WWE Cruiserweight Champion Buddy Murphy def. Kalisto, Akira Tozawa and Hideo Itami (Fatal 4-Way Match)

PHOENIX — If the Cruiserweight Champion has proven anything during his extraordinary reign it’s this: anybody who can be defeated by Buddy Murphy, will be defeated by Buddy Murphy.

The musclebound Aussie beat not one, not two, but three of 205 Live’s most talented competitors on Royal Rumble Kickoff to maintain his grip on the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.

Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Kalisto couldn’t get it done, although he was the most creative combatant by a wide margin, utilizing his lucha background to use his opponents’ momentum against them and, in some cases, turn them into literal springboards for his own maneuvers.

Former champion Akira Tozawa was also no-go, despite a go-for-broke strategy that saw The Stamina Monster go high-risk at every possible opportunity, his war cries echoing through Chase Field as he threw caution to the wind.

Hideo Itami had the best strategy of the three challengers, playing into the quirks of a Fatal 4-Way by waiting until the competition had tired before making his move. He was gritty, too, kicking out of Kalisto’s Salida del Sol during a frantic scramble in the waning moments of the match.

Murphy’s raw power, however, was the deciding factor. The Best-Kept Secret escaped Itami’s Go to Sleep in a climactic slugfest with the hard-hitting legend, blasted his foe with several knees to the face — and then a few more for good measure — before quickly executing Murphy’s Law. That was enough to continue a reign of dominance that has long since passed a coincidence or a trend and is fast closing in on a law of nature.