During AEW’s Grand Slam Australia event in February, local fans were excited to see their fellow countryman, Buddy Matthews, challenge Kazuchika Okada for the AEW Continental Championship. However, while the match delivered, it was overshadowed by the fact that Matthews landed badly on his ankle while entering the ring and suffered a partial ligament tear and cartilage damage.
And now, after telling fans on Instagram Live two months ago that his ankle wasn’t healing as he hoped, and he still had no mobility, the current AEW star has shared a photograph of himself alongside his wife Rhea Ripley, which reveals he is heading into surgery, hopefully to resolve the issue once and for all.
36-year-old Matthews broke into the pro wrestling business in 2007, and after six years on the Australian independent scene, he achieved his dream of signing with WWE, going on to be assigned to NXT. From there, he formed a successful tag team with Wesley Blake, although his most memorable run in the company came on the main roster when he became a disciple of Seth Rollins during his Monday Night Messiah run.
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