WWE Mid-Year Awards for 2019 

Underrated Performer of the half year - Buddy Murphy

Most of his title defenses went under the radar on pre-shows.

In order to understand why Murphy wins this, I'll just start by asking - do you always watch the pre-shows of PPVs or do you ignore them?

I'll admit to watching them sometimes, but after an amazing match at Super ShowDown last year in which he won the title from Cedric Alexander, I made sure to watch his matches.

While most Cruiserweights are either high-flyers or strikers, Murphy was everything in a single package. He often looked bigger than his opponents, but with the limit being 205 lbs (I'm sure they don't always abide by that rule) he was eligible.

His defense in a Fatal Four Way at the Royal Rumble against Hideo Itami, Akira Tozawa and Kalisto was one of the best matches of the show. His match against Tozawa at Elimination Chamber was just as memorable, including a spot off of the top rope where he countered a move mid-air.

Although he lost to Tony Nese at WrestleMania 35, it was probably done because he was going to be moved to SmackDown Live. While he hasn't performed on SmackDown just yet, it's just a matter of time until he will likely stop being underrated.