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Murphy's character on WWE television has certainly had several directions over recent months. The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion has gone from being a disciple of Seth Rollins, to a love interest of Rey Mysterio's daughter, and back to possibly being a disciple of the SmackDown savior once more. Without a doubt, it has been a stop-start, confusing time for Murphy on WWE television.
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Now that we are firmly on the road to WrestleMania, questions are beginning to be asked about what is next for the former RAW Tag Team Champion on SmackDown. What program or storyline will Murphy be featured in for the showcase of the immortals? Is Murphy still a babyface siding with the Mysterio family, or is he once again a villianous heel, alligning himself with Seth Rollins?
Let's take a closer look at 5 possible directions for Murphy heading towards WrestleMania 37.
#5 Enter the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WWE WrestleMania 37
The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal is a WrestleMania tradition. Since being established in 2014 at WrestleMania XXX, the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal serves as a vehicle to get as many WWE Superstars booked on the WrestleMania card as possible.
While the winner of the match could possibly be in line for a push on WWE television in the future, the match allows WWE Superstars who previously might not have been booked for WrestleMania to collect a WrestleMania payday. The WrestleMania paycheck is usually the biggest of the year for any WWE Superstar, therefore WWE does its best to get as many talents on the card as possible. This is achieved by booking multi-person matches such as battle royals.
While there can sometimes be over-arching storylines heading into the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, the field is usually filled with WWE Superstars that don't have any major storyline heading into WrestleMania.
Unfortunately, this may be the case for Murphy in 2021. It would appear that Murphy is a bit of a lost character on SmackDown right now. The romantic angle with Aalyah Mysterio was suddenly and inexplicably dropped from TV, and Murphy once again appears to be a heel on SmackDown. This is an indicator that WWE creative aren't sure what to do with the former Cruiserweight Champion right now. This makes it likely that Murphy may be destined for a battle royal spot on the grandest stage of them all.
#4 Teaming with Seth Rollins at WWE WrestleMania 37
Now that the WWE romance angle between Murphy and Aalyah Mysterio has been dropped, it would appear that the former disciple is once again ready to embrace the vision of Seth Rollins.
After disappearing from WWE television at the end of 2020, Murphy returned to Friday Night SmackDown earlier this month and offered his services to the SmackDown Savior. Despite being rebuffed by his former Messiah, Murphy appears keen to get back into the good graces of Rollins. Could this be an indication that Murphy is once again set to team up with Seth Rollins in the future?
Seth Rollins took Murphy under his wing as his disciple in January 2020. Rollins promised Murphy that he could help him overcome any obstacles as long as he embraced Rollins' vision for WWE RAW.
In addition to assisting Seth Rollins during the former Universal Champion's singles matches, Murphy would regularly team up with him in tag team matches. This eventually led to a RAW Tag Team Championship reign for Seth Rollins and Murphy.
Heading into WrestleMania, could Murphy be set to team up with his former Messiah once again? Perhaps Murphy could team up with Seth Rollins to once again challenge the father and son duo of Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio.
#3 Challenge for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship at WrestleMania 37
Murphy's introduction to the WWE main roster came as a result of joining the cruiserweight division. Frustrated with his lack of opportunities to move from WWE NXT to Monday Night RAW or SmackDown LIVE, Murphy dropped 25 pounds and asked to compete on the 205 Live brand in 2018.
Murphy was an instant hit on the show and quickly rose up the ranks to become the number one contender for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Murphy eventually defeated Cedric Alexander at WWE Super Show-Down in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia to capture the Cruiserweight Championship. This marked Murphy's first singles title of his WWE career. He also became the first Australian man to ever hold a singles championship in WWE.
With opportunities appearing to be limited for Murphy on SmackDown, perhaps the former Cruiserweight Champion will head back to his roots in the cruiserweight division. Since the time when Murphy was the champion, the cruiserweight division has become exclusive to NXT with the title being rebranded as the NXT Cruiserweight Championship. Nevertheless, who's to say that Murphy won't once again head to 205 Live to attempt to become a two-time Cruiserweight Champion?
Of course, there is no guarantee that the Cruiserweight Championship will be defended on the WrestleMania 37 card. In fact, NXT TakeOver seems more likely. However, should Murphy once again declare himself a challenger for the championship, perhaps this will lead to WWE featuring the title on the grandest stage of them all.
#2 Face Seth Rollins at WWE WrestleMania 37
Since returning to WWE television, Murphy has once again attempted to get into the good graces of Seth Rollins. The former disciple of the SmackDown Savior is once again suggesting he is willing to embrace and believe in the former WWE Universal Champion's vision for Friday Night SmackDown and WWE.
However, this could be one big plan of deception by Murphy. After being a loyal follower of Seth Rollins for the majority of 2020, Murphy eventually split from the SmackDown Savior and began a romantic angle with Aalyah Mysterio. This was shocking since the Mysterio family had been in a vicious rivalry with Seth Rollins and Murphy for most of 2020.
However, the Mysterio family eventually accepted Murphy, who turned babyface in the process. Murphy began a brief rivalry with Seth Rollins, defeating Rollins on an episode of SmackDown.
Therefore, one can't blame the Seth Rollins character for being suspicious of Murphy's sudden change of heart. Perhaps this is all one big plan of deceit by Murphy which will eventually lead to a WrestleMania match between Seth Rollins and himself.
A match against Rollins would without a doubt be the biggest match of Murphy's WWE career to date. The story of teacher vs. student has been told since the beginning of time and would serve as a fitting storyline for Rollins and Murphy to tell on the grandest stage of them all.
#1 Challenge Rey Mysterio at WWE WrestleMania 37
Many within the WWE Universe were shocked when WWE began presenting a romantic angle between Murphy and Aalyah Mysterio in 2020. Aalyah, who is 14 years Murphy's junior, is the daughter of WWE legend Rey Mysterio. Seth Rollins, with Murphy by his side, had been feuding with Rey Mysterio and his son Dominik for the majority of 2020 and even assisted Rollins in attacking Mysterio on several occassions.
Despite the initial skepticismby Rey, Dominik and Angie Mysterio, the family eventually approved of the budding relationship between the former Cruiserweight Champion and Aalyah.
Murphy eventually began teaming with Rey and Dominik Mysterio and often accompanied the family to ringside during matches and segments. However, WWE quietly dropped the romance angle at the end of 2020 and has not spoken about it since.
Murphy subsequently returned to WWE television, seemingly as a heel once again, and is attempting to pair-up with Seth Rollins. Perhaps this could lead to Murphy feuding with the Mysterio family and facing either Rey or Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 37.
Murphy could claim that the Mysterio family used him to get to Seth Rollins. He could allege that Aalyah Mysterio used him in an effort to help her career as an actress, gaining television exposure in the process.
This war of words could then set-up a WrestleMania showdown between Murphy and Aalyah's father, the patriarch of the Mysterio family, Rey Mysterio.
