Matt Sydal

Name: Matt Sydal
Age: 30
Height: 5ft 8, 5ft9
Weight: 165 lbs, 183 lbs
Hair style: short
Faux-hawk
Hair color: black
Iris color: brown
Build: svelte + athletic
Entrance Theme: "Born to Win" by Mutiny Within and Jim Johnston (July 27, 2009–present
Persona/Gimmick: Optimistic and highly talented technically sound ground cruiserweight with educated feet and a mastery of the shooting star press. Don’t let the boyish charms and peace signs fool you, he is one of if not the most tenacious young superstars on the roster just waiting for his opportunity to climb the ladder and make a dent in that glass ceiling. All ready a Slammy award winner for best finisher in 2008 and WWE Magazine Slammy award winner for best attire in 2009 and a former tag team champion
Bourne has proven that he may not have been born to win but he was born to be a professional wrestler and most importantly a WWE Superstar. He’s also a hardcore ECW fan since birth and a veteran of the indies, he’s wrestling’s most extreme crash test dummy and closest thing to a real life superhero. He’s Matt Sydal and he can defy the laws of gravity most importantly defy the odds

Move set/Arsenal:
Common Moves :
front flip kick
Jumping back kick
Somersault leg drop to opponent’s neck while the opponent is on their hands and knees
Bridging fisherman suplex
Jumping corkscrew roundhouse
Bridging Northern Light Suplex
Bridging German suplex
snap mare
Standing Cannonball Leg drop
Pendulum backbreaker
Roundhouse kick
Step up Enzuguri
DDT
Frankensteiner
Hurricanrana
Basic arm drag
Knife edged chest chop
soccer ball kick to spine, ribs, back and neck
Standing moonsault touching knees in mid-air
Standing double foot stomp
Standing double knee drop/ running double knee drop to seated opponent.
Knee thrust strikes to back/ neck

Submissions:
Boston crab
Single leg Boston crab
Arm trap-crucifix head scissors
Side headlock
Rear waist lock
Chin lock
Seated rear chin lock

Running Strikes:
rolling wheel kick
Calf kick
Lariat takedown
Jumping double knee drop
Front dropkick
Flying elbow strike
Flying forearm shot

Running Grapples:
Running rana
Tilt-a-whirl head scissors takedown
head scissors takedown arm breaker
Double tilt-a-whirl head scissors takedown
Running into a springboard tornado ddt
Drop toe hold + low dropkick combo
CM Punk neck breaker

Turnbuckle moves
Running Dropkick to opponent in corner
monkey flip
Running cannonball senton/dropkick/stink face to seated opponent in corner.

Aerial Moves:
slingshot leg drop
Diving double knee drop
Springboard double knee drop to outside
Moonsault (all variations)
Corkscrew plancha
Double Helix{ springboard corkscrew moonsault}
Slingshot 450 splash
Springboard tornado DDT
Guillotine leg drop
Diving Frankensteiner to opponent on the apron

Trademark Moves:
jumping high knee strike
The Slice{ Split leg drop DDT}
Double Helix{ springboard corkscrew moonsault}

Finishers
Here It is Driver
Air Bourne{ SSP}

CAREER:
Throughout his childhood he trained in martial arts and gymnastics. While he was a senior in high school, Korklan began training with the St. Louis, Missouri-based Gateway Championship Wrestling (GCW) promotion. After three months of training and being a play by play commentator Korklan began wrestling for GCW on October 20, 2000 under the ring name MATT and got his wrestling license at age 17 becoming the first person under the age of 18 to receive a wrestler's license in Missouri. Prior to this, Korklan had briefly performed under the ring name Lance Sydal in the Saint Peters Wrestling Organization and was a masked backyard wrestler by the name Sydal channeling his two favorite wrestlers Sabu and Rey Mysterio.
In 2003, Korklan formed a stable in GCW, known as Operation: Shamrock. In addition, Korklan and fellow stable member Billy McNeil formed a tag team. Operation: Shamrock maintained a feud with the villainous Ministry of Hate faction, led by Nikki Strychnine.

