Although not becoming a household name with a million-dollar contract, there are many independent wrestlers who have built respectable careers to be proud of. One of them was Matt Murphy, author of the autobiography, "The Somebody Obsession".
Matt Murphy's promotional blurb says, "Many stars have shared their success stories in the crowded genre of professional wrestling autobiographies. But for every star there are a hundred also-rans, those of us who fell short of our dreams. We, too, have a story to tell. In my autobiography, THE SOMEBODY OBSESSION: A NOBODY'S DESPERATE JOURNEY TO STARDOM, I reveal how I overcame an impoverished, troubled childhood to live my lifelong dream of becoming a professional wrestler. I had to succeed; failure meant damnation back into the white-trash hell from which I came. While self-medicating the scars of my tormented youth with sex, booze, and wrestling, I reached for the stars and could feel them at my fingertips before my amazing ride crashed to an abrupt end. My story is THE BULLPEN GOSPELS meets I HOPE THEY SERVE BEER IN HELL. Funny and poignant, it is an inspirational and cautionary tale for anyone who dares to dream. It is about overcoming challenges and shows that the dreamer's biggest obstacle is often the one that stares back at him in the mirror."
Matt Murphy was trained by legend Harley Race and was the first graduate of the Harley Race Wrestling Academy. Murphy began his pro-wrestling career in 1999 at World League Wrestling (WLW), a Missouri-based promotion that was founded by Race. After having a seven-month winning streak that included a victory over former WCW star Bobby Eaton, Murphy later went on to be a foundational part of WLW's tag-team division. Along with becoming the inaugural co-holder of the WLW Tag Team Championship after it was established in 2001, he held it two additional times.
Matt Murphy became lead instructor of WLW in 2000 and, as a standout in the promotion, earned two opportunities to appear in WWE in 2001, as well as tenures in the Japan-based NOAH in 2001 and 2002, which included being trained there and participating in the inaugural GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship tournament. In addition, he wrestled in IWA MS in 2002 and participated in that year's Ted Petty Invitational.
Being able to seamlessly transition between the polished style of WWE, the King's Road / Strong Style of NOAH, and the gritty style of IWA MS showed how versatile a performer Murphy was in the ring and why his "All That" nickname was fitting.
You've read the stories from performers who have been on major supercards and at the top of the pro-wrestling industry. "The Somebody Obsession" gives you the perspective of a wrestler who had a different form of success in the business, as they also discuss the difficulties that they experienced along the way.
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