Buddy Matthews is all elite and he has already made quite the impact!
Earlier in February it was reported that Buddy Matthews, formerly known as Buddy Murphy was heading to AEW, and a little over a week later, the Australian star has arrived.
On the February 23rd episode of AEW Dynamite, Malakai Black and Brody King teamed together to take on PAC and Penta El Zero Miedo, who had reverted to his darker persona, Penta Oscuro. After a back and forth match it was Penta who picked up the win, preventing Malakai Black from using his ‘mist’ which had blinded PAC previously. However, the action from bell to bell was only part of the story.
With the match won, PAC and Penta were left little time to celebrate as the House of Black attacked, looking to exact instant revenge. With the beatdown in full effect, the lights went out, only to reveal Buddy Matthews stood in the ring. While it initially looked like Matthews was going to help Death Triangle, he instead joined forces with his former rival Malakai Black.
The segment closed with Matthews laying out Penta with a chair, at the behest of Black and Brody King.
HOLY S**T! Is that Buddy Matthews?! @SNM_Buddy#AEWDynamite is LIVE on @TBSNetwork right now! pic.twitter.com/PhxdHMFJIV
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) February 24, 2022
Buddy Murphy found some success during his eight years in WWE, having become both an NXT Tag Team Champion alongside his partner Wesley Blake, and eventually going on to with the Cruiserweight Championship when he defeated Cedric Alexander in October of 2018. After being drafted to the main roster in 2019, he aligned himself with Seth Rollins and went on to win the Raw Tag Team Championships before their eventual split.
He also found himself involved in a story with the Mysterio family that saw him romantically involved with Rey Mysterio’s daughter Aalyah. The storyline with the Mysterios was dropped in late 2020, and after a few sporadic appearances in the following months, Murphy was released from WWE in June of 2021.