WWE SmackDown: 5 reasons why Ali defeated Buddy Murphy to progress in the King of the Ring Tournament
Last week, Cesaro and Samoa Joe gave us a near A-grade match on WWE Raw for the King of the Ring tournament. While it would have been difficult for another duo to top their effort, Ali and Buddy Murphy rose up to the occasion on SmackDown Live this week.
As expected, the two superstars killed it between the ropes and gave fans the match of the night in a fantastic display of skill and athleticism. Both men have had several matches on 205 Live against each other, which has helped them build great chemistry in the ring.
With Ali riding on the momentum he has built over the past year and Murphy fresh off a victory over Daniel Bryan, it was difficult to predict who’d win the match to progress in the tournament.
Ultimately, it was Ali who managed to pull off the victory, progressing to the quarterfinals where he will take on Elias.
In this article, we'll look at the 5 reasons why Ali defeated Buddy Murphy to advance into the quarterfinals of the tournament.
#1 Buddy Murphy could continue to be a part of the Roman Reigns storyline
Roman Reigns’ mystery attacker storyline may not have been as interesting as it is now had the fans not spread rumors on the internet due to eagle eyes. One of the beneficiaries of this storyline is Buddy Murphy who was able to receive a huge push thanks to fans spotting him at the ‘scene of the crime’.
Not only did it allow Murphy to finally start getting screen time, but it also enabled him to get a match on the pre-show of SummerSlam, a match against Roman Reigns, and a match against Daniel Bryan which allowed him to score the biggest clean victory of his career!
Since Murphy has benefited so much from this storyline, it is expected that he will remain part of it for a while longer to keep fans invested.
With that in mind, it makes sense to have Murphy get eliminated from the tournament, bringing his focus back to the storyline, while Ali moves on and possibly becomes the King of the Ring in the coming weeks.