Former AEW World Trios Champ Buddy Matthews Goes Into Surgery To Repair Injured Ankle

Buddy Matthews has not wrestled since February, when he injured his ankle in a match against Kazuchika Okada at AEW Grand Slam Australia. Posting to his Instagram Story this morning, Matthews revealed that he's undergoing surgery to repair the ankle today. The picture showed Matthews in a hospital bed prepping for the procedure while his wife, WWE star Rhea Ripley, posed alongside him.

Matthews has offered updates on his ankle throughout his recovery, revealing earlier this summer that the injury was not healing at the rate he had hoped. He initially thought he'd be back in the ring by April, but as of June, the performer hadn't recovered any mobility in the injured ankle. Still, he has been hard at work in the gym, with Matthews regularly sharing videos of himself working out on social media.

The wrestler suffered the injury before the match against Okada even began, rolling his ankle as he made his entrance. He powered through the bout, with Okada successfully defending the AEW Continental Championship after about 13 minutes. It was Matthews' first AEW match in his home country of Australia.

Throughout his AEW tenure, Matthews had been tag team partners with Brody King, the two both serving as members of the House of Black alongside Julia Hart and Malakai Black. Their team continued on even after that faction's end, but in Matthews' absence, King has found a surprising amount of success with a new partner: Bandido. The duo just defeated the Young Bucks on last night's "AEW Dynamite," advancing to the finals of the AEW World Tag Team Championship Eliminator tournament.