-octane wrestling style and adapted it in each and every scenario, with his WWE style being the most impressive, only because he's able to tell a great story at a slowed pace for everyone to comprehend his moves. I'm saying this right now: whatever length of a match you get with Evan Bourne, be it standard time or not, will be worth the price of admission. I guess you can attribute it to his need to fulfill his dream of being a part of the WWE family. But, something big has come on the horizon for Mr. Bourne. Word is going around, and it might become reality. Evan Bourne may take his high-flying skills to Raw.

This kind of exposure could not have come at a better time for Evan. Amidst the sea of ECW stars that fall under either the category of new blood, wily veteran, or new breed of talent with some experience, you can get lost in the shuffle. Since he has come out of the gate, Evan Bourne has been tantalizing the crowd with this moves, skills, and acrobatics the likes of which we have rarely seen. I say rarely because there is another who, like Evan, will take to the sky to do battle. That someone is Rey Mysterio. To answer a question, yes, these two have teamed up on Raw and have had one incredible tag match. But, as Rey gets older, somewhat weaker, and less appealing, someone is going to have to take the reins and keep that spirit alive. That someone is Evan Bourne. In short, Evan Bourne is in line to take the torch from Rey, and it might come sooner than you think.

See, Rey was moved to Raw in an attempt to spark the ratings on Raw from his followers, as well as to bring a new level of excitement to the show with his wrestling style. It had been a long while since Rey was a staple on Monday night television (in fact, it had been close to 7 years, as he was last seen actively on a Monday night on the final WCW Nitro episode). His being on Raw is a gift to the many Raw followers who loved watching his stuff in the past or even present. But, let's face facts. Rey isn't getting any younger. His knee has been surgically re-constructed on a number of occasions. He can't even hit the hurricanrana with ease anymore. In fact, he steers clear of it. When Rey is gone, who can fill that gap of high-flying excitement? Enter Evan Bourne.

Now, this is a wise move for the WWE and for Evan. However, like most wrestling bookers who are afraid of the here and now not producing good ratings, the move may end up coming sooner than most of us expect. Evan has been showing up on Raw a number of times recently to get involved with Rey's feud with Kane. His match against Kane was also great. So, instead of leaving him on a dead-end show like ECW, why not put him on Raw's live stage? Why not place him on the longest running television show in history? Why not place him on the longest running wrestling show in history? His tenacity, electricity, and agility could be perfect for chance rivalries with Chris Jericho, Santino Marella, and the other heels. Also, it wouldn't be a problem if he did battle with some of the faces like C.M. Punk, a wrestler who shares his ECW allegiance, albeit a past one, as well as the fact that they both have traveled to the same indy feds to get themselves over. Let's not rule out HBK who could very well benefit from a wrestler like Bourne, or vice versa. The sky could be and is the limit for young Evan. But, in the sky, there are some dark clouds here and there, and those could settle on Bourne's sunshine in his potential move to Raw.

One of the biggest cons against Bourne is the fact that he's not even 200 pounds. He's legitimately the smallest wrestler on the roster (no, I'm not now nor will I ever count Hornswoggle). Usually, big wrestlers only win titles in the WWE. In that case, Evan better get used to disappearing since he won't win any title matches due to his lack of stature. Another con that will bother me when it comes down to moving is his status on Raw, in general. Why this is a factor boils down to C.M. Punk and Kofi Kingston's current status on Raw, which is now relegated to them being on the low or the mid card. They started off as champs, only to lose them after about 2 months, and now, they remain on Raw, in second gear, idly waiting for another break. Realistically, this could happen to Bourne which will hurt him greatly as well as his momentum. Here's to hoping that the WWE do the right thing when it comes down to high-flying. They've allowed so much of it at this point, so why not?

I'm probably the last person to promote anyone from the WWE. Trust me, I'm not. However, I know talent when I see it, and Bourne is filled with it. Raw would be the perfect compliment to his already off-kilter wrestling style. Live crowds will very well swoon to him as they do Rey, until, it's Evan's turn to set the standard for high flying wrestling in the WWE. But, who's to say that success will come knocking? Who is to say that Bourne won't end up like Punk or Kingston right now? We don't know until it happens. Until then, all we can do is count the days until Evan Bourne's next take-off. If you blink, you'll most likely miss something special. Bourne has proven this a number of times. This may become something of a great novelty to Raw. The question is, can he go beyond the novelty and become a believable reality?