Buddy Matthews, former WWE star Buddy Murphy, made his promotional debut on AEW Dynamite this week when he appeared as the House of Black were attacking Penta El Zero Miedo and PAC. 

The heels had just lost a tag team match. At first, Matthews teased helping Penta and PAC but he attacked them, which revealed he is now part of Black’s stable. Matthews stomped Penta’s face into a steel chair as part of the attack

For months, Matthews had been rumored to be AEW-bound and even teased it on social media. Outside of the ring, Matthews, Black and Brody King are also close friends outside of the wrestling ring so this pairing makes perfect sense. 

AEW President Tony Khan confirmed on Twitter that Buddy has officially signed a full-time deal with the promotion: 

His ring name is a combination of keeping Buddy as his first name but also using his Matthews as his last name considering his real name is Matthew Adams.

He signed with WWE in 2013 and held the Raw and NXT Tag Team Championships as well as the Cruiserweight. Buddy was part of the names to be released by WWE in June 2021.

Former WWE Superstar Buddy Matthews (Buddy Murphy) looks to be the next free agent to become All Elite.

AEW has lost Cody Rhodes but the company is seemingly set on adding some more talent. We’ve seen the likes of Jay White cross over from other promotions. We’ve also seen free agents such as Keith Lee put pen to paper for a full-time role with AEW. Now, the company is reportedly seeking to add another player to the mix.

Fightful is reporting that AEW has a “working plan” in place to welcome Buddy Matthews. Not much else is known about what that plan would entail and whether or not Buddy would work full-time for the company.

This is speculation, but Murphy has been rumored to be part of AEW’s House of Black faction with Malakai Black and Brody King.

It’s an interesting turnaround from the last report on Matthews potentially going to AEW. Back in Sept. 2021, Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer reported that AEW passed on signing Matthews for undisclosed reasons. It seems the timing is finally right.

Back in June 2021, Matthews was released by WWE due to budget cuts. He had performed under the WWE banner as “Buddy Murphy.” During his time with the promotion, he became a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion as well as a former Raw Tag Team Champion with Seth Rollins, and a former NXT Tag Team Champion with Wesley Blake.

Matthews has been seen on both NJPW Strong and MLW since his WWE departure. He’s also worked some indie shows.

Buddy Matthews has just been announced for tonight’s Blood and Thunder show in Dallas promoted by MLW. The promotion is stating that Matthews is taking part in MLW’s new “open door” policy for free agents. An opponent for Matthews has yet to be revealed for the show.

Tonight’s show at Gilley’s in Dallas was dealt a blow recently when it was revealed that Ross and Marshall Von Erich both tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be there. Much of the build up to the show focussed on the Von Erichs returning to Dallas and seeking to win a title there for the first time in 40 years. They were scheduled to challenge 5150 (Rivera and Slice Boogie) for the MLW World Tag Team Championships.

Below are the matches officially confirmed for the show:

• MLW World Heavyweight Championship
  Falls Count Anywhere 
  Alexander Hammerstone (c) vs. Pagano
• MLW Middleweight World Championship
  Tajiri (c) vs. Myron Reed vs. TBA
• National Openweight Championship
  Alex Kane (c) vs. Calvin Tankman
• TJP vs. Matt Cross
• Jacob Fatu vs. Mads Krugger
• Miranda Gordy vs. Rok-C
• Davey Richards vs. ACH
• Aramis, El Dragon & TBA vs. Arez, Gino Medina & Mini Abismo Negro
• EJ Nduka vs. TBA

Buddy Matthews revealed advice he received from Shinsuke Nakamura that opened his eyes.

Matthews said that this particular piece of advice from Nakamura helped him set himself apart and have something unique about him.

Speaking to Forbes, Matthews revealed the reason why he chose his ring attire for himself. Nakamura once talked to him about how casual fans perceive the product and the wrestlers need to differentiate themselves from the rest so that casual fans attending the shows can remember them.

That is why Matthews sports a unique ring gear featuring ripped-up shorts. This helps him distinguish himself with fans who aren’t that familiar with the product.

“I remember talking with Shinsuke Nakamura and he brought up a very good point that opened my eyes to it,” said Matthews. “He said when you have a casual fan and families that come to these events and watch us—especially a casual fan—they’re not going to remember our names. Because they’re not familiar with the product. They’re just there to follow their family, they enjoyed the show, hopefully, and then on the drive home they generally kind of recap the show.”

Matthews continued, “So Shin said they’re not going to remember his name. ‘Shinsuke Nakamura’ isn’t the easiest name to come off the tongue, but they can also describe him as something: ‘the guy who wears all red.’ And that kind of triggered something with me. ‘Okay, so what’s my description word to a casual fan when he’s driving his family home from an event? The guy in the ripped-up shorts.’ No action figure has had torn shorts before. So it was just all about having something unique to myself.”

This is the reason why Matthews stuck to his unique ring gear and sure enough, it helps him look unique because of that.

Matthews will be sharing the ring with Kazuchika Okada for his NJPW debut at NJPW Battle In The Valley this Saturday (Nov. 13). He discussed the magnitude of facing Okada and how he’s preparing for the match.

Buddy Matthews has quite the task going into his NJPW debut.

Matthews will be sharing the ring with Kazuchika Okada, who is widely considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers today. The match will be taking place at NJPW Battle In The Valley this Saturday (Nov. 13).

Buddy Matthews Wants Classic With Okada

During an interview with Forbes, Buddy Matthews said that he’s more than happy with being thrown to the wolves in his first NJPW match.

“I feel like I’m a better performer when there’s less buildup to it, less pressure and whatnot.

“I’m just going to go out there, do what I do best and tear it up. I don’t think there’s any bigger match that you could have in a debut in New Japan Pro Wrestling. I wanted to swim with the whales and they gave me the biggest whale they could find.”

Matthews competed as Buddy Murphy under the WWE banner. He was released from the company back in June.

Matthews has been praised for his in-ring style. Many fans clamored for him to sign with NJPW since he has the style to match. Those fans will get their wish for at least one night.

NJPW Battle In The Valley will feature a NEVER Openweight Title match between champion Jay White and Tomohiro Ishii. Plus, Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion Moose will collide with Juice Robinson.

The self-proclaimed “real” IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay will also be in action. He’ll take on Ren Narita.

Buddy Matthews formerly known as Buddy Murphy in WWE has been announced for making his NJPW debut during next month’s Battle In the Valley event.

The show will be taking place from San Jose, California on November 13. The news was confirmed during Saturday’s NJPW strong taping from Philadelphia where the promotion aired a video package promoting his arrival:

After wrestling for various indie promotions for over half a decade, Buddy Matthews was signed to a development contract by WWE back in March 2013.

In NXT, he became known for his team with Wesley Blake. This duo known as Blake and Murphy had Alexa Bliss as their manager. They won the tag team titles once.

After the break-up of his team with Blake, Buddy Matthews made his made roster debut in 2018, competing on 205 Live. He won the cruiserweight championship there before being moved to the SmackDown brand.

The former SmackDown star was released from his WWE contract on June 2. He has already become a free agent after completing the 90 days non-compete period.

It’s unknown whether Matthews has signed a contract with the Japanese promotion or if his deal is on appearance basis. Though a contract with NJPW will still keep the door open for his AEW debut because of the partnership of the two companies.

• Buddy Murphy On His Post WWE Plans