Buddy Matthews has been absent from AEW TV for over a year. Rhea Ripley has just provided an update on her husband after he did not return at Double or Nothing 2026.
Buddy Matthews is one of the best in-ring performers in AEW. He excelled as a member of the House of Black. As the group slowly started to disband, Buddy was being pushed as a singles star. He challenged Kazuchika Okada for the AEW Continental Championship at Grand Slam Australia 2025. However, he injured his foot during his entrance. Despite this, he finished the match. Since then, he has been sidelined due to his injury. However, he recently made a sudden appearance at an Indie show. This caused many fans to speculate that the former WWE star would show up at Double or Nothing 2026. However, that didn’t end up happening.
During a recent appearance on What’s Your Story? with Stephanie McMahon, which was recorded earlier but uploaded recently, Rhea Ripley opened up about Buddy Matthews’ injury. She said that she and her husband train in the ring together every now and then. However, Buddy is still rehabbing his injury, and he’s trying to get back into the ring.
“Every now and then (her & Buddy train in the ring together). He’s still starting to get back into the ring stuff because he got injured over a year ago in February when they (AEW) went to Australia. So he got injured then, so he’s just started getting back into the ring now, and he’s just trying to rehab it and see what he can do. So he’ll get in, and we’ll run the ropes. I’ve been teaching him some rolls, since the boys class didn’t do as many rolls as the girls class apparently… We’ve been getting in a little bit.”
Rhea further added that she is a little nervous about getting hurt. Hence, she goes a little easier. However, Buddy is going harder than her since he wants to get back in in-ring shape.
“Also, I get nervous about getting hurt, especially these days, because I’m always on the road, I’m always doing stuff. I want to stay sharp, but I also don’t want to get beat up more than I get beat up. So, I go a little bit easier. He’s definitely going harder than me right now because he’s trying to get back into that mode.” [H/T WrestleTalk on X]
Rhea Ripley opened up about her backstage issues with Jade Cargill
After winning the Elimination Chamber match a few months ago, Rhea Ripley became the number one contender for the WWE Women’s Championship held by Jade Cargill. However, this feud got off to a rough start after Jade claimed on social media that Mami tried to influence her storylines. Rhea did not take Cargill’s claims lightly. However, it looks like both women have sorted out their differences.
During the same podcast episode, Rhea Ripley said that her rivalry with Jade Cargill got off to a rocky start, but all they want is to put on a stellar match at WrestleMania.
“I’m excited for this WrestleMania. I really am. I’m going against someone that I never wrestled before. I’ve never even touched pretty much. We haven’t done anything up until this point. She beat my a*s a little bit but, we haven’t really done anything. Started a little bit rocky but we’re on a path now and we’re telling a story and I’m intrigued to see how it goes and just pull off an awesome WrestleMania match. I want this to be a cool moment.” [H/T Fightful]
Rhea Ripley went on to win the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 42.
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Edited by Sunil Joseph