Posted By James Walsh on 11/13/25


As seen during the 2025 AEW Grand Slam: Australia event, Kazuchika Okada successfully defended the Continental title against Buddy Matthews. During his entrance, Matthews appeared to have injured his ankle while entering the ring. Matthews has not wrestled since that event.

In an update, Matthews shared a workout video via Instagram along with the following message about his recovery from ankle surgery…

“Today was the first time since surgery to hit a hack squat – still very restricted with ankle mobility but working on it daily! Numbness is still a factor but hopefully subsides in the near future but still unknown at this time. Swelling depends on the amount of rehab I’ve done that day but easily maintained with Icing post. Take each day as it comes!”