One member of the AEW roster has picked up an injury following their match at Grand Slam.
Presenting its debut show in Australia, All Elite Wrestling put on a loaded card that saw Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay team up in the opening bout to defeat Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita and Toni Storm defeating Mariah May in the main event to win her 4th Women’s Championship. While the show was very well-received and fans are looking forward to the return of AEW in 2026, an injury may have occurred at the event.
Competing in front of his active fans, Australian wrestler Buddy Matthews challenged Kazuchika Okada for the Continental Championship. Even though Matthews was one of the select few to kick out of Okada’s Rainmaker, the former Trios Champion was unsuccessful in dethroning the champion. Additionally, Matthews may have also suffered an ankle injury during the show.
Fan footage from the event sees Matthews landing badly on his ankle when making his entrance and limping to the back after the match was over. Two days later, Matthews’ wife and WWE star Rhea Ripley posted a series of photos on Instagram stating that it was the start of their honeymoon. Matthews is seen with a crutch in one of the pictures. Ripley also posted the following caption with the photos, referencing the injury:
Ain’t no Roly-Poly ankles gonna keep us down! Let the honeymoon commence!
In a further update by Mike Johnson of PWInsider, Matthews did suffer an ankle injury at the event.
AEW Ring Causes Fan Discourse
Although the debut show in Australia was positively received by most, the use of a smaller ring compared to normal saw some fans take issue with the change, resulting in a series of rumours circulating online. As fans continued to debate the reason for the change, the reason for a smaller ring being used for AEW Grand Slam has been revealed.