Injured AEW wrestler Buddy Matthews announced for indie tour

Buddy Matthews AEW
Buddy Matthews is getting closer to an in-ring return. (Image credit: JJ Williams)

He’s not medically cleared to compete yet, but AEW wrestler Buddy Matthews has been announced for an indie tour taking place in his home country later this year.

Matthews will return to Australia for World Series Wrestling’s MegaMania tour this October-November. It’s a five-show tour with four events happening in Australia and one being held in New Zealand. Here is the full list of dates:

  • Thursday, October 29 in Auckland, New Zealand
  • Friday, October 30 in Brisbane, Australia
  • Saturday, October 31 in Adelaide, Australia
  • Sunday, November 1 in Melbourne, Australia
  • Monday, November 2 in Sydney, Australia

This announcement comes less than two weeks after Matthews made a surprise appearance for World Series Wrestling and, despite his injury, laid out Donovan Dijak. Matthews said he would be cleared by October, teasing that he’ll be coming after all the gold in WSW when he returns. The current top champion for the indie promotion is Killer Kross.

Buddy Matthews’ long injury layoff —

It’s been 15 months since we last saw Matthews compete in the ring. At AEW Grand Slam Australia in February 2025, he suffered an ankle injury while making his entrance to face Kazuchika Okada. The initial hope was that Matthews would only miss a few months, but his ankle didn’t heal properly and he needed to undergo surgery.

Matthews’ on-screen direction was in flux at the time his injury happened. Malakai Black was recently gone from AEW, leaving the former House of Black members to branch off without their leader.

Swerve Strickland had high praise for Matthews this March, saying he can’t wait for Matthews to get back in the ring and wants to face him once he’s able to.

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Joseph Currier
Joseph Currier

Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.

In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.