Buddy Murphy Says WWE Dropped The Ball With Malakai Black

Former WWE star Buddy Murphy joined Insight With Chris Van Vliet to talk some wrestling. Murphy recently caused a stir with a photo of his new physique, which Murphy claims was a bit misleading.

"It was a strategically taken picture," Murphy pointed out. "I look a lot bigger than what I actually weigh. I don't hold much water, so if you take the water weight out, I'm maybe a little smaller. My last match in WWE, I think it was around WrestleMania Battle Royal, I was about 200lbs. But visually I look a lot bigger, it's just a number on the scale to me. Right now I am about 213-215. But I definitely gained size, my strength is really good at the moment. I had a bad mentality when it came to food, especially towards the end of my run in WWE. I would diet like crazy Monday to Friday, in hopes that maybe Friday is the day.

"I always wanted to be ready. I didn't want to be that guy where when his ticket is called, he is not ready. Also I have been training at a wrestling school for the last 6 months in case you need a 20 minute match that I can go. I've also spent more time in the gym so when I take my shirt off I look good. Every time is like a job interview, you just don't know. But then you get to Friday, you don't see your name on the sheet and you binge eat on the weekend. Then Monday comes and it starts again. So I'm eating more now, nothing has changed except for being ultra lean heading into a TV taping. I'm not binging and on a bad cycle."

Murphy was also asked about another former WWE star, Malakai Black, who debuted on AEW Dynamite just a week ago. The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion is thrilled for his friend, even if Black didn't inform him ahead of time.

"It's awesome that he gets to go over there," Murphy said. "He's going to do his thing and do what he wants to do, right? I feel like WWE dropped the ball with him. I've been in the ring with him, I know first hand how good he is. I'm excited for him. He didn't tell me, he kept it pretty low-low. And I was talking to him the day he debuted and he didn't tell me. Only good things for him in the future."

With WWE owning the rights to the Buddy Murphy name, it will require him to use a new name when he makes his return following the expiration of his noncompete clause. Murphy has put some thought into his new name, though he didn't reveal it just yet.

"I've thought about it," Murphy revealed. "I'll probably release that later on as a big reveal, kind of like a package. I'm sure it's going to get people that agree with it and people that disagree with it. You're never going to win everyone and that's the thing. But I'll probably release it, we have a project that we're probably going to get to next week so I'm excited about that."

As has become custom with recently released WWE stars, Murphy was asked what his next move in wrestling would be. Murphy, who has expressed interest in wrestling AEW Champion Kenny Omega in the past, played it coy, while praising what he's seen from Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor.

"I'm excited for the possibility," Murphy said. "I think I could do some great stuff in IMPACT, I've got friends there like Sami Callihan. I'm pretty sure I wrestled like 9 dark matches on NXT with Sami Callihan in a row. Ring of Honor, some of my guys and my friends from back home are with Ring of Honor. That excites me, being with some people that I used to ride the streets with in Australia. It's exciting but it's an unknown. I have just under 2 months left, so we'll see what comes."

You can watch the full interview below.