10 Most Improved Wrestlers On The Planet Today
6. Buddy Murphy
From out of literal nowhere, Buddy Murphy has announced himself to the stupidly spoiled wrestling fandom this year.
A decent tag team worker left behind by NXT's wonderful Revival of the art, Murphy was conscripted to 205 Live it seemed, at first, to pad out the Championship tournament field. It quickly became apparent, through a more serious return to the old comedy weight loss trope, that Murphy was in line for a feature role.
To his immense credit, Murphy grasped his new character perfectly, carrying over its premise between the ropes in matches that stood out from the norm. Refashioned as a powerhouse, Murphy emphasised that power in a string of super battles that even elicited "This is awesome!" chants on a show on which performers have to work excruciatingly hard to generate any noise, as opposed to just falling down at the right time.
Even his ring gear is a superb aesthetic choice, in how it conveys his storyline advantage over his lighter opponents. Murphy is such a powerhouse that he has bulged through tattered gear to symbolise both his key strength and improbable, hard-earned reinvention.