'Murphy's Law' was thankfully nothing more than a cute finisher name as the former NXT also-ran completed his immensely satisfying redemptive arc thus year with his biggest win on the biggest night of his career.
Not content with just being Alexa Bliss' other half marooned on the developmental brand, Murphy bounded onto 205 Live in early 2018 and was unduly overlooked for a WrestleMania Cruiserweight Title tournament final eventually won by a Cedric Alexander determined to play spoiler on his massively popular return home.
It wasn't to be. After a Cruiserweight Championship match that dealt exclusively in boy-popping spots akin to the WCW version of the division rather than the tame and tepid tosh on Tuesday Nights, Murphy's score was a welcome case of everything that possibly could go right going very right indeed.
WWE is not the dream factory it once was (and still, realistically, should be). It seems glib to celebrate such simple pleasures on a show that once engineered them on a near-weekly basis, but Murphy's win brought tears to his own eyes and fans to their feet - these were clear feelings of relief, as well as elation and celebration.
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
