So, Buddy Murphy and Aalyah Mysterio, huh?
I don't watch RAW (and SmackDown) in its entirety weekly. But I sort of kept a close eye on developments surrounding the Murphy/Aalyah storyline after their little moment during the Sept. 14 episode of RAW. I just had a bad feeling that WWE might be brewing up a romantic-yet-predatory storyline involving the two.
Before anything, I want to point out that Aalyah is 19 and Murphy is 32—that's a 13-year age gap involving a teenager, regardless if she's already of legal age. You can counter that they have "fictional ages" in the show, but Aalyah explicitly told her dad Rey Mysterio, "I'm 19 now!" and Murphy had his year of birth (1988) on his gear during his run as Cruiserweight Champion.
If you think there's nothing wrong with that, close this article. But if you're willing to know why it's slightly disturbing, then welcome.
Witness the aftermath from the #SteelCage encounter between @WWERollins & @35_Dominik on #WWERaw. pic.twitter.com/UPOh70KYua
— WWE (@WWE) September 15, 2020
After winning a steel cage match against Dominik Mysterio, Seth Rollins attacked his henchman Buddy Murphy for almost costing him the match. The Mysterio family later went inside the ring to check up on Dominik. Meanwhile, the camera briefly stopped at Aalyah as she crouched down next to Murphy and put her hand on his shoulder.
The moment was quick, but it was enough for wrestling fans to speculate on a Murphy/Aalyah romance. Wrestling Observer Radio's Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez even made guesses as to whether the youngest Mysterio would get with either Murphy or Seth. The fact that two grown men were discussing pairings instead of the potentially predatory nature of the storyline is beyond me. But I digress.
Granted, the storyline was still up in the air at the time. I had hoped that, by some miracle, WWE would scrap it because they realized that it was a bad idea. BUT NOPE.
For two straight weeks, Seth has been exposing Aalyah and Murphy's interactions to create tension within the Mysterio family. The latest was a series of texts where Murphy reached out after Aalyah's argument with her dad Rey Mysterio. "[I]f you want to talk about it, I'm here," Murphy's text read.
👀 👀 👀#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/ucrEkrAQ50
— WWE (@WWE) September 29, 2020
Oh, but Jackie, what if he was *really* being friendly? You know, like an older brother to Aalyah. You don't have to put malice into something that isn't there.
Yes, theoretically, Aalyah and Murphy could simply be platonic in this storyline and Seth could just be a dick. I'm also aware that this arc in the (seemingly endless) Seth vs. Mysterio Family debacle is still in its early stages, and that it can still go a different direction from the romantic angle that people are expecting. However, the fact that we don't know what's going to happen and yet, we already have people thinking Aalyah and Murphy having an onscreen May-December relationship is normal.
One example is Alexa Bliss, who said she doesn't blame her ex Murphy for shooting his shot in this storyline. When fans tried to tell her that the potential pairing is low-key predatory, Alexa seemingly justified it by comparing it with her 10-year age gap with boyfriend Ryan Cabrera. She has also dismissed accusations that she's promoting alleged pedophilia (note: term-wise, it's not "pedophilia," but that's another discussion), saying she's not aware of Aalyah's age and that she's only expressing support for Murphy.
WE GOT YOU ON CANDID MOTHERFUCKIN CAMERA @AlexaBliss_WWE pic.twitter.com/K1stWN0CyC
— #1 Chris Cuomo Stan (@bankintyre) September 29, 2020
Do I Know her or her age? No. Was I trying to be supportive of Murphy? Yes. Back off and calm down ppl. Just happy Murphy is getting the success he’s worked for. That’s all 🤷🏼♀️ be bothered by something else ✌🏻 https://t.co/AuBYaltYqa
— Lexi Kaufman (@AlexaBliss_WWE) September 29, 2020
Here's the thing: I acknowledge that there are couples whose relationships work out despite a big age gap. But there's a difference when someone in their 30s or older starts dating—or in this case, gets paired up with—a 19-year-old compared to going for someone who's, let's say, in their late 20s. You have to consider that their mental ages are different even though they're both adults by society's standards. It also means that a younger person may be easier to manipulate.
If you still can't grasp how weird this is, just imagine Leonardo DiCaprio, 45, exclusively dating women who aren't older than 25. Or how about Vic Sotto, who married Pauleen Luna, whom he first met as a child in 1995. It's the fact that they were already fully grown adults when their partners were still minors. Here's a Saturday Night Live sketch that portrays this type of cradle snatching in the most absurd-yet-so-real way possible:
Back to the Murphy-Aalyah storyline, I can think of three ways this could go:
- They stay platonic, but I wouldn't go as far as to say their relationship would be like "an older brother guiding his younger sister." That would be like Drake texting Millie Bobby Brown "I miss you" and giving her dating advice. Perhaps Murphy can be a Mysterio family bodyguard? IDK.
- It's revealed that Seth and Murphy were just manipulating Aalyah to create a rift within the Mysterio family. This would either emotionally scar Aalyah in the story or infuriate her enough to maul them with a kendo stick again.
- WWE pulls the trigger on the love story, which won't be a good look for the company, most especially since they haven't properly addressed the issues of alleged grooming and sexual assault surrounding Velveteen Dream and Matt Riddle. As of writing, Riddle, as per his lawyer, filed a civil lawsuit against his accuser "for her continued false and defamatory statements that our client sexually assaulted her."
As pessimistic as this may sound, I'm honestly leaning towards the second possibility. I just want Murphy away from Aalyah. Give her the acting career push she reportedly wants. Just don't put her in the middle of this PR nightmare of a storyline that might further normalize adults creeping on teens.
Photo from WWE
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Jackie Arias is a writer and former content creator for a feminist lifestyle website. Aside from casually catching up on wrestling news, you can find her listening to music and playing video games she can never finish while drinking copious amounts of coffee. Her Twitter and CuriousCat are open for story suggestions and comments—or photos of your cats.
