10 Wrestlers That Have Suffered Since WWE WrestleMania 35

9. Buddy Murphy

Rusev Lana
WWE.com

Buddy Murphy did so little during his first few months on SmackDown that it was actually made into a minor storyline point when he was finally-sort-of-but-not-really welcomed into the show over the Summer months.

Initially batting back Kevin Owens' attempts to speak up for him against Shane McMahon to remind everybody he was a heel, Murphy then took a sh*tkicking from Roman Reigns as part of the wretched whodunnit angle featuring Daniel Bryan and Rowan. This at least triggered a blinding contest with 'The Big Dog' weeks later and a follow-up victory over Bryan too, but both were false dawns for the blue brand star who somehow remains a 'Best Kept Secret'.

Frustratingly so, too. Both major matches delivered, and even though Bryan puts everybody over when he can, that victory in particular felt significant for something or other, even if defining what that was required careful crafting in the subsequent weeks. Murphy didn't get anything like that, instead becoming Just Another Guy on a roster full of them.

Great talent is usually too great to stifle and his time will surely come again, but moving up that WrestleMania Kickoff card beyond the battle royal seems unlikely.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett