LETHAL VS MURDOCH: More Than Just A Match To Me

I just found out that I will be a special guest commentator for Pro Wrestling Magic on December 20, 2025 at the East Rutherford YMCA in East Rutherford, NJ at Kingdom Come X for a very special contest: Teacher Vs Student.

In a match nearly 20 years in the making, Jay Lethal will be facing off with “the American Outlaw” Dan Murdoch!

To say this match is very personal to me is an understatement. It’s literally full circle.

—--

I first met Murdoch in 2006. His friend brought him to a backyard wrestling show that my friends and I ran - in a park in South River, NJ - and it was friendship at first sight.

I quickly learned that Murdoch loved professional wrestling as much as I did, and we began hanging out all the time, whether in Hightstown or the mean streets of South River. From a bond created from wrestling, he became one of my best friends.

After a full year of backyarding like buffoons, our friend Pito made a mutual acquaintance at his job with JAPW booker Ray Sager. Mr. Sager’s advice led us to the ACE Wrestling Academy in Union City, NJ.

I’ll never forget that day in July 2007. Pito, Ed and Tom Scanlon, and I hopped into Murdoch’s green Dodge Neon and drove an hour from South River to 725 Sip St in Union City, right off Kennedy Boulevard. Our anticipation was through the roof, mine more in line with my normal outrageous anxiety.

After meeting with the great Mike Morgan, we were casually just discussing the process of becoming professional wrestlers. Mike let us know that Jay Lethal was head trainer of the school.

Our eyes widened. We had all watched Jay grow up in Ring Of Honor, going from Hydro in the rich kid raver posse Special K to a former ROH Pure Wrestling Champion. By 2007, Jay had officially found himself in TNA, morphing himself into the fantastic “Black Machismo”, a true homage of the “Macho Man” Randy Savage.

Full disclosure: internally, we were marking out.

About thirty seconds later, Mike let us know that Jay was actually arriving at the building any minute.

Full disclosure: internally, we were REALLY marking out.

Jay then walked into the ACE Wrestling Academy. Shorts and flip-flops, a style I personally know way too well these days. Our anxieties were immediately put to ease, as we quickly came to realize that Jay was a chill dude and easy to get along with.

Welcome to the world of independent wrestling.

I ultimately never became a wrestler, instead learning from Mike behind the scenes on the ins-and-outs of the business, including the creative end and commentary. However, Jay never treated me any different and took me in as one of the boys.

From witnessing it with my own eyes, as well as frequent stories from Ed, Tom, and Murdoch, Jay was an absolutely splendid trainer. Quickly, the boys bonded with the other students from Jay’s other class, including Thomas “the Gate” Rodriguez, “the Magnificent” Giovanni Marranca, Too Hot Steve Scott, Killa S, Nathan Banner, Junior Soba, and a young lady who made a semi-decent career for herself in pro wrestling: AJ LEE.

We all bonded with Jay too. There were several times where Jay picked up the tab at the Four Star Diner around the corner from the school. Jay also went with us multiple times to the movies, in particular, one of the Final Destination movies. And I cannot forget the infamous Dan Murdoch 2007 Halloween Party at Murdoch’s house.

Needless to say, there was a bond.

I can also say that it was Jay that came up with the Dan Murdoch name. Honestly, it felt as from Day One, Jay kept saying that he looked like old school wrestling legend Dick Murdoch. So it wasn’t that farfetched that the Murdoch name would be part of his life forever.

After five months of good, solid training from under Jay, the next generation of “Lethal Experiments” would make their debut in December 2007 during an ACE Action Zone taping in the ACE Arena.

At some point of Jay’s training tenure at the ACE Wrestling Academy, every student got to have a match with him in front of a live crowd, all except one person:

Murdoch.

Before Jay’s TNA responsibilities took him away from ACE permanently, he participated in a lumberjack match against the fantastic Mo Sexton. Murdoch was one of the lumberjacks. Inexplicitly, Lethal left the ring midway through the match to crack him with a steel chair to the crowd’s delight!

To be fair, I wasn’t there. I was excommunicated from ACE in November 2008 for a few months after running my mouth. Long story, but I was 100% in the wrong. But I did get the phone call, and I can say that Murdoch was hurt by what Lethal did. Maybe not physically, but mentally.

Legitimately, Murdoch left ACE shortly after, due to issues with his creative that he was not personally happy with. That’s his story to tell. He didn’t return to ACE for three years.

