Former WWE star Buddy Murphy made an appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet to talk about a wide range of topics including losing his first name in WWE, being moved from 205 Live to the main roster and more.
Here are some of the highlights:
Being moved from 205 Live to the main roster: “My whole time in the cruiserweight, loved it. I can’t be more appreciative of my time in 205 Live. It was fun, I was creative, I was having great matches. We felt like we had a little bit of pull and we could suggest stuff and it would be considered. It was an awesome group of guys, we all travelled together. I win the title, do some great stuff, go to WrestleMania, lose it, pass it to Tony Nese. And then I get drafted to SmackDown. I’m like this is it! But then I don’t do anything for 4 to 5 months. The I just so happen to accidently be in the background of a Roman shot, which gave me a spotlight and had the internet talking. When the internet talks they [WWE] can shy away from it. But luckily in my case, they brought attention to it. Then I had this killer match with Roman and the week after I had this killer match with Bryan. Then I was in the King of the Ring against Ali. 3 weeks in a row I have killer matches, but then I’m just dropped. I didn’t understand it. I was in talks with [Paul] Heyman, and he was going to take over RAW. I assumed that he had spoken up and said he wanted me, and the people of SmackDown didn’t want to use me. They didn’t want to highlight someone who is going to Mondays. They say that if Paul wants to advocate for you, it can work for you or against you. Maybe it worked against me, but I felt like I was delivering. Did I lose out or did you?”
WWE changing his ring name to “Murphy”: “That was my idea. But the whole story behind it was never told. So I was talking to Michael Hayes and he goes ‘Buddy!’ I’m like ‘Hey Michael what’s up?’ He goes ‘Buddy, it’s too friendly.’ So I’m like maybe I should go back to Murphy. In NXT it was Blake and Murphy, I don’t need Buddy. Maybe because I am this disciple character, and Buddy doesn’t fit. I said ‘Well how about I sacrifice my given name for the greater good?’ Now I am becoming a reborn to Seth. I’m giving away my birth name and I will be known like a number for the greater cause. Next week, I am just Murphy, never explained. The whole idea was I am doing this for Seth and when I leave Seth, I go back to Buddy Murphy. I didn’t like that. They could have explained it a lot. The fact that we are talking about it now, they are questioned that should not have to be answered a year and a half later.”
WWE non-compete clause and mass talent releases: “The 90 days is to kill all buzz and all hype. It’s so you don’t have any momentum when you go somewhere else. I’m not going to blow my load in the first week. I have to expand it over the 3 months. That’s why I drop the progress photo. Then I will drop something else. I feel like they hoard a lot of talent, and now they are saturating the talent. It is a business move I believe they are making. If you send out 3 guys, they can do what they want. If you send out 40 guys, the work gets cut. But wrestling can boom again. Now the pandemic is ending, more talent can go to the indies, and the fans can see it all.”