Does Buddy Matthews want to return to WWE to work with his wife Rhea Ripley?
After news of their relationship became public in 2022, Rhea Ripley and Buddy Matthews announced their engagement in August of 2023. The couple married in June of 2024.
Matthews, formerly known as Buddy Murphy, was released from his WWE contract in June of 2021 and has been signed to All Elite Wrestling since early 2022. Matthews signed a new deal with AEW in 2024.
Speaking in a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, Matthews opened up about his plans for the future and addressed whether or not he’d want to return to WWE to work alongside his wife onscreen. While he thinks they would have excellent chemistry and make good television together, he points out one benefit to being signed to different companies.
“I think that’s the big question. So I would love to do something with her. I think that story and our chemistry, just the way we are, would be good television. That’s definitely something, an itch I’d like to scratch.
But the good thing about her in WWE and me in AEW and us both being in the business is that I would never want, and I don’t think I’d ever get there. I’d never want to be jealous, or get jealous of her in her position. She’s a megastar, she’s John Cena of women right now, and if I’m lowered, let’s just say I’m doing enhancement matches or whatever. I don’t want to be like, well, you’re doing that, you get this special treatment, and I get this, then kind of resent her for the position.
Like I said, I don’t think it would ever happen, but I wouldn’t even want that to be an option.”
“Whatever She Touches Turns To Gold” – Buddy Matthews On Rhea Ripley
Continuing, Buddy Matthews pointed to another good thing about being signed to different promotions, as he and Rhea Ripley are able to discuss work with one another from a more detached perspective.
“Then also, if something happens at work, I want her to be able to vent to me without me going, ‘Yeah, no, but this is how you play that game.’ I can kind of be that in the back seat, go, Yeah, I understand what you’re talking about, you deserve whatever, or you know you should do it like this, or whatever. Or just let her rant, and I can do the same to her. I can say I did this and did this.
We can talk about the positives. We talk about the negatives. What upsets us and all, and it’s just like we’re on the same team. It would never become a competition. That was definitely something I thought about at the start.
Would I love to work with her? Absolutely. I don’t think there would be anyone in the wrestling industry from any company or any part of the world that wouldn’t want to be doing something with Rhea Ripley. Whatever she touches turns to gold.”
If you use any quotes from this transcription, please credit Insight with Chris Van Vliet and link back to this article with a h/t to Inside the Ropes.