“They’ve hoarded everyone” - Buddy Matthews shares his honest take on recent WWE releases
Former WWE superstar Buddy Matthews (f.k.a. Buddy Murphy) was one of several names who were released from the company this year. He opened up about the reason behind that decision and its aftermath in a recent interview with Forbes.
So Today ends my 8 years with WWE! What a crazy ride! Highest of Highs, Lowest of Lows, but weather I had 3 minutes or 20 minutes I put all my effort into my performances! Nothing is harder when all you want to do is wrestle but you can’t! In my opinion I haven’t even hit my peak
Buddy Matthews noted that it is indeed sad to see people lose their livelihoods. However, he partially blamed WWE for 'hoarding' talent before pointing out how the biggest names in the pro-wrestling business have also been fired at some point in their lives.
"It's tough, it sucks that people lose their livelihoods," said Matthews. "But everyone gets fired eventually. Austin was fired, Hogan was fired, everyone gets fired eventually. Obviously we want long-lasting careers and to set ourselves up. You look at the board and they've hoarded everyone and then they're throwing everyone out at once. So that sucks, but everyone is going to get fired one day."
Buddy Matthews then talked about his WWE release and how it impacted his life. He felt a certain relief and found solace in the fact that he was free to do whatever he wanted. Matthews also discussed how he never got the opportunity to see his family back in Australia and, thus, was grateful for a more lenient schedule.
"But, at the same time, it's happened to me and it was like a weight off my shoulders. I'm excited for the future and I can finally do stuff that I wanna do. I haven't been to Australia in three years because I couldn't get time off. It shouldn't be that way. It shouldn't be that way at all. Not like I'm against it — I wanted to work — but it should also be a thing where I can go home to visit my family. I've probably been home, in the last eight years, for 30 days."
Murphy was one of the most prominent superstars in WWE's cruiserweight division. He made a name for himself during his alliance with Seth Rollins and an eventual feud with the Messiah. Fans were hoping to see him succeed on the main roster, but his WWE run ended abruptly when he was released earlier this year.
WWE's recent releases included multiple shocking names
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Earlier this month, WWE released several big names from the company. These included Keith Lee, Karrion Kross, Scarlett Bordeaux, Nia Jax, Hit Row's B-Fab, Eva Marie, and Mia Yim, among several others.
Most of the former stars expressed their frustration with WWE's decision, while others immediately revealed the duration of their non-compete clause. Top names like Kross and Scarlett have already declared their intentions of competing in other promotions. Meanwhile, Keith Lee and Mia Yim have maintained a vague stance on their future.
As for Buddy Matthews, he is NJPW-bound and is set to face Kazuchika Okada at the Battle in the Valley event. Despite the short build-up, Matthews is excited about his in-ring return and even compared his upcoming match to the time he competed against WWE Superstar Roman Reigns.