Korklan debuted in Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South (IWA Mid-South) in November 2003, combining two of his old ring names into a new one, Matt Sydal. He won his first championship, the IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship, on January 17, 2004, by defeating J.C. Bailey. Sydal lost the title to rival Delirious, on June 26, 2004. Sydal joined National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Midwest that same year, on July 30, he defeated Justin Kage for the NWA Midwest X Division Championship, which he also lost to Delirious after holding the belt for nearly a year. Korklan regained the championship when he teamed with Daizee Haze in an intergender tag team match against Delirious and MsChif. A unique rule of the match was that the male wrestler on the winning team would be champion at the match's end. Haze pinned MsChif to win Delirious's title for Sydal. Sydal lost the title to Jayson Strife roughly four months later before leaving the promotion.
Sydal wrestled several top independent stars during his time as a regular in IWA. He lost three matches to A.J. Styles during a short-lived feud. He also faced men such as CM Punk, Chris Sabin and Nate Webb. On September 24, 2005, Sydal won the fifth Ted Petty Invitational tournament. During the tournament, he defeated El Generico, Tyler Black, and Chris Sabin to secure himself a place in the finals. He faced Kevin Steen and Arik Cannon in the final match and came out victorious. Since then, Sydal has only appeared in IWA on a few occasions, the last being in August 2007.

Sydal was featured on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's (TNA) first three-hour pay-per-view event, Victory Road as a participant of a twenty-man X Division Gauntlet for the Gold match, a match where two wrestlers begin the match, and are replaced whenever one is eliminated, with the last person standing being named the winner of the contest. Sydal also was part of an online poll for the Sacrifice event. The winner of the poll would meet Christopher Daniels for the TNA X Division Championship. Sydal, however, lost the poll. During his tenure with TNA, Sydal was mainly utilized as a jobber.

Sydal, along with valet Daizee Haze, debuted in Ring of Honor at Reborn: Stage One on April 23, 2004, defeating his recurring nemesis, Delirious. Following a brief feud with Trent Acid, Sydal teamed with Fast Eddie Vegas as the "Air Devils" (a name voted on by the ROH fans). They only teamed once, after which Eddie turned on him on at the Third Anniversary Celebration: Part 2 on February 25, 2005, joining the villainous stable The Embassy.[4] On August 12, 2005, Sydal and Haze joined Austin Aries, Roderick Strong and Jack Evans as the fourth member of Generation Next, a group who was in the midst of a feud with The Embassy. In late 2005, Daizee Haze turned on Sydal, leaving him and Generation Next to join The Embassy. Generation Next fought The Embassy in numerous multi-man tag matches, culminating in a Steel Cage Warfare match on December 3, 2005, with Generation Next emerging victorious.
After wrestling A.J. Styles at Hell Freezes Over, the two teamed up to challenge his Generation Next stable mates Austin Aries and Roderick Strong for ROH World Tag Team Championship. Sydal also teamed with Samoa Joe and Jack Evans to try and win the championship. Sydal went to the finals of the 2006 Survival of the Fittest event, before losing to Delirious. Sydal and Delirious brought their rivalry back to ROH as they engaged in several matches during mid-2006.
After several matches against each other throughout the year, Sydal teamed up with Christopher Daniels in another attempt to win the ROH World Tag Team Championship. The two feuded with then-champions the Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli), before winning the championship at Dethroned. Sydal and Daniels successfully defended their championship against the likes of CIMA and Shingo, and former champions Austin Aries and Roderick Strong, before losing the title to the Briscoe Brothers (Jay and Mark Briscoe) at the Fifth Year Festival: Chicago. During their title reign, Sydal would begin to show a cocky, villainous-like attitude. After coming up unsuccessful in attempts to win the title back along with Castagnoli, Sydal joined Larry Sweeney's villain stable Sweet n' Sour Inc., which also included Chris Hero, Sara Del Rey and Tank Toland. Sydal, who in real life was receiving offers from World Wrestling Entertainment, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and Dragon Gate, joined Sweet n' Sour Inc. to further Sweeney's gimmick as a "super agent". When Sydal eventually signed with WWE, it was said that Sweeney had "sold him up the river to Vince". At Man Up, Sydal wrestled his final match for ROH, losing to long-time rival Delirious.

