AEW Star Undergoes Surgery After Serious Ankle Injury

A former AEW champion has gone under the knife.

At Grand Slam Australia back in February, Buddy Matthews challenged Kazuchika Okada for the Continental Championship in the biggest match of his AEW career. Not only was Matthews taking on one of the best wrestlers in the world for championship gold, but he was doing so in front of a passionate home crowd.

However, he suffered a freak ankle injury while making his entrance, although he pushed ahead with the match as planned.

It had been hoped that Matthews would be back in the ring in a matter of weeks, but he hasn’t wrestled since.

In a new post on social media, the Aussie star confirmed that he’s now undergone surgery to repair the ligament and cartilage damage.

Another AEW Star Heading For Surgery

Following his recent loss to Kyle Fletcher, Dustin Rhodes announced that he’d be undergoing major surgery. It was later revealed that this surgery would be a double-knee replacement after doctors determined they’d be unable to repair the damage to his joints.

For his part, Rhodes admitted he’s in a great deal of pain, and described his knees as “destroyed.”

Despite this, The Natural has vowed to return to the ring, although he’s expected to be out until well into 2026.

Rhodes remains one-half of the ROH World Tag Team Champions with Sammy Guevara, and one-third of the ROH World Six-Man Tag team Champions alongside Marshall and Ross Von Erich. The future of the championships remains unclear.