Ex-WWE star recalls "mental breakdown" under Paul Heyman; sat ringside for 90 minutes after loss
A former WWE star recalled having a “mental breakdown” under Paul Heyman, which led to him sitting for 90 minutes after a loss. This will give the fans a unique look at what happened.
Buddy Matthews was an up-and-coming star in WWE before his move to AEW in 2022. He had many matches with his House of Black tag team partner and stable leader, Malakai Black. The two squared off many times, but each time, Black got the better of Matthews, which then led to him having a mental breakdown on an episode of RAW.
On the Downunder The Ring podcast, Buddy revealed what happened after he came under Paul Heyman's mentorship on RAW and discussed his relationship with Malakai.
“I guess what formed our connection was that he beat me three times. And then, if you look at my career, it all stemmed from that. So, it was the Cruiserweight stuff. We got very successful with that. Got called to SmackDown and then it wasn't until I got drafted to RAW under Paul Heyman where we ended up meeting."
Matthews recalled getting defeated by Black three times in a row, which led to his mental breakdown. However, the situation eventually improved.
"He beat me three times in a row, which then obviously caused my mental breakdown, which then made me sit ringside at RAW for about an hour and a half while everything was going on. Then I joined Seth, which then I became his disciple. And then, we went our separate ways for a while and here we are. Bitter enemies become besties, I guess,” he said. [34:42 - 35:31]
Former WWE star Buddy Matthews speaks about House of Black potentially splitting up
Former WWE star Buddy Matthews does not speak much on camera. He usually does his job and leaves.
However, he recently opened up when asked about if the House of Black could split up in the future. He answered to the point and said that it wouldn't be happening.
Matthews was speaking during the K&S Wrestlefest virtual signing when he said:
"I think with The House of Black especially like, we don't necessarily have to go down that same path as the other groups where it just ends in you know, bad way. But we are simply under the same umbrella, where we've been very supportive I think whether doing singles or all of us doing singles, somewhere we're still under that same umbrella I think that's something cool and unique," he said.
That is true as the group operates as a team and also individually as was the case when Malakai Black took on former WWE star Adam Copeland for the TNT Championship earlier this year.
If you take any quotes from the first half of this article, please credit the Downunder The Ring and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.