Buddy Matthews has been announced for World Series Wrestling’s MegaMania tour in his native Australia this October and November, with the booking representing the AEW wrestler’s return to in-ring action after a 15-month injury layoff.
Per WSW, Matthews will headline a five-show tour across Australia and New Zealand:
- Thursday, October 29 in Auckland, New Zealand
- Friday, October 30 in Brisbane, Australia
- Saturday, October 31 in Adelaide, Australia
- Sunday, November 1 in Melbourne, Australia
- Monday, November 2 in Sydney, Australia
The five-night tour spans the entirety of WSW’s planned MegaMania weekend, giving Matthews exposure across his home country and the broader Australia-New Zealand wrestling market.
Matthews has been on the shelf since AEW Grand Slam Australia in February 2025, when he sustained an ankle injury during his entrance to face Kazuchika Okada. The initial expectation was that Matthews would only miss a few months. The ankle did not heal properly, requiring surgery and extending the recovery timeline. The 15-month layoff has been one of the longest active injury absences on the AEW roster.
The MegaMania tour announcement comes less than two weeks after Matthews made a surprise appearance at a previous WSW event where, despite his ongoing injury status, he laid out Donovan Dijak.
Swerve Strickland publicly praised Matthews in March, saying he cannot wait for Matthews to get back in the ring and wants to face him once he is able to.
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