We ended up going to the Bodyslam Wrestling Organization and beginning the next stages of our independent wrestling careers. Murdoch, with a chip on his shoulder, worked very hard and ultimately became the Heavyweight Champion in 2010.

I do know that he was in contact with Jay from time-to-time, asking for advice and having conversations about pro wrestling. It was great to see from an outside perspective their relationship.

Jay’s rise in TNA cannot be understated either. Who would ever think that by the age of 25, he’d be a TNA X-Division Champion several times over, a TNA Tag Team Champion with Consequences Creed, and have matches with Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, Jeff Jarrett, and RIC FLAIR??

All of his “Lethal Experiments” did, especially Murdoch.

However, after Jay was shockingly let go from TNA in early 2011, there was a few months gap before he signed with Ring Of Honor for their Best In The World internet pay-per-view on June 26, 2011 under the Sinclair Broadcasting banner. And that was where a true point of contention began between both men privately.

In December 2010, Murdoch created a brand-new finishing maneuver called the All-American Knockout. He did a handspring into the ropes, bounced back, and caught his unsuspecting opponent with a cutter. Truly, it was one of the most innovative moves I had ever seen.

He began using it everywhere he went, whether in BWO, NWA On Fire, NWA Mountain State, or one of the various Pennsylvania independents he worked for. It started to get a small buzz online.

According to conversations with Murdoch, and there have been several on this topic over the years, he believes that Jay caught a match online with Murdoch using the move and took it for himself, redubbing it as the Lethal Injection for his Ring Of Honor return.

Crazy part - it led Jay to some of the biggest moments of his career, including winning the Title-for-Title match at Best In The World 2015 to hold both the ROH World and Television Championships. 

Truly, Jay mastered that move to its fullest potential and made the most of it. He still uses it to this day as a member of the AEW roster, putting down various opponents to victory.

I’ve never had the guts to ask Jay about it, nor would I, but I can tell you that, privately, Murdoch was hurt that he never got the credit for creating the move. I can also tell you that it was one of - not the main one, but definitely one of - the reasons that he left wrestling in January 2014.

Over the next decade, I saw Murdoch. His personal life was never greater. His professional life was fantastic. And yet, it felt as if something was missing. He missed wrestling. He felt as if he still had “the beast” inside of him to go back.

It took until January of this year for Murdoch to return to professional wrestling on a full-time basis for both Matt Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Magic. Until September of this year, I’ve never seen him so happy.

And then, Mateo Marcelos, the dastardly co-owner of Pro Wrestling Magic, announced on September 20, 2025, that Dan Murdoch would be facing his old trainer at Kingdom Come X. Jay Lethal would be coming to East Rutherford to finally do battle with the one student of his that he’s never faced.

My friend’s happiness has slowly gone away. His inner rage has become outer. Dan Murdoch has become an angry, revenge-seeking man. “The Outlaw” has come out of him. It legitimately took Jay Lethal to drag that out of him.

In November at Mallrats, Murdoch sent a message to his trainer by winning his six-man tag team match for the Sons of Old School with AN ALL-AMERICAN KNOCKOUT. Watching that on YouTube, I really felt as if that would have exercised that demon from him; it only made him angrier.

—--

So to be able to sit next to the fantastic Johnny Riot and, hopefully, Mikey From The Front Row, to call this match on December 20, 2025, it means more to me than you realize.

I’ve seen Dan Murdoch come from the lowest of lows to get to this point. He has put the pedal-to-the-metal and gotten himself into the best shape he’s been in for quite some time. His skills are on point and his handspring still works.

I also know how important this is to so many different communities of people. This is important to all of those “Lethal Experiments” at the ACE Wrestling Academy in Union City all those years ago. This is huge for those that have followed the lineage of Pro Wrestling Magic, from the BWO days to now. This is tremendous for all the fans that have followed Jay’s career, which began in New Jersey via Jersey All-Pro Wrestling and Ring Of Honor.

Most importantly, this is important to Jay Lethal. He can now say he’s wrestled all of his students in matches.

I implore you to check this match out live in East Rutherford at the YMCA. I implore you to watch this match, as well as the entire epic card, on IWTV. This has nearly twenty years of history behind it, and I can’t wait to call it.

Teacher vs Student.

Injection vs Knockout.

Franchise vs Outlaw.

Jay Lethal vs Dan Murdoch. This is New Jersey Independent Wrestling.

I can’t wait to call it.

Jon Harder

Jon@HardwayHQ.com