The controversial romance angle between Murphy and Aalyah Mysterio on Friday Night SmackDown has been well received backstage, according to Ringside News . However, it’s still a divisive storyline among the company’s fans.
The WWE Universe took to social media and expressed their issues with the angle after the latest show, which featured a segment where Aalyah kissed Murphy and declared her love for him.
Aalyah is 19 years old and Murphy is 32. The age difference has been deemed inappropriate by some viewers. While the superstars are within their legal rights to pursue a relationship with each other, the age gap has caused some fans to question WWE’s creative decisions.
“It’s not that Buddy Murphy is 32 and Aalyah Mysterio is 19. It’s that when Buddy Murphy was 19, Aalyah was [six]. There’s perspective for you,” one fan tweeted .
“Some of y’all will make the argument that both Aalyah and Murphy are old enough, however when you look at the giant gap in how old they are, it’s still uncomfortable to watch their story unfold,” noted a second Twitter user.
“I was thinking about that Aalyah/Murphy segment last night and it got me laughing because Rey Mysterio has to give Murphy the ‘father protecting his daughter’ beating. I think that would make me feel better about this,” tweeted another viewer.
Some fans on Twitter noted that WWE is trying to turn Murphy into a babyface in his feud with Seth Rollins. However, some of them have found themselves siding with the heel as they feel the romance is too inappropriate.
Aalyah’s father and brother don’t approve of her crush on television, mainly due to the fact that Murphy used to be aligned with Rollins, their biggest rival. A showdown between Murphy and the Mysterios could be on the cards in the coming weeks.
The Ringside News article stated that last night’s televised segment was highly praised behind the scenes. Vince McMahon was reportedly among the biggest fans of how it turned out.
This may have also convinced the company to offer Aalyah a full-time deal. As The Inquisitr recently documented, she’s working on a per-appearance agreement at the moment.
Ringside News also pointed out that Triple H was the mastermind of the kissing development. “The Game” has overseen the SmackDown creative team for the last two episodes, and his contributions have supposedly been positive.
Head writer Bruce Pritchard has also been absent from the blue brand’s latest tapings. This has led to speculation that Triple H will be more involved in the running of the show moving forward.