AEW star Buddy Matthews teased a major health update on social media on Tuesday, sharing an old photo of himself on the AEW stage to his Instagram account with a poignant message. Matthews has been on the shelf with an ankle injury for over a year, last competing in the ring at “Grand Slam: Australia” in February 2025.
“The Devil signed the clearance. Hell stamped its approval. No more barriers. Only timing,” Matthews captioned the post on Instagram, seemingly implying he may have been cleared by the company and is awaiting the right time to return.
Matthews was injured at “Grand Slam” in his native Australia ahead of his AEW Continental Championship match with Kazuchika Okada, though he did work and finish the bout. In a since-deleted social media post, Matthews confirmed he injured his ankle when he jumped from the top rope into the ring during his entrance, and landed awkwardly.
Before the injury, Matthews was teaming alongside Brody King, as the Hounds of Hell, after their former House of Black leader, Malakai Black, left AEW to return to WWE. King has since started teaming with Bandido, and the pair even had a run with the AEW World Tag Team Championships. King has also competed in singles action, including a feud with Swerve Strickland the first half of 2026.
While Matthews gave no indication on when he’ll be back in AEW in his post, the company is holding its next pay-per-view, titled, fittingly, for Matthews, AEW Redemption, on July 26. The only bout confirmed for the show so far is an AEW Women’s World Championship match pitting Thekla against a newly-returned Willow Nightingale.
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