CM Punk reacts to AEW star's touching message for Rhea Ripley following real-life milestone

A stark professional line divides AEW and WWE, the two largest wrestling companies in the world. However, many personal and even romantic relationships cross this interpromotional divide, with one of the most celebrated being the marriage of Buddy Matthews and Rhea Ripley.

The two had been together for years before tying the knot in June 2024. Today, they're celebrating their anniversary, and AEW's Buddy Matthews posted a touching tribute to his wife on Instagram.

Well wishes have poured in for the couple on their first anniversary. WWE Superstar CM Punk, who was once a member of All Elite Wrestling and is friends with both Matthews and Ripley, dropped a like on their post.

Check it out in the screengrab below:

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CM Punk likes Buddy Matthews' message to Rhea Ripley [Image credit: Matthews' Instagram account]

Buddy Matthews is still absent from AEW due to injury

Following the departure of Malakai Black early this year, Buddy Matthews and his tag team partner, Brody King, were gaining some momentum in All Elite Wrestling. Unfortunately, their push came to an end when Matthews injured his ankle in a match against Kazuchika Okada at Grand Slam: Australia in February.

While many fans assumed he'd be back in action before long, it seems he's run into complications. The 36-year-old revealed during a recent Instagram live session that his recovery wasn't going the way he had hoped it would:

“The ankle is not recovering as well as I thought it would be. There’s no mobility to it, if I can’t have mobility, I can’t move properly. Once it hits three months without healing, it becomes chronic … I thought I’d be back in the ring in April."

Brody King has carried on without Matthews for now, and he's even attracted some mainstream attention following his appearance at AEW Grand Slam: Mexico last week. Whether Buddy can return to give his partner some support in the near future remains to be seen.

About the author

Jacob is an AEW contributor and editor at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He has edited and published over 8,000 articles for Sportskeeda Wrestling in just over two years, and subsequently donned the hat of a contributor, demonstrating his commitment to continuous learning. His experience goes beyond wrestling, with five years as an editor for several independent publishing houses and three years as a captioning specialist.

Jacob's first memory of pro wrestling dates back to Sting vs. Ric Flair for the World Heavyweight Championship at Great American Bash 1990. He later began writing for a newsletter and blog at the University of North Texas, and his love of wrestling naturally led him to seek opportunities in the media.

His favorite wrestler is The Icon, as he feels Sting has evolved throughout his career on a parallel path with his own growth as a person. He was Jacob's childhood hero and teenage idol, and now he makes him less afraid of getting older.

Jacob ensures relevance and accuracy in his articles by working hard to maintain his ideals and objectivity without sacrificing his unique voice, inspiring other writers in the section to follow suit.

Jacob’s non-wrestling interests include Anime, video games, and fantasy novels.

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Edited by Sayantan Niyogi