Sydal began touring Japan with Dragon Gate in May 2006. While there he aligned himself with CIMA, Don Fuji, and Jack Evans to form the New Blood Generation International. He also became a part of CIMA's Typhoon faction. During Dragon Gate's Wrestlejam event, Sydal teamed with Generation Next stable mate Roderick Strong to win the $10,000 Tag Team Challenge.
In early 2007, Sydal returned to Dragon Gate. During his tenure there he won the Dragon Gate Open the Brave Gate Championship from Masato Yoshino, thus becoming the first gaijin to win the title. He held the championship for just over a month, making a successful title defense against Yoshino, as well as against Austin Aries at Ring of Honor's Fifth Year Festival: Dayton. He dropped the title to Genki Horiguchi.
Sydal was also part of the short-lived MTV promotion, Wrestling Society X, where he competed as a villain against the likes of Jack Evans, Scorpio Sky and the Human Tornado. There was the start of a storyline that would have him feuding with Syxx-Pac over Sydal's valet and on-screen girlfriend Lizzy Valentine, but they never actually wrestled before WSX shut down.

After becoming a free agent again following the expiration of his WSX contract and the close of the promotion, Sydal signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Sydal made his WWE developmental debut in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), at the October 10, 2007 OVW taping, defeating Jamin Olivencia. In December of that year, Sydal defeated Mike Kruel to win the OVW Heavyweight Championship. It was announced on February 7, 2008 that WWE had ceased affiliation with OVW. As a result, Sydal lost the OVW Heavyweight Championship to Jay Bradley. Sydal was moved to Florida Championship Wrestling and made his debut on March 22, 2008, defeating TJ Wilson/ Tyson Kidd before being called up to WWE's main roster.

Sydal made his debut for WWE's ECW brand on June 3, 2008, as a fan favorite character. He lost a match by countout to Shelton Benjamin after he was thrown at guest commentator Kofi Kingston. The following week on ECW, Sydal, now an official member of the ECW roster under the ring name Evan Bourne, teamed with Kofi Kingston to defeat Mike Knox and Benjamin in a tag team match. In the following weeks, Bourne defeated Matt Striker, Nunzio,[ and Chavo Guerrero using the shooting star press as his finishing maneuver.
Bourne also made appearances on the Raw brand, saving Rey Mysterio from an assault by Kane. The two defeated John Morrison and The Miz the following week. At Cyber Sunday in October, Bourne was chosen by the fans to face Matt Hardy for the ECW Championship, but lost the match after Hardy performed a Twist of Fate. Two days later on ECW, Bourne was injured attempting a suicide senton during a six-man tag match, when he landed on his right ankle, dislocating it and tearing his deltoid ligament. After further examination, it was determined that surgery would not be necessary, but was not cleared to return to the ring. On December 8, 2008, Bourne won a Slammy Award for "Best Finishing Maneuver" for his shooting star press.
On the March 10, 2009, episode of ECW a promo was aired for Bourne's return on March 17. In his return, Bourne defeated Jamie Noble.

On June 29, Bourne was traded to the Raw brand, and made his debut that night as the first of the three wrestlers that were part of a Gauntlet match against Randy Orton, in which he was eliminated. On the November 2 episode of Raw, Bourne received a United States Championship match against The Miz, which he failed to win. Bourne made a special appearance on the December 29 episode of ECW, defeating Mike Knox in an ECW Homecoming qualifying match to advance to a battle royal where the winner would face ECW Champion Christian at the Royal Rumble for the ECW Championship.
Bourne lost a non-title match against WWE Champion Sheamus on the January 4, 2010 episode of Raw. On the January 12 episode of ECW, Bourne competed in the "Homecoming Battle Royal" but was the first to be eliminated. On the March 8 episode of Raw, Bourne defeated William Regal to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXVI, which was won by Jack Swagger.
The May 31, 2010 episode of Raw opened with Bourne being the victim of an assault by Edge after Bourne had challenged him for his spot in the WWE Championship match at Fatal 4-Way. Later in the show, as John Cena's scheduled tag team partner, Randy Orton, was injured by Edge before the main event, Cena chose Bourne to replace him in a match against Edge and Sheamus. Bourne pinned Sheamus to earn the victory for his team. Two weeks later, Bourne fought Chris Jericho in a match, which he won by disqualification when Jericho threatened the referee and attacked Bourne while he was in the ropes. At the Fatal 4-Way pay-per-view, he faced Jericho in a rematch, which Bourne won by pinfall The following night on Raw, Jericho challenged Bourne to a third match stating that if he did not win, he would leave WWE. Jericho defeated Bourne by pinfall. Their feud continued on the July 5 episode of Raw, where Bourne teamed up with Randy Orton to defeat Jericho and Edge. Bourne was announced as one of the participants in the Money in the Bank ladder match for the Money in the Bank pay-per-view on July 18, but he was unsuccessful

