On today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed Buddy Matthew’s announcement that he would be taking time off to recalibrate.
Meltzer noted that Matthews basically said the same thing that Malakai Black said. Black has reportedly been given a conditional release from AEW and there’s been talk that he’s interested in going to WWE after being sent feelers by them.
Meltzer also confirmed that Matthews wants to return to WWE. He said, “He was on a show in Rhode Island last night and said that he needed to step away and recalibrate and he even mentioned Malakai Black. It was very similar wording to what Malakai Black said when he did that independent show a week or two ago. It’s the same situation. How it’s being handled [and] what’s gonna happen is up in the air. But he’s gone for now…Obviously, like Malakai Black, they both wanted to leave and they want to go to WWE. They’re both under long-term contracts and we’ll see how this plays out.”
“Miro does not want to go back,” Ryan Frederick said on the Observer forum over the weekend. Frederick added, “The only guys that really want to go back are the ones who have significant others with the other company.”
AEW has a decision to make with Matthews. If they let Matthews go after granting Black his conditional release, then they could open the door for other wrestlers to ask for their release in the future if they are unhappy. Matthews and Black are two names that are believed to have received feelers from WWE and the message that is being sent (if they let Matthews go), is that WWE can reach out to AEW talent and they can just get out of their deals.
For that reason, it’s not a certainty that AEW will let Matthews out of his contract right away and it’s probably the reason why Black got a conditional release instead of a release that lets him sign with another company right away.
UPDATE: Matthews, seemingly in response to recent reports, said the following in a Tweet on Sunday.
— Buddy Matthews (@SNM_Buddy) September 26, 2022
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