by Daniel Johnson

John Wayne Murdoch vs. Josh Crow

This match from the Indiana based Evolution Pro Wrestling (EPW) took place just last month at EPW Up to the Task. The bout has an intimate setting with a small crowd, which leads to the heel, John Wayne Murdoch, getting heckled relentlessly, which really boosts the entertainment value of this clip.

Murdoch is a wrestler originally from Tennessee who like a more famous stocky southern wrestler, Dusty Rhodes has a unique pattern on his gut. Whereas Rhodes looked to have a big splotch of dried semen (evidence) , Murdoch has a far less disturbing three dots. Rather than focusing on dried semen too much in this post though, perhaps what is more important to note is how well Murdoch can work a crowd. Although early on Murdoch gets walloped by Josh Crow with moves like a hurricanrana, some arm drags and a stiff sounding soccer kick, Murdoch doesn’t let that get him down. Minutes later Murdoch is belittling the crowd with his boasts of, “I’m taking the time to tell you I’m the best. I’m the best. I am the best wrestler here.” Purposely repetitive for sure and the crowd eats it up right before Murdoch eats a suicide dive.

Then you have the heckling, which in conjunction with Murdoch’s heel work takes this bout to another level. Yes, for all the choking, hair pulling and other heel tactics pulled from Professional Wrestling 101, Murdoch gets called on it. Some of the standouts include, “You have hair, you should have empathy,” “You better count that pinfall you scoundrel ref,” and the hall of fame heckle, “You’re like The Grinch only your heart never grows. It’s just a shiny little cat turd in your chest.” Unfortunately, an attempt to start a “cat turd” chant is unsuccessful.

Murdoch is also surprisingly agile given his build, which he demonstrates at the end of the match by finishing Crow off with a sunset flip into a piledriver from the ropes.

Murdoch has been having a banner year as aside from EPW he also recently debuted for Beyond Wrestling. Most recently at the Beyond Wrestling Sleeper Cell Music City Taping (full results here) just days ago Murdoch wrestled a whopping three matches against Sugar Dunkerton, Mikey McFinnegan and Shank Barzini, respectively.

For the full results of EPW Up to the Task click here.

For some more action from Indiana click here and here.

Categories: Wrestling Clips

Tags: Beyond Wrestling, Beyond Wrestling Sleeper Cell Music City Taping, BW, Dusty Rhodes, EPW, EPW (Indiana), EPW Up to the Task, Indiana, John Wayne Murdoch, Josh Crow, Mikey McFinnegan, Professional Wrestling 101, Shank Barzini, Sugar Dunkerton, Tennessee, The Grinch