Buddy Murphy Matthew Adams ( September 26 , 1988 ) is an Australia n professional wrestler . He is signed to WWE , where he is working in their developmental territory NXT under the ring name Buddy Murphy ( shortened to Murphy between January 2015 and June 2016 ) . Professional wrestling career . Pro Championship Wrestling ( 2007 - 2011 ) . Matthew made his debut on a PCW Slam show in 2007 as Matt Silva prior to appearing in a tag match on a main show teaming with Jacko Lantern in which they defeated Adam Brooks & Diaz . He took a break for a few years and fight again in 2010 . He won the PCW State Title at PCW Xmas Chaos , defeating Danny Psycho . He held the title for 8 days as he was beaten by Psycho in a rematch . His last match was a Tables match against Jacko Lantern , however he returned to PCW various times for short feuds or one off matches , being his feud / singles and last man standing match against his protoge Adam Brooks , the pair went on to team up against the PCW Tag Team Champions , " Fulli Syck " , in Silva ' s last PCW match and the last time " Team Silva " wrestled together . Pro Wrestling Alliance ( 2008 - 2010 ) . Matthew debuted on January 3 show in losing effort in a Six Way Scramble to Lightning Luke . At PWA Unbreakable he challenged for the PWA A1GP Title against then champ Robbie Eagles but lost . His last match consisted of him winning a cross promotional match between MCW and PWA with him representing MCW . Slam Factory Wrestling ( 2010 ) . He made his debut on February 6 show in a losing effort to Ryan Rollins . His last match ended in a no contest with Chris Trance . Riot City Wrestling ( 2010 - 2011 ) . Matthew debuted on October 2 in a winning effort in a tag match teaming with Adam Brooks to defeat GD Grimm and Jacko Lantern . At RCW Reanimated he challenged Jacko Lantern for RCW Heavyweight title to lose . His last match was a loss in a six way tag match Six Way to GD Grimm team . National Wrestling Alliance and Wrestling Rampage ( 2010 ) . Matthew debuted on January 16 in losing effort to Greg Graham . His last match was be a win against Mike Petersen . Melbourne City Wrestling ( 2010 - 2013 ) . Matt debuted on October 16 winning against Sean O Shea . He challenged for the main title against Danny Psycho but lost the match . At MCW November Reign Ryan Matthew lost a Tables match against Ryan Rollins . Matthew once again challenged for the MCW Heavyweight Title and won defeating then champion Slex at MCW Vendetta . Matthew defeated Slex in the rematch . Matthew successfully defended his title against Sonjay Dutt at MCW New Horizons . He successfully defended the title three more times until he was beaten by Mike Petersen at MCW Worlds Collide . After losing in the rematch he wrestled his last match against Adam Brooks on April 13 , 2013 which he lost . This was Matt ' s last match in Australia before taking up his WWE Developmental contract . Explosive Pro Wrestling ( 2012 ) . His first and last match was a win in a 6 - man tag against Marcius Pitt , Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste . World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE ( 2013 - present ) . WWE NXT ( 2013 - present ) . On 17 March 2013 Silva signed a development contract with WWE . He reported to NXT and started training under the name Buddy Murphy . He made his WWE debut at a NXT live event on 23 November 2013 , teaming with Sawyer Fulton and Troy McClain against Angelo Dawkins , Colin Cassady and Wesley Blake . Murphy made his televised debut on " NXT " 15 May 2014 , teaming with Elias Samson in a losing effort against The Ascension . In August 2014 , Murphy formed a tag team with Wesley Blake . On the August 14 episode of NXT , they were defeated in the first round of a number one contender tag team tournament by Kalisto and Sin Cara , later known as the Lucha Dragons . For the rest of 2014 , Blake and Murphy lost multiple matches to the Lucha Dragons and the Vaudevillains ( Simon Gotch and Aiden English ) . Blake and Murphy were once referred to as Team Thick in October , but that name was dropped in later episodes . Also in October 2014 , Blake and Murphy lost a number one contender tag team battle royal , being eliminated by the Ascension . On the January 28th , 2015 edition of NXT , Blake and Murphy defeated champions the Lucha Dragons to win the NXT Tag Team Championship , making Murphy the first Australian to hold a championship within the WWE . He and Blake held the titles until August 22 , 2015 when they were defeated by The Vaudevillains . Personal life . Adams has a background that includes bungee jumping , rock climbing and swimming with great whales . Adams announced on Instagram in January 2017 that he is engaged to fellow wrestler Alexis Kaufman , better known by her ring name Alexa Bliss .