All Elite Wrestling fans will soon have the chance to add a piece of championship gold to their collections. Starting tomorrow, April 30th, replica versions of the AEW TBS Championship will officially go on sale.
Pre-orders for the replica title belt will open at 1:00 PM Eastern Time (12:00 PM Central Time) on Wednesday. The retail price for the AEW TBS Championship replica is set at $599.99.
During a recent appearance on the “Insight With Chris Van Vliet” podcast, Buddy Matthews provided an update on the status of his ankle injury, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On his ankle: “It’s okay. Rolled it pretty bad. Had an X-ray, MRI. There was no break, but there was partial ligament tear and cartilage damage. [I’m] Walking. I haven’t ran, I haven’t jumped, I’ve just started implementing cardio, but then it kind of stiffens up. We’re working through it, but the docs were telling me, ‘I’ve never seen an ankle roll that much under someone without completely destroying, smashing, disintegrating the bones.’ So I didn’t break a bone, which was incredible, but then I had to wrestle 15 minutes after it.”
On knowing something was wrong: “So as soon as I rolled, jumped off, and it went, you actually see me go, f*ck. Then I go sit in my corner, I’m watching Okada, and then I could just feel my boot tightening up and I’m like, oh. Obviously I don’t know how bad it is. So I’m wrestling, and that was the first time. I’ve shattered my jaw in a wrestling match, I’ve had injuries before, but that was the first time in the ring that it got to me in the head. I remember doing the thing at the start, and then it started to really sink in, the pain. Then I remember Okada comes up to me and grabs me to whip me to the corner, rather than just going and listening and being in the moment I’m like, can I get there? So then when I got there, I’m like, I made it, what’s next? Then he just runs and just hits with this elbow. Now I’m two steps behind, because I’m just worried about whether I can even do it. Somehow I did, and we got through it, and pretty happy with how it came out, considering how hindered I was.”
On being on crutches: “Yeah, I had started off with two, then it moved to one, and then I braced it up and taped it up so it was so thick that I was just limping around. But yeah, we got through it. It was a great time.”
On when he hopes to return to the ring: “I’m hoping sooner rather than later. I’m obviously gonna have to get in the ring and suss it out and get back in ring shape. But I’m hoping in the next couple of weeks, fingers crossed.”
On what’s next now that Malakai Black is back in WWE: “So Hounds of Hell have started. Obviously, we rebranded as the Hounds of Hell. It’s still House of Black, it’s just not under that name. We’re just adding a little bit more color to it, and just doing a bit more talking ourselves. We don’t want to just be House of Black under a new name. We need to change a little bit, new coat of paint. So we started that, obviously. Then I hurt my ankle, unfortunately. So then that kind of takes me out of the picture. Brody has been killing it, he’s having these f*cking blinders with Takeshita. Brody’s a big man that can do a lot of stuff and is killing it. But yeah, hoping we can get back to the Hounds of Hell, maybe have to do a bit of a reboot just to kind of tell us that we’re all back together and stuff with Julia and stuff like that. But yeah, I’m sinking my teeth to get back in. I need that creative outlet to start going again.”
On a possible WWE return and storyline with Rhea Ripley: “I think that’s the big question. So I would love to do something with her. I think that story and our chemistry, just the way we are, would be good television. That’s definitely something, an itch I’d like to scratch. But the good thing about her in WWE and me in AEW and us both being in the business is that I would never want, and I don’t think I’d ever get there. I’d never want to be jealous, or get jealous of her in her position. She’s a megastar, she’s John Cena of women right now, and if I’m lowered, let’s just say I’m doing enhancement matches or whatever. I don’t want to be like, well, you’re doing that, you get this special treatment, and I get this, then kind of resent her for the position. Like I said, I don’t think it would ever happen, but I wouldn’t even want that to be an option.
“Then also, if something happens at work, I want her to be able to vent to me without me going, ‘Yeah, no, but this is how you play that game.’ I can kind of be that in the back seat, go, Yeah, I understand what you’re talking about, you deserve whatever, or you know you should do it like this, or whatever. Or just let her rant, and I can do the same to her. I can say I did this and did this. We can talk about the positives. We talk about the negatives. What upsets us and all, and it’s just like we’re on the same team. It would never become a competition. That was definitely something I thought about at the start. Would I love to work with her? Absolutely. I don’t think there would be anyone in the wrestling industry from any company or any part of the world that wouldn’t want to be doing something with Rhea Ripley. Whatever she touches turns to gold.”
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