[Watch] Buddy Matthews’ reaction to Rhea Ripley chopping the soul out of rising pro wrestler

Rhea Ripley slapped a rising indie pro wrestler very hard during a recent live stream. Now, AEW star Buddy Matthews reacted to this live in person.

Gabriel Aeros is a rising professional wrestler from Australia. He has wrestled for some of the top promotions Down Under and has also competed in the United States. Aeros has also previously competed on ROH and Dynamite, with his last match on AEW TV taking place on the 12 March 2025 episode of the Wednesday Night show when he teamed with Eli Theseus and Vinny Pacifico against The Opps. Given that he is from Australia, Gabriel is very good friends with fellow Aussie wrestlers Rhea Ripley and Buddy Matthews.

During one of their recent live streams, Aeros agreed to get chopped across the chest by Ripley. When The Eradicator chopped, the rising star was in incredible pain. Buddy Matthews, who was in the room, also reacted to the chop.

Check out the clip here:

These wrestlers angered WWE management! Check what happened next

Rhea Ripley opens up about her relationship with Liv Morgan

Rhea Ripley was involved in a heated feud with Liv Morgan for the better part of 2024. The two women left it all on the table as they battled for the Women's World Championship. This feud also cost Mami The Judgment Day and Dominik Mysterio. Now that she is done with Liv, Mami has given her thoughts on her longtime rival.

During a recent interview with Allenownz Wrasslin, Ripley stated that she has formed a strong bond with Liv Morgan, which made their feud fun.

"She’s someone that I’ve made such a strong bond with here in the WWE, and being able to have fun out there with my friend and then bring Dominik into it, and then bring Raquel back into it—this is why I do what I do, because I get to do it with people that I love and appreciate, and they love and appreciate me. We get to make magic and get fans connected to it and entertained by it, and hell, if they hate me for real, for beating up Liv, then I’m doing my job, right? So I’m having fun,” she added. [H/T: ITR Wrestling]

Rhea Ripley is set to challenge for the Women's World Championship at WWE SummerSlam 2025 this weekend in New Jersey.

About the author

Sunil is a pro wrestling journalist, covering AEW and WWE news stories at Sportskeeda. He holds an MBA degree in Marketing, and has nearly 7 years of experience. A wrestling aficionado since childhood, Sunil used to imitate his favorite wrestlers as a young kid, and started writing professionally about the sport via Sportskeeda’s revenue-sharing opportunity.

Sunil admires former world champions AJ Styles, Will Ospreay, and Kenny Omega for their ability to consistently deliver great matches as well as entertain crowds with their mic skills.

If ever given a chance to change a storyline, Sunil would have booked Roman Reigns to end The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak instead of Brock Lesnar. According to him, The Tribal Chief needed the victory more than Brock Lesnar, as the latter was already an established performer when he defeated ‘Taker. He would’ve also made that as Taker’s final match.

Always focused on making his work accurate and reliable, Sunil thoroughly checks his facts before writing his articles. When not writing for pro wrestling, he spends his time watching cricket.

Know More

Edited by Jeevak Ambalgi