WWE: Aleister Black vs. Buddy Murphy checks all boxes for a great rivalry

I need to make sure we’re all paying attention. In a world where a diverse mix of pro wrestling is at our fingertips at a moments notice, important things can fall through the cracks. Aleister Black vs. Buddy Murphy can’t.

Let’s call the spade a spade. the Aleister Black vs. Buddy Murphy feud was great. Inside the doldrums of WWE television, dare I say it, was can’t miss.

If you missed it, you’ve deprived yourself of a premiere piece of pro wrestling in late 2019/early 2020 and one that checked off virtually every box on the “what makes a great wrestling rivalry” checklist. Why did this work and why is Murphy vs. Black important?

Let’s dive in.

The “why did it work?” answer starts with the character work of both men. Opposites attract in pro wrestling. Think Rock vs. Austin, but on a lower level. Can you get more opposite than Aleister Black and Buddy Murphy?

On one side of the spectrum you have Aleister Black, the dark, calm, cool, and collected figure. On the other side it’s Buddy Murphy, the arrogant, flashy, bright, and obnoxious act. Polar opposites and both Black and Murphy tapped into that in order to build drama and tension around their feud. Check.

The tension built and boiled over in the ring. Black and Murphy wrestled and worked in a way that conveyed a sense of dissension and respect. In addition, they showcased a fight.

Their matches were action packed with spots, but the work resembled that of an epic athletic encounter as opposed to a flashy dance. Both men were crisp, aggressive, and intense. They sold at the right times and used their body language and facial expressions to articulate specific emotions. The result was a series of bouts that demanded the attention of its audience. Check.

Then there was the psychology and storytelling. It’s quite the ride, so keep up. In the onset, Black vs. Murphy was thrown on the undercard of a B level PPV to fill some time and break up the flow of repetitive TLC match stipulations.

The match was rooted in Murphy knocking on Black’s door and Black answering because he wanted a fight. Not exactly Catcher in the Rye type work, but the story grew from there and gave Monday Night Raw fans something new to engage with. Check.

On a week-to-week basis from there, Black and Murphy told a relatable story of one-upmanship and obsession. Black and Murphy both worked to be the man over the other, but did so in a way that remained consistent within their characters; Black as the calm babyface and Murphy as the overconfident and erratic heel.

When the smoke cleared on their second match, the obsession was left. Murphy moved to a place where he was desperate to beat his rival and entered darker arenas of trickery and tactics to do so. In the ring, the work mirrored and enhanced where they were on the story front. The matches wove into the fabric of that story and made for a consistent flow across their narrative. Check.

That holistically is a formula that fans of all shapes and sizes can buy. For the casual viewer, it’s not complicated, but works to showcase both Black and Murphy. They are clearly established now. Established in their lanes as heels and babyfaces, but also as new stars of the Raw brand. For the diehards, this delivered a deeper narrative between two held back acts and featured an in-ring product with the WWE training wheels off.

Murphy vs. Black was entertaining for fans, but important for WWE business as well. They are rebooting themselves in a lot of ways.

Yes, I can see the elephant in the room. They are a billion dollar company with revenue attacking them from every angle. When you open up the hood on that fact though, it’s easy to see a product that’s stale and directionless. Black vs. Murphy was the opposite.

It’s fresh, new, and featured hungry talent ready to take the ball and run as far as they could with it. WWE has an abundance of talent in that camp.

Look at Andrade, Humberto Carrillo, Drew McIntyre, and Ricochet. All names that were directionless and cold ahead of the Black vs. Murphy program. Now, they are centerpieces of the show on a weekly basis. There is a special psychology there.

Young talent needs opportunities. Two young wrestlers in the same ring with time and an audience looking for something fresh is a powerful combination to unleash on fans and the business. That equation breeds competition and cultivates an environment where new acts can have significant impact on successful growth. Check.

Aleister Black vs. Buddy Murphy was first. They entertained with high-level matches, set themselves up for impactful material in the near future, but also ignited change and a shift within the WWE ecosystem as a company. The Rock and Triple H had a similar upstart feud at the start of the Attitude Era in 1997. Never say never, right?