"It's been a long week" - Rhea Ripley reacts to photo of Buddy Matthews and friends
WWE's Rhea Ripley and AEW's Buddy Matthews are among the most fan-favorite pro wrestling couples today. The multi-time women's champion is currently injured but uses social media to update fans.
The Eradicator relinquished the WWE Women's Championship after retaining it over Becky Lynch at WrestleMania XL. She is expected to miss four to six months due to a shoulder injury sustained during a backstage brawl with Liv Morgan. Ripley and Matthews are usually forced to spend time apart due to being in separate promotions, but now the Judgment Day member is at home for the most part while she recovers.
Matthews was out and about in Tampa, Florida, this week with two longtime friends of his and Ripley—Eli Theseus and Gabriel Aeros, also known as the pro wrestling tag team The Parea. Ripley re-posted the photo on her Instagram Stories and captioned it with five words and one emoji to seemingly express how long the week has been without her partner.
"It's been a long week [grinning face with sweat emoji]," Rhea Ripley wrote.
The Parea previously went backstage for WWE Elimination Chamber. The Aussie-Greek duo known as The Parea currently holds NHPW's SST Legacy Tag Team Championship and the WSW Tag Team Championship, both in Australia. Rhea, Buddy, Eli, and Gabriel all wrestled together in Australia years ago, mainly for RCW.
Triple H comments on Rhea Ripley's WWE future
The WWE Universe was devastated last month when Rhea Ripley was forced to relinquish the Women's World Championship due to a shoulder injury.
Triple H took to X to praise The Eradicator and look forward to her return. The Chief Content Officer also included a backstage clip. Ripley later responded with a simple black heart emoji.
"Absolutely no doubt in my mind that @RheaRipley_WWE will come back tougher, stronger and more dominant than ever. Thank you, Rhea, for a reign that the entire @WWEUniverse can be proud of," Triple H wrote.
It's possible that Ripley will be medically cleared in time for SummerSlam, but it's too soon to know for sure. The Biggest Party of the Summer is scheduled for Saturday, August 3, at the Cleveland Browns Stadium. The inaugural Bash In Berlin event is scheduled for later that month, on Saturday, August 31, at the Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany.