Unexpected title change earns Buddy Murphy his first championship on the main roster
The WWE Universe was treated to not one, but two championship matches Monday Night Raw's go-home show before the Royal Rumble. Earlier on in the night, Rey Mysterio faced Andrade for the United States Championship in a ladder match. Prior to that, though, the gauntlet was laid down by Buddy Murphy and Seth Rollins, challenging the Viking Raiders for the Raw Tag Team Titles later on.
Buddy Murphy has been a part of some of the best matches on Raw in the past year. His series with Aleister Black was phenomenal, with both men improving more and more each time. Sadly for the Best Kept Secret, he failed to pick up a single win against the Striking Man from Amsterdam.
Last week, after aligning himself with Seth Rollins and AOP, it looked like he'd found a purpose again. Following his third loss against, Black, it seemed that he'd lost all hope, but that couldn't be further from the truth a week later. Murphy oozed confidence, and even started the title bout off, hoping to impress the Monday Night Messiah.
Seth Rollins & Buddy Murphy win the RAW Tag Team Titles
Both sides of the ring had brought back up with them. Rollins & Murphy obviously had the Authors of Pain, while the Viking Raiders were accompanied by Samoa Joe and Kevin Owens. The four men eventually brawled through the arena and to the back, leaving just the competitors in the ring.
Thanks to some underhanded tactics by Rollins, Murphy was able to secure a victory, pinning Erik after a nasty stomp from the former Universal Champion. With that, Murphy secured his first championship on the main roster. Though he was a champion before hand, he'd only held gold on 205 Live and NXT before the black & gold brand was on the USA Network.