Buddy Matthews is medically cleared to compete, ending an absence that has stretched close to 18 months.
The 37-year-old announced it Thursday in a video posted to his Instagram account, his first direct confirmation after weeks of cryptic social media teases. The video documents the final stage of his rehab, following him through medical evaluations and into the appointment where he was told he could go back to work.
“Before stepping back into the ring, there was one final hurdle,” Matthews wrote in the caption. He framed the footage as a look at the physical and mental cost of coming back, aimed at anyone who has faced a setback and doubted they would make it back.
Matthews hurt the ankle on February 15, 2025 at AEW Grand Slam: Australia. The injury happened during his entrance, when he jumped from the top rope into the ring and landed awkwardly, and he worked and finished his AEW Continental Championship match against Kazuchika Okada anyway.
What he first assumed would be a short absence became surgery in August 2025 and a recovery complicated by ligament and nerve damage. As recently as last December, he could not put a timetable on anything.
Clearance Lands Weeks Out From Wembley
The timing is what makes this more than a health update. AEW All In: London runs August 30 at Wembley Stadium, leaving more than three weeks of television to build something for him.
One obvious route is already closed. AEW revealed the full 16-man field for its Continental Cup on Monday, and Matthews is not among the entrants, so there is no path for him into the tournament final at Wembley.
He has commitments elsewhere too. Matthews is booked for a five-show World Series Wrestling tour of Australia and New Zealand in late October and early November, the same promotion he turned up at in May while still uncleared.
The picture he returns to has shifted. Malakai Black left AEW for WWE shortly before the injury and is a free agent again following his April release, while Brody King has spent 2026 teaming with Bandido.
Matthews’ announcement also landed the same day his wife, Rhea Ripley, revealed she had undergone knee surgery on her right leg.
