Last night on SmackDown Live, a random metal scaffolding – a favored prop to be found backstage at WWE shows going back decades – nearly fell on Roman Reigns. While he dodged out of the way just in the nick of time, he was quite shaken up. In theory it could’ve been a freak accident. But odds seem good that someone purposefully caused this to try and take Roman out.
Roman Reigns is set to compete at SummerSlam, but an opponent has not yet been named. In fact Roman was just on his way to challenge someone when this incident occurred. With one week of shows to go before SummerSlam is upon us, it seems reasonable to assume that the one behind this will be revealed on the next episode of SmackDown. This would no doubt lead to a big match a week from Sunday.
So the question is… who? Who tried to attack Roman Reigns? Who will Roman presumably be facing at SummerSlam? Many logically assumed that Samoa Joe must be the culprit. It’d fit his violent MO, and the two have been feuding recently. But it could turn out to be someone altogether unexpected…
Potential spoilers ahead!
Funny thing, eagle eyed viewers took a comb through the replay of the accident and there actually is a little bit of evidence to be found. You can see a clip of this hilariously filmed stunt below for yourself:
Did you see it…? Well there might actually be a hint of him there, but the biggest clues here actually seem to stem from the segment just before a commercial break which saw Roman going down the hall.
You can see another figure further back in the hall:
WAS IT BUDDY MURPHY??!! 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱 #SDLive pic.twitter.com/mGiny40xlm
— Jacob Howard ジェイコブ (@JacobHoward2425) July 31, 2019
Come on Know y’all can clearly see that’s buddy Murphy or I’m blind it’s someone else 🤨 #SDLive pic.twitter.com/lFpUfFQ6Z9
— Cam (@thecarolinakid8) July 31, 2019
You can see from the tweets above that many are speculating that, surprisingly, it may well be Buddy Murphy behind the attack. Murphy began the year of 2019 as WWE Cruiserweight Champion and he was a great one to be sure. An exceptionally talented individual, Murphy really came into his own on 205 Live. But after losing the title at WrestleMania, he was quickly transitioned to the main roster and assigned to SmackDown… where he’s done frightfully little since.
Murphy’s absence from programming was jarring enough for him to be brought up by Kevin Owens when he was listing all the talented stars who weren’t getting opportunities thanks to Shane McMahon. Murphy did finally make an appearance shortly after during a segment where all the talent was on the stage and he called out Owens, declaring that he wouldn’t let anyone fight his battles for him.
Buddy Murphy likes to call himself the Best Kept Secret in WWE.
This of course refers to his incredible in-ring ability and how relatively few people seem to know of it. But it’d be a funny little parallel if he also happened to be the man behind this little secret, wouldn’t it?
To me, it seems very likely that it is indeed Buddy Murphy in those photos. It’s hard to say when you’re only seeing him from the back of the head, obviously. But the frame fits, and that certainly looks like his shirt:
Why did they bother calling up Buddy Murphy? #SDLive pic.twitter.com/MdgSZ5qtXd
— Jacob Gallant (@JHGallant) July 31, 2019
Now whether or not that means anything is up to you. But it is funny that another wrestler just happened to be hidden in a shot immediately before something like this occurred. And going up against someone like Roman would be a monumental first angle for a guy like him.
