Details on why Buddy Matthews was absent from this week's AEW Dynamite reportedly disclosed
House of Black's Buddy Matthews was notably absent from the most recent episode of AEW Dynamite, and now the reason for him being away from the show has potentially been made clear.
Matthews hasn't been seen on AEW TV since the June 27th edition of Dark: Elevation, where he and Brody King defeated the team of Brubaker and CJ Esparza. Before that, he competed on the June 8th edition of Dynamite against PAC in an AEW All-Atlantic Championship qualifying match.
It was reported that Matthews had been dealing with a shoulder injury throughout June. However, he has worked through it, with one of his most recent matches coming against Impact Wrestling's X-Division Champion Mike Bailey at PWG's "Nineteen" event.
More photos from Pro Wrestling Guerrilla #PWG's "Nineteen" (19th Anniversary Show) at the Globe Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California - 7-3-22 -
Match 4: Buddy Matthews vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey https://t.co/RYUlkUpjij
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it wasn't the injury that kept Buddy Matthews away from Dynamite. Instead, he missed the show because he is currently back home in Australia.
"Buddy Matthews wasn’t on TV this week with the House of Black because he’s home in Australia doing a tour for World Series Wrestling." wrote Dave Meltzer. (H/T WrestleTalk)
Meltzer went on to explain that ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham was also scheduled to travel to Australia for the World Series Wrestling tour, but was needed for the upcoming episode of Rampage.
"Jonathan Gresham was also scheduled for that tour but pulled by AEW since they needed him in the U.S." said Dave Meltzer. (H/T WrestleTalk)
Buddy Matthews's stablemate had a very busy week in AEW and beyond
While Buddy Matthews has been away from AEW TV recently, House of Black have not slowed down in their quest to change the face of All Elite Wrestling. Specifically, Brody King had a remarkable week.
On the July 1st 2022 edition of AEW Rampage, King outlasted nineteen other men to win the inaugural Royal Rampage match by last eliminating Darby Allin. This victory guaranteed him a shot at Interim AEW World Champion Jon Moxley.
Royal Rampage was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it. Hopefully it becomes a yearly thing. Brody King wins and now challanges Moxely for the title on Dynamite. #AEWRampage
Before he could do that, King and Malakai Black also appeared on the same PWG show as Matthews, PWG Nineteen, to defend the company's Tag Team Championships against NJPW stars Aussie Open.
Finally, on the July 6th edition of Dynamite, King faced Moxley for the Interim AEW World Championship. Despite his best efforts, King came up short as Moxley retained his title.
Matthews will likely return to the fold very soon, and he will give the House of Black a much-needed boost after King's loss. What does the future hold for the darkest force in AEW? Stay tuned to find out!