"He's my Achilles heel" - Released WWE Superstar reveals pitched ideas for his feud with Aleister Black
On June 2, 2021, WWE released a number of notable names from its roster, including two rising stars: Aleister Black and Murphy. The two have shared the ring on multiple occasions, having a long rivalry from late 2019 to mid 2020.
They were drafted to WWE RAW in 2019 and started a new chapter in their careers under Paul Heyman's wing. Heyman was keen to push the two, often pitting them against one another inside the squared circle.
Their rivalry, however, lost its momentum following Heyman's departure as executive director of WWE RAW. They both became secondary components in the feud between Seth Rollins and Rey Mysterio which extended across the majority of 2020.
Speaking to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, Murphy revealed some of the ideas that he had pitched to Paul Heyman for his feud with Aleister Black.
Murphy recalled that, on a WWE show which featured both him and Black, he was supposed to have a 6-minute match while Black was set to have a squash match against a local competitor.
However, Murphy had the idea of building himself and Black equally so they would be at the same level when they compete. Murphy shared the following conversation he had with Paul Heyman with some interesting ideas for his storyline:
"I brought it up and [Paul Heyman] goes 'What would you wanna do?' I said, if [Aleister Black] gets a 20-second opponent, give me a 20-second opponent. If we're gonna sell me as a threat, I shouldn't be having competitive matches. I should be doing exactly what he's doing to paint us at the same caliber," said Murphy.
Black recently made his debut on AEW as Malakai Black following his WWE release. Murphy, meanwhile, has to wait for his 90-day non-compete period to pass before he can wrestle again elsewhere.
Murphy had some long-term ideas as well for his WWE feud with Aleister Black
Even though Murphy did get to have a few easy wins over local competitors, he was still having too many matches with Aleister Black. The angle was becoming overdone. He had some long term ideas as well if his feud went far into the future in WWE:
"So now I'm mocking, I'm interrupting, I'm mind-gaming but I'm on the same level as him. You can hit a knee? I can hit a knee. You can hit your finish? I can hit my finish. Now we're building up together . . . I didn't want 50-50 booking," said Murphy, "If it was up to me I would have never beat him. He's my Achilles heel. I cannot beat him until it's so far in the future, like a WrestleMania and the title is on the line and I've always lost. So now I have to come over this hurdle and somehow beat the guy that I can't beat and when I finally do, it's a massive accomplishment."
What do you make of Murphy's pitched ideas for his WWE feud against Aleister Black? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Please credit Fightful and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription should you use quotes from the article.