Buddy Matthews, who wrestled as Buddy Murphy in WWE, has been strongly rumored to be headed to Impact Wrestling to work in the X-Division. Nevertheless, following news that AEW’s upcoming Casino Ladder Match will feature a Joker, fans have been examining possible surprise participants, with Matthews name suggested. Seemingly noticing this speculation, Matthews would post a joker emoji on Twitter teasing that it was him. However, possibly more revealing is that he subsequently deleted the tweet, perhaps fearing he had spoiled the surprise.
AEW rarely lets fans down when surprises are promised, and Matthews would fit the bill, although there are several other possibilities when you consider how many talents have been let go by WWE this year. It’s entirely possible it was a red herring by Matthews, although deleting the tweet would seem unnecessary. Seemingly fans will now need to wait until match introductions to find out, with some likely being disappointed if he doesn’t debut.
The Australian last wrestled for WWE in April, making up the numbers in the André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on SmackDown. Then just two months later, he was deemed surplus to requirements and released. With his 90-day release clause expiring several weeks ago, he has already made a handful of indie appearances. His most high profile of them was for ROH founder Rob Feinstein’s inaugural Battleground Championship Wrestling show. The former WWE star was booked to wrestle AEW’s Brian Cage but instead faced KC Navarro when Cage couldn’t compete.
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