"You've now got a star" - Roman Reigns' words to Vince McMahon after facing WWE SmackDown debutant
Roman Reigns told Vince McMahon after his match against Buddy Murphy that the WWE Chairman had a new star on his hands.
Reigns defeated Murphy in a match lasting 14 minutes and 32 seconds on the August 13, 2019 episode of SmackDown. Although the former Cruiserweight Champion joined the blue brand four months earlier, he did not compete in a televised SmackDown match until he faced Reigns.
Speaking on his Twitch channel SecretNoMore, Murphy (now known as Buddy Matthews) recalled how his opponent praised him to McMahon:
“Roman was all about it. Roman was all to make me in that moment. Roman tried to make a star that night, and I believe he did. He even told Vince after that, he goes, ‘You’ve now got a star.’ But that’s all Roman, man. Roman’s the King.”
.@WWERomanReigns turns @WWE_Murphy INSIDE OUT with a ferocious spear! #SDLive https://t.co/rgleH3tRvp
Murphy went on to face Daniel Bryan and Mustafa Ali on SmackDown before moving to RAW, where he formed an alliance with Seth Rollins. The 33-year-old also appeared in storylines with Aleister Black and the Mysterio family during his time on WWE’s main roster.
Vince McMahon’s advice after watching Buddy Murphy vs. Roman Reigns
.@WWE_Murphy DROPS @WWERomanReigns with a VICIOUS knee strike! #SDLive https://t.co/6iCPPWFxxf
Midway through the match, Roman Reigns struck Buddy Murphy across the face and neck with a series of clotheslines next to the turnbuckle. Murphy kept both of his arms against the ropes as he received the punishment in the corner of the ring.
The Aussie superstar added that Vince McMahon told him after the match to protect himself in that situation in the future:
“The one feedback that Vince had on the match was that my hands were on the ropes.” Murphy continued, “If you’re getting hit in the face, your hands wouldn’t be on the ropes. And that stuck with me. It’s so true though. I would never normally do that, but it’s so true. It opened my eyes up. I’ll never do that again.”
Murphy received his release from WWE in June 2021 after eight years with the company. He has since competed in promotions around the world, including Major League Wrestling (MLW) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW).
Please credit Buddy Matthews’ SecretNoMore Twitch channel and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.