Ex-WWE champ Trevor Murdoch is enjoying his time in NWA: ‘They’re not a bunch of f---ing p---ies’
Murdoch was a three-time tag-team champion in WWE before moving on to new projects
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Trevor Murdoch burst onto the pro wrestling scene in 2005 when he teamed with the late Lance Cade and eventually won the WWE World Tag Team Championship three times.
While Murdoch hasn’t performed in WWE for more than a decade, he still rode an incredible wave of success on the independent scene and in Total Nonstop Action. Murdoch retired from pro wrestling in 2018 but came back to the squared circle for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 2019 and appeared in the company’s very first taping of "NWA Powerrr."
Murdoch ascended to the top of the promotion, winning the NWA National Heavyweight Championship over Aron Stevens and holding onto the belt for more than 180 days before losing to Chris Adonis.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In 2021, Murdoch became the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion when he defeated Nick Aldis. He held the title for 167 days before losing it to Matt Cardona. He won again a few months later but lost it at Hard Times 3 to current champion Tyrus.
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Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins is the owner of the National Wrestling Alliance. (Medios y Media/Getty Images)
"I always, as a wrestler, have always wanted the company that had a boss that just trusted me. To give me opportunities, to let me fail. Billy (Corgan) and the NWA have done that," Murdoch told Fox News Digital in a recent interview when asked about his time so far at the company.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They have given me the opportunities to go out there, and I tell them what I can do and what I’m gonna do in these matches. And they go, ‘OK, go do it.’ And they give me opportunities to prove that I’m a good wrestler. That I’m willing to go out there and put on a hell of a show and entertain these folks. Whereas, when I’ve worked for other companies, I haven’t gotten those opportunities.
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"The other situation too is, like, they talk to me. They ask guys’ advice. They treat me like I’m a part of the team. And when you treat me like that, I become the most loyal individual you’ll ever have. I’ll take a bullet for you. If I know that you’re willing to be there for me, to work hard for me and give me every opportunity, then I return that in loyalty. That’s where I’m at with the NWA, and I’ll probably most likely end my career here."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Murdoch said that he couldn’t nail down just one moment from his time in WWE to call his favorite.
Trevor Murdoch enters the ring with tag-team partner Mike Knox. (NWA/Hiban Huerta)
He and Cade had matches against the Big Show and Kane, Charlie Haas and Viscera and even teamed with Edge to take on D-Generation X. But working with Matt and Jeff Hardy was probably tops for him.
"It’s hard to nail down any one, like, amazing moment. My time with WWE when I got to wrestle The Hardys – you talk about two guys that are just so over in life and in the ring," he said. "So, when you go out there to wrestle, as soon as you punch those guys (you hear) ‘boo!’
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"As soon as they punch back, (you hear) ‘yay!’ It was so easy. It made our match so much fun and exciting. And the creativity with those guys, especially with Matt, is unparalleled to anybody else. They’re one of the best tag teams in the business. So (Lance Cade) and I, when we were in the WWE, man, that was so much fun."
However, he said NWA has gone really well.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Here in the NWA, I don’t have any major, like, favorite moment. The whole thing to me is favorable," he told Fox News Digital. "I’m getting into the ring with like-minded individuals that, I may get crucified, they’re not a bunch of f---ing p---ies.
"I don’t know how to explain it. I apologize for my language, but I’ve hit some of these guys really hard, and they didn’t come back complaining and whining. They wanted more. And that’s the type of wrestling that I want to deliver to the people. That hard-nosed, bring them to the woodshed, just knock the crap out of each other, old-school pro wrestling."
Trevor Murdoch and Mike Knox are teaming together. (NWA/Hiban Huerta)
"NWA Powerrr" is another show on an ever-growing wrestling menu.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Weekly, fans can tune into five WWE shows, two AEW shows, Impact Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling and NWA. Not to mention Triple A, CMLL, Ring of Honor and Major League Wrestling among others.
Murdoch told Fox News Digital why wrestling fans should give "Powerrr" a chance on YouTube.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"NWA is definitely a different slice of pro wrestling. We take pro wrestling and bring it back to its original form, and that’s two opponents going in there and beating the hell out of each other," he said. "Whereas, with a lot of wrestling you watch today, it’s very acrobatic. And those guys are great athletes. Wonderful, great, great athletes. But you lose a certain sense of believability when you take a big bump and get right back up, and you’re running around like you were never affected.
"When you watch an NWA match, first and foremost, you can look at the opponents and know that they’re adults and that they got some experience in life and that they’ve been somewhere. And then most likely those two adults are going to go in there and beat the hell out of each other. And who don’t like watching that?"
Trevor Murdoch delivers the leg drop. (NWA/Hiban Huerta)
Murdoch said the industry as a whole is better for it because of the number of promotions around right now.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Right now, pro wrestling is probably the hottest it’s been in 20-plus years, 15-plus years. There used to be a time when there was only one real wrestling to watch, and we all would have to watch it if we wanted to because we ultimately had no other choice. That was WWE after they took over WCW, and there was a long period of nothing but WWE.
"Now, though, you’ve got all these varieties of pro wrestling. You’ve got New Japan, you’ve got Triple A, you’ve got AEW, you’ve got WWE, you’ve got NWA, you’ve got Impact. As a wrestling fan, it’s the greatest time because literally if you have a certain style of pro wrestling, even that hardcore s--- from that deathmatch stuff, you can go on TV and find your style of pro wrestling and watch nothing but that. Whereas before you didn’t have those options. With having so many places, so many wrestling companies, there’s plenty of places for wrestling to work. And that’s good for everybody."
Trevor Murdoch teams up with Mike Knox for the Crockett Cup. (NWA/Hiban Huerta)
Murdoch is teamed up with Mike Knox as they look to win the Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup. Tyrus and Adonis are also in the tournament along with other tag teams.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Murdoch told Fox News Digital he hopes to be holding the trophy with Knox when it’s all said and done. The Crockett Cup will take place June 3-4 at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds Annex in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
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"That’s something, personally, I would like to do. Historically, I would like to do," Murdoch said. "As a young man, I’ve watched that tournament throughout the years and some major names come through that tournament. I really, really want to be a part of it."