Recently released WWE Superstar was scheduled to appear at Ring of Honor’s pay-per-view in Nashville last week as his former name, Matt Sydal. Bourne was scheduled to come out for an interview before the ROH Title match and challenge the winner, saying he was coming for the title but the angle had to be scrapped because of WWE.

Most of the WWE talents that were released this month have 90 day non-compete clauses where they make their downside guarantees. They won’t be 100% free until around September 18th.

When Bourne got word of his WWE release, he contacted ROH booker Hunter Johnson and said he had been given the OK to work for ROH. Bourne was immediately booked by ROH. ROH officials then contacted WWE to get approval in writing and after a few days, WWE informed them that Bourne would not be allowed to appear for ROH until September.

Bourne was still backstage for the event and was just happy to be there. He was also giving advice to the younger talents after their matches as a way to justify the cost of his flight.

(Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)