Hey friend! I know you‘ve been super excited about the wrestling world lately, especially with the news of Rhea Ripley‘s engagement to AEW star Buddy Matthews. I can practically see the questions brewing in your head already – who is this guy? How did they meet? When‘s the wedding? Well, I‘ve got you covered with all the details on Rhea Ripley‘s future husband and their engagement!
First, let‘s recap who Rhea Ripley is:
Rhea Ripley is a 26-year-old professional wrestler currently signed to WWE. She‘s originally from Adelaide, Australia and has been wrestling since 2013.
- She‘s the current WWE Women‘s Tag Team Champion with fellow Aussie Dakota Kai.
- Ripley won the NXT Women‘s Championship in 2020 and was the first NXT UK Women‘s Champion.
- She also participated in the Women‘s Royal Rumble Matches in 2020 and 2022.
- Ripley has established herself as a rising star in WWE over the past few years. Fans love her edgy, punk rock persona in the ring.
Now let‘s talk about the husband-to-be: Buddy Matthews
Buddy Matthews is Rhea Ripley‘s fiancé. Like Ripley, Matthews is also 34 years old and from Adelaide, Australia originally.
- His real name is Matthew Adams – he wrestles under the ring name Buddy Matthews.
- He currently works for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) after signing with them in 2022.
- Matthews is a former WWE wrestler, where he performed under the name "Murphy" from 2016-2021.
- He‘s a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion and NXT Tag Team Champion.
- Matthews is known for his hard-hitting, high flying wrestling style.
So in summary, these two Aussies have known each other for years on the wrestling scene before developing a romantic relationship.
The Engagement Details
Rhea Ripley announced her engagement to Buddy Matthews on March 8, 2023 on her Instagram. She showed off her unique engagement ring, with a large center diamond surrounded by smaller stones, and captioned the post "I said yes!" Matthews also shared similar photos on his own Instagram account, declaring "She said yes! I love you Rhea."
Based on their social media posts, they seem over the moon about this new chapter in their relationship! As you can imagine, the wrestling community was abuzz with excitement at this news. Two huge stars in the world of wrestling getting hitched – it‘s a modern day wrestling fairy tale!
When Did Their Love Story Begin?
Ripley and Matthews reportedly started dating sometime around mid-2021. Their romance bloomed when they were both still working for WWE.
In June 2022, WWE released Buddy Matthews as part of mass talent cuts. But his relationship with Ripley continued. Ripley decided to stay with WWE and has continued her success there.
Matthews spent a few months as a free agent before joining rival promotion AEW in February 2022. So even though they now work for competing companies, that didn‘t stop their love from growing stronger!
Many fans speculated about a possible relationship when they noticed Ripley wearing Matthew‘s ring gear in matches. Their social media posts also hinted at a partnership long before the official engagement announcement.
Buddy Matthews‘ Wrestling Career and Skills
Since you‘re a huge wrestling fan, I know you‘ll appreciate learning more about Rhea‘s future husband Buddy Matthews‘ in-ring skills and achievements:
- Growing up in Australia, he started training as a wrestler at age 14.
- Matthews moved to the United States in 2016 to advance his wrestling career, signing with WWE.
- As Murphy in WWE, he became the first wrestler to ever kick out of Jinder Mahal‘s Khallas finishing move. That was a huge accomplishment!
- He won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship by defeating Cedric Alexander in 2019. His reign lasted 104 days.
- Matthews was also one-half of the NXT Tag Team Champions with partner Wesley Blake in 2017.
- After being released by WWE in 2021, he wrestled for New Japan Pro Wrestling and Impact Wrestling.
- In AEW, Matthews won the World Trios Championship as part of The House of Black with Malakai Black and Brody King.
With his background in gymnastics and martial arts, Matthews brings an impressive arsenal of aerial moves, strikes, and submissions to the ring. He‘s widely praised for his athleticism and hard-hitting style.
How Rhea Ripley‘s Wrestling Skills Compare
Rhea Ripley possesses a similar hard-hitting, athletic moveset that pairs nicely with Matthews‘ skills:
- Ripley combines power moves like dropkicks, spears, and slamming her opponents.
- She also utilizes painful submission holds like the inverted cloverleaf and Riptide.
- Like her fiancé, Ripley excels at aerial attacks like missile dropkicks off the top rope.
- With her background in soccer and track & field, she has incredible strength and stamina.
- Ripley made history as WWE‘s first-ever NXT UK Women‘s Champion back in 2018.
- She won the NXT Women‘s Championship from Shayna Baszler at Wrestlemania 36.
- Ripley also became one-half of the inaugural WWE Women‘s Tag Team Champions with Nikki A.S.H.
As you can see, Ripley‘s hard-hitting mixed style complements and contrasts nicely with Matthews‘ high-flying technical skills. They both excel at blending power, speed, and submissions in the ring.
Rhea‘s Past Relationships
Rhea has kept fairly private about her dating life prior to Buddy Matthews. Rumors linked her to Australian wrestler Demetri Jackson back in 2021, but that was never officially confirmed.
As far as public knowledge goes, Rhea Ripley hasn‘t been previously engaged or married to anyone before Buddy Matthews. So it seems her engagement to Matthews is her first major public relationship!
In interviews, Ripley has said her focus has always been on her wrestling career. Now having found success and love in Matthews, she seems ready to balance both!
When Will The Wedding Take Place?
Ripley and Matthews haven‘t formally announced any details yet about their wedding timeline. But here are some possibilities we can speculate about for their big day:
Date: The wedding likely won‘t happen until 2023 or 2024 due to their busy wrestling schedules. I‘d expect a date at least 1 year out from their March 2023 engagement.
Location: It seems likely they‘ll tie the knot in Australia. Adelaide or Melbourne make sense as hometown options for their ceremony and reception.
Guests: We can count on many wrestlers from WWE, AEW, and across the industry scoring invites. Imagine all their famous wrestling friends in attendance!
Vibe: Given Ripley‘s edgy style, we can guess the wedding aesthetic will be unconventional, punk rock themed rather than traditional.
Dress: Instead of a classic white gown, Ripley may opt for a black or red alternative wedding dress to match her unique style.
I don‘t know about you, but I can‘t wait to see what kind of wild wrestling-inspired wedding they‘ll throw! It‘s sure to be an unforgettable party, knowing their fun personalities.
The Bottom Line
There you have it, my friend! Everything you could possibly need to know about Rhea Ripley‘s fiancé Buddy Matthews and their super sweet engagement. From how they met in WWE to speculating about their future Aussie nuptials, I summarized all the key deets for ya.
Let me know if you have any other questions. And make sure to let out your inner fangirl/boy when Ripley and Matthews finally walk down the aisle! Love is in the air in the world of wrestling.
