Sorry “Dirty” Dom, it looks like your Mami has officially found her real-life Papi, as Rhea Ripley has announced her engagement to AEW star and House of Black member Buddy Matthews.
“1000x YES!” she exclaimed on Instagram. “Pure Fucking happiness”
The two pro wrestlers began dating in 2020 after meeting each other while working for WWE. Matthews was previously known as Buddy Murphy and came up with Ripley in the company’s developmental system. While they were in NXT, both held gold, as Ripley became the WWE NXT Women’s Champion, and Matthews became WWE NXT Tag Team Champion alongside Wesley Blake.
Matthews was released by WWE in June 2021 and has since signed with All Elite Wrestling, where he currently holds the AEW Trios Championships as part of House of Black. The group is set to defend their titles this Saturday night on Collision against CMFTR, consisting of CM Punk and FTR. The company is also on the road to All In, their biggest show ever, and it is possible Matthews is announced for that card in the coming weeks.
Ripley is currently the WWE Women’s World Champion, and some make the case that she is the leader of The Judgment Day. She was seen last night on WWE NXT alongside Dominik Mysterio, helping him to successfully retain his WWE NXT North American Championship against Dragon Lee. The chemistry between Ripley and Mysterio has heated up in recent months, but her engagement to Matthews is a reminder that pro wrestling is a scripted TV show.
Ripley and Matthews are not the only WWE and AEW stars in an inter-promotional relationship at the moment. The LWO’s Zelina Vega is married to House of Black’s Malakai Black, and Charlotte Flair is married to Andrade El Idolo.
Haus of Wrestling wishes Ripley and Matthews all the best as they begin this journey in their lives!