Tony Nese Beats Buddy Murphy, Wins Cruiserweight Title at WWE WrestleMania 35

Tony Nese beat Buddy Murphy at WrestleMania 35 from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday, to become cruiserweight champion for the first time.

Murphy was a moment away from retaining after hitting Nese with Murphy's Law. Nese got his foot on the bottom rope before the referee completed the three-count.

Looking to put the match away for good, Murphy positioned Nese for his own finisher, the Running Kneese. Nese instead stood up and superkicked Murphy before delivering a German suplex into the turnbuckle. From there, Nese landed the Running Kneese for the win.

Murphy entered WrestleMania with one of the longest cruiserweight title reigns since the championship was revived in 2016, rivaled only by Neville and Cedric Alexander.

After beating Alexander for the Cruiserweight Championship at WWE Super Show-Down in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia, on October 6, Murphy went on a remarkable run that saw him successfully defend the title against several of the top stars on 205 Live.

In an effort to find a worthy challenger for the Aussie at WrestleMania, 205 Live general manager Drake Maverick booked a tournament with the winner going on to face the champion for the title on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

It was reminiscent of last year when Alexander and Mustafa Ali faced off at WrestleMania in the finals of a tournament for the vacant Cruiserweight title that was won by the former.

Many of 205 Live's top talents were part of this year's tournament, but Nese somewhat surprisingly ran through it with wins over Kalisto and Drew Gulak before beating Alexander in the finals to become the new No. 1 contender.

While Nese has been part of 205 Live since the start, he hasn't often been in the Cruiserweight Championship scene. That made him something of an underdog in the tournament, but it was clear WWE wanted to go with someone different.

Also, there was a cool, built-in storyline with Nese being a Long Island, New York, native and getting to compete in his home region at WrestleMania.

Additionally, Nese and Murphy looked like a great matchup on paper since they are both hybrid athletes who are both incredibly strong and capable of wrestling the high-flying cruiserweight style in spurts.

The Premier Athlete entered The Show of Shows as the sentimental favorite because of his background and the fact that Murphy laid him out after he beat Alexander to become the No. 1 contender.

That fan support made for a feel-good moment when Nese won the title, and the stage is now set for him to potentially enter into a long-term feud with Murphy after they turned in a strong effort at WrestleMania.

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