Swerve Strickland Says He’s Looking Forward To Buddy Matthews’ Return

Swerve Strickland is looking forward to Buddy Matthews’ AEW return.

Buddy Matthews has been absent from All Elite Wrestling since February 2025 after suffering a partial ligament tear and cartilage damage during his entrance at AEW Grand Slam: Australia that led to the AEW star undergoing ankle surgery in August 2025.

In an appearance on the Battleground Podcast, Swerve Strickland said he’s awaiting Buddy Matthews’ return to the ring and feels that they could do great work together in All Elite Wrestling.

“I’m waiting for probably one of the best talents all around in the business to come back. Hopefully he’s healthy and he can do even better than what he was giving before. Buddy Matthews. Shoutout to him. He’s one of those guys that’s just like a dawg in the ring. I think me and him could do some great work and I Iook forward to seeing him back and doing his own thing. I think he has a lot of to offer in the wrestling world and I would like to see him back healthy again.”

-Swerve Strickland

Back in December, Buddy Matthews provided fans with an update on his recovery, revealing that he’s still suffering from nerve issues that are preventing him from making a return to the ring.

Swerve Strickland is set to take on Brody King, the former tag team partner of Buddy Matthews, at AEW Revolution on March 15 at Crypto.com Arena, with his focus firmly set on recapturing the AEW World Championship.

As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on Buddy Matthews’ injury status as soon as we hear more, and we continue to wish him all the best in his recovery.

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