8 Wrestlers Who Have VANISHED From AEW (... And WHY!)

2. Buddy Matthews

Buddy Matthews has had an underrated career so far in his time inside the squared circle. A former NXT tag team champion, he also won the Raw tag belts in a team with Seth Rollins, and the WWE Cruiserweight championship (despite being nearly 6 feet tall and built like Bane). Since moving to AEW, he was an integral part of Malakai Black's House of Black stable, again winning gold with the group as they claimed the AEW Trios Championship. 

After Black returned to WWE, Buddy had a short run with Brody King and Julia Hart as The Hounds of Hell. An ankle injury then sidelined the Aussie after an unsuccessful bid to win the AEW Continental Championship from Kazuchika Okada at Grand Slam 2025 in February.

The only update on this ankle injury came while Matthews was answering fan questions on his Instagram stories in December. He revealed that he's having nerve issues with the injury and that he had expected to return to AEW before that point in time. Rumours are always likely to persist that he is going to go back to WWE, where his wife, Rhea Ripley, is one of the biggest draws in wrestling, but time will tell if we see Buddy back in AEW at any point in the future.