WWE SmackDown: Buddy Murphy proved his worth on the main roster

The Aug. 13 edition of WWE SmackDown saw the Tuesday night in-ring debut of Buddy Murphy, one of the most talented superstars in the WWE, but a superstar that has not been given a fair shot since officially becoming a member of the blue brand.

Last night’s WWE SmackDown saw the first blue brand singles match for former 205 Live standout Buddy Murphy, who took on Roman Reigns in a match that got started last week when The Big Dog physically approached Murphy and claimed that he either knew who tried to attack Reigns or he did it himself.

Murphy said it was Rowan, but that turned out to be a bad move in its own right.  Last night started out much more positively for Murphy when he took on Reigns in what would become an outstanding match between two supremely-talented superstars.  This felt like a pay-per-view match and had so many standout moments along the way.  Murphy had Reigns on the ropes for a while and it even appeared like he had the match won on a couple of different occasions.

However, he couldn’t keep The Big Dog down and after taking everything Murphy had, and then some, Reigns finally put things away with a huge spear that literally flipped Murphy in mid-air.  This was an impressive showing by both men, but especially Murphy.  His night wouldn’t be finished there, however, when Daniel Bryan and Rowan had plenty to say to him regarding his claim that Rowan was Reigns’ attacker.

Bryan and Rowan said they could prove that Murphy was lying when he said Rowan did it, so they approached Murphy backstage after his match with Reigns and got to the bottom of it, sort of.  Rowan threw Murphy around the room and attacked him in a quest for him to admit he lied, which he eventually did.  The show closed out with Bryan and Rowan saying they know who did it to Reigns and they would tell the world next week.

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In terms of just Murphy, though, this was a banner night for him.  The WWE universe knew how talented he was after a successful stint in 205 Live, but seeing him officially become a member of the main roster following WrestleMania 35 gave fans hope he could make an impact.  That wouldn’t exactly pan out, however, and he rarely ever even found himself on TV in general, let alone in-ring competition.

It felt like the WWE was wasting his talent having him sit out a healthy scratch, so this recent development of his role in the Reigns attacker storyline has given him some type of a creative purpose on the main roster.  Murphy can be a great heel and he has shown elements of that over the past couple of weeks, in addition to what he did in 205 Live.  What really has stood out with Murphy lately, however, was the match he took part in last night.

That match with Reigns was about as good of a first impression as you could have hoped for.  In his first match on the blue brand, he went toe-to-toe with one of the WWE’s biggest stars and showed just how good he really is.  That bodes well for the future and he has proven just how valuable he can be for the SmackDown brand in simply a two-week period.  Hopefully, this trend continues and he has more to do in the weeks and months to come.

If things continue to progress moving forward, don’t be surprised to see him creep into the Intercontinental Championship picture at some point and have more impactful matches and feuds.  Not to mention, there’s probably more to his involvement in this Reigns attacker storyline as well.  Did he lie to Reigns when he said it was Rowan or did he lie to Bryan and Rowan when he said he made it all up?  Only time will tell.

This storyline has more to offer and the same can be said for Murphy, one of the most talented and underrated superstars on the roster and one that has proven his worth on the main roster after waiting so long to get an opportunity to shine.