Many have been wondering: Where has Evan Bourne been?
Others have thought: Evan who?
In case you forgot, Evan Bourne is an oft-injured high-flyer, currently employed by the WWE. Bourne got serious TV time as Kofi Kingston's tag-partner in 2011 and early 2012. Sadly, Bourne ran into a string of issues, two of which were Wellness Policy suspensions and a significant injury.
Ultimately, when healthy, Bourne is quite talented. Sadly, healthy is few and far between for the WWE star. Bourne tweeted in April that he had a long road ahead, however, I don't think he realized how long.
Unfortunately, it appears that may not be the case, as Dave Meltzer in the new Wrestling Observer Newsletter available to F4WOnline.com subscribers (via WrestlingInc.com) reports:
The latest on Evan Bourne is that he may not be back in time for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
If this report is true, it will be a huge blow for Bourne, considering it will have been over a year since his last match. Ultimately, we are looking at Bourne returning sometime in mid-2013 at the earliest.
Keep in mind, not only will he be suffering from some serious rust in the ring, he will also have to attempt a huge comeback from obscurity.
I am uncertain how long he has left on his contract, but if I were the WWE I would cut my losses.
Bourne's cons have continually outweighed his pros and he is easily replaced by Justin Gabriel. Don't get me wrong, I don't wish ill on the guy, I just feel the WWE has enough dead weight on their roster and can't afford to keep one more floater.
Keep in mind, the WWE has yet to have their annual "Black Friday" roster purge, so he could easily be part of a grouping or just be simply released on his own.
Any way you slice it, Bourne's WWE days could be numbered if he doesn't find a way to bounce back stronger than ever.