WWE's Rhea Ripley and AEW's Buddy Matthews Married in June Wedding
Ripley and Matthews have been together publicly for two years.
Rhea Ripley and Buddy Matthews have publicly been an item since 2022. The two Australian wrestlers spent four years in WWE together, where Matthews competed as Buddy Murphy, before he left the company in 2021 and took his talents to AEW. The two's relationship went public two years ago, when Matthews was already in AEW, making the pair the latest cross-promotional couple within the professional wrestling industry, following matches like Keith Lee and Mia Yim, Malakai Black and Zelina Vega, and Andrade El Idolo and Charlotte Flair before Andrade headed back to WWE earlier this year. Ripley and Matthews were engaged in August 2023.
Rhea Ripley and Buddy Matthews Get Married
Rhea Ripley and Buddy Matthews were married earlier this month.
Taking to Instagram, the former WWE Women's World Champion revealed that she and now-husband Buddy Matthews were married on June 23rd.
Ripley is currently away from WWE as she recovers from a shoulder injury. After successfully defending her WWE Women's World Championship against Becky Lynch at WWE WrestleMania 40, Ripley was attacked by a returning Liv Morgan on the WWE Monday Night Raw after Mania. During the attack, Ripley hit her shoulder hard against a wall, resulting in her needing to take time away from the ring and consequently relinquish her WWE Women's World Championship. While initial estimates had Ripley being shelved for six months, current rumblings indicate that she could be back in time for WWE SummerSlam in August. Even while she is away from programming, Ripley has been a centerpiece of WWE Monday Night Raw's top storyline, as Morgan has attempted to remain under her skin by pursuing Ripley's on-screen love interest Dominik Mysterio.
Matthews was recently written off of AEW television with an injury angle that was emphasized to be "100 percent a work." This was apparently done to give him time off to get married. Matthews has spent his entire AEW tenure as a member of House of Black, a spooky stable alongside former WWE rival Malakai Black, Brody King, and Julia Hart. Matthews found success with House of Black as AEW Trios Champions, as the group defeated The Elite (Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks) to capture the titles back at AEW Revolution 2023. They lost the titles to The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn at AEW ALL IN: London last August. Matthews's AEW contract is reportedly a five-year deal, meaning he is on the company's books until early 2027.
