Buddy Matthews is officially set to return to in-ring action later this year after being announced for World Series Wrestling’s MegaMania tour across Australia and New Zealand.
The booking marks Matthews’ first confirmed wrestling appearances following a lengthy 15-month injury absence.
WSW announced that Matthews will headline the five-show MegaMania tour across his native Australia and neighboring New Zealand with the following schedule:
October 29 — Auckland, New Zealand
October 30 — Brisbane, Australia
October 31 — Adelaide, Australia
November 1 — Melbourne, Australia
November 2 — Sydney, Australia
The tour gives Matthews a major homecoming platform across the Australia-New Zealand wrestling market after one of the longest injury absences currently tied to the All Elite Wrestling roster.
Matthews has been sidelined since AEW Grand Slam Australia in February 2025, where he suffered a severe ankle injury during his entrance for a match against Kazuchika Okada.
Initial expectations reportedly suggested Matthews would only miss a few months. However, complications during the healing process eventually led to surgery, significantly extending his recovery timeline.
Despite not being medically cleared for full competition earlier this month, Matthews made a surprise appearance at a previous WSW event, where he attacked Donovan Dijak to a strong crowd reaction.
Earlier this year, Swerve Strickland publicly praised Matthews and expressed interest in eventually facing him once he returned to the ring.
Matthews previously competed in WWE as Buddy Murphy before joining AEW in 2022, where he became a central member of House of Black alongside Malakai Black and Brody King.
ITS OFFICIAL … @snm_buddy shocked the wrestling world when he appeared at our #riseagainst tour. Buddy Matthews is BACK this October and November and he is coming for all of the gold! 🇦🇺 🇳🇿
🎟️ – https://t.co/UXYyWNU3RH#wsw #megamania #australia #newzealand #wsw2026 pic.twitter.com/dBFOWPRWr9
— WorldSeriesWrestling (@WSWWrestlingAUS) May 26, 2026
