Buddy Murphy and 205 Live was a great marriage, but also one met with skepticism.
One an NXT tag team standout, Murphy moved to the Cruiserweight-branded 205 Live last year when he transformed his body into that of a much leaner star than we'd seen before. His "weight" was met by many naysayers, and even turned into an angle on the program where he struggled with it.
Since then, Murphy has moved to the Smackdown brand and no longer has to make the 205 pounds required prior. With WWE 2K20 adding fuel to the fire announcing him as 230 pounds, Fightful cleared the air with Murphy about his current weight.
The #BestKeptSecret is out. @WWE_Murphy is in #WWE2K20! https://t.co/BV0vveqi28 pic.twitter.com/ud324vmSdO
— #WWE2K20 (@WWEgames) August 30, 2019
"215. So I’m up. I was a little, from coming to 205 and then getting drafted to Smackdown, obviously there’s been a period from that day to now. A little long period, but that was kind of a little strategic way that I wanted to go about things. I wanted get a little bit more size just before I mix it up with guys on Smackdown Live. It’s been a little longer than expected, but I definitely wanted that break in period to get more size. I came in to NXT at about 235. I hovered around 230. And the initial cut started at about 225. So 20 pounds to make the Cruiserweight division," said Murphy.
Murphy had reached tag team gold in NXT, but was spinning his wheels and finding it hard to secure a place in the company. It was then that he lobbied to land on 205 Live, even though the powers-that-be weren't on the same page with him.
After weeks of declaring his wishes, it finally happened.
Yes. I definitely pushed for that," Murphy told us. "I asked for it originally and it was declined. And I kept pushing for it. Declined. Then I just took it upon myself, man. I dropped the weight so that they didn’t really have any excuse. And then there was an opportunity for the Cruiserweight Championship tournament in which they said yes to and I took it and ran, man. Wasn’t really given a reason, man. Just “no.” So, I turned that into a “yes.”
Thought Murphy has found new life as a smaller wrestler, don't count on seeing his former tag team partner -- the larger Wesley Blake -- making the same leap.
"No, he’s a little bit bigger," Murphy laughed. "He’s a bigger dude, a little thicker dude. I remember when we originally came to NXT, I think our original name was Team Thick. That was our original name. But, he’s killing it in NXT. He’s doing [the Forgotten Sons] thing. Him and Steve Cutler are a great tag. Yeah, man, if he wants to try… It’s not a great life. I can assure you of that."
You can see our full conversation with Buddy Murphy above, and check out our interviews and exclusives section for hundreds more!