On September 19, at the Night of Champions pay-per-view, Bourne teamed up with Mark Henry in the Tag Team Turmoil match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, but they failed to win the championship when they were the last team eliminated in the match by Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes. On the October 11 episode of Raw, Bourne competed in a match against CM Punk to qualify for Team Raw at Bragging Rights, but was unsuccessful in winning and was assaulted by Punk after the match. This was put in place to write Bourne off television, as in reality he required shoulder surgery and was expected to be out of action for an estimated four months.

Bourne returned on the February 28, 2011, episode of Raw, defeating Sheamus, after Sheamus had been attacked by Triple H before the match. From May 23, Bourne would feud with Jack Swagger, with both men trading victories on several episodes of Raw. Bourne emerged victorious against Swagger at WWE Capitol Punishment.
On the August 22 episode of Raw, Bourne won his first championship in WWE, when he and Kofi Kingston defeated David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty, for the WWE Tag Team Championships. On the August 29 episode of Raw, the duo were called "Air Boom" and had their first successful title defense by defeating Otunga and McGillicutty in a rematch. At Night of Champions, Air Boom retained their championship against The Miz and R-Truth by disqualification after The Miz attacked the referee. At both Hell in a Cell and Vengeance, Air Boom retained the Tag Team Championship against the team of Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger. On November 1, WWE announced via the company website that they had suspended Korklan for 30 days for his first violation of the company’s wellness policy, which he completed and returned at a house show on December 3. On December 18, at Tables, Ladders & Chairs, Air Boom retained their titles by defeating Primo and Epico. On January 15, 2012, Air Boom lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Primo and Epico at a house show. The following night on Raw, Air Boom were awarded a rematch but failed to regain the championship. The following day, Korklan was suspended once again, this time for 60 days for his second failure of a wellness test. In March Korklan was involved in a car accident which resulted in his foot being broken in four different places and dislocated in five.
As Bourne, Korklan is featured as a downloadable superstar in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. He would go on to appear in the following games: WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011, and WWE '12. Bourne was not put in WWE 13 but his move set, taunts and entrance are available as well as the tag team name “Air Boom” can be chosen when making a tag team. Many fans are hoping if he returns in time without being released that he will be DLC again.

Image Entertainment, Inc. released a DVD titled "Before They Were Stars: Matt Sydal: Bourne Is Born" on January 20, 2009, which features every match from Wrestling Society X Korklan participated in as well as various promos and a music video.

Both of Korklan's parents are school teachers. He has a younger brother Mike, who wrestles under the name "Mike Sydal". He also has two other brothers as well. He attended Parkway West High School in St. Louis. In 2001, Korklan enrolled at the University of Missouri, studying marketing, as he was unsure whether he could earn a living from wrestling. He continued to wrestle, attending college three days a week, while wrestling mid-week and on weekends He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2005, and began working as a sales and marketing vice president for a small mailbox company in St. Louis, although he continued to wrestle. He used his marketing and business skills in 2010 when he promoted Raw and WWE programming in Brazil during his push.

In March 2013 Korklan signed with EWE under the former ring name Matt Sydal to avoid legal issues with the WWE.

Championships and accomplishments:

Dragon Gate
Open The Brave Gate Championship (1 time)
Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South
IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Ted Petty Invitational (2005)
NWA Midwest
NWA Midwest X Division Championship (2 times)
Ohio Valley Wrestling
OVW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
PWI ranked him #63 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 2009-2010 and #69 in 2011 and he was # 96 in 2012
Ring of Honor
ROH World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Christopher Daniels
World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kofi Kingston
Slammy Award for Best Finishing Maneuver (2008)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Best Flying Wrestler (2008)
Best Wrestling Maneuver (2008) Shooting Star Press
Most Underrated (2009)    

Athletic Background:
13 years of professional wrestling
Martial arts
Gymnastics
high school wrestling

Promotions wrestled for( no particular order):
GCW
IWA
PWG
ROH
NWA-TNA
Dragon Gate USA
WSX
WWE