5 potential matches/feuds for Buddy Matthews in WWE

As you may know by now, Buddy Matthews (aka Buddy Murphy) is taking some time off from professional wrestling.

Matthews wrestled in his last match for AEW this past Friday on Rampage. He and Brody King wrestled a tag team match against Sting and Darby Allin in a losing effort.

The former WWE Superstar also wrestled over the weekend for Fight Life Pro Wrestling, and after his match, Matthews cut a promo stating he would be taking a break from the wrestling industry for now.

"I need to figure out some things. As my brother Malakai once said, this isn't goodbye, this is see you later."

Based on some recent rumors, after his break, there’s a good chance that we could see Buddy Murphy return to WWE. Given that scenario, here are the five potential feuds/rivalries he may have.

#5. “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles

Buddy Murphy has shown that he can be a solid in-ring performer and an all-round great wrestler from bell-to-bell. One wrestler that could easily complement his style would be AJ Styles.

Murphy was seen as one of the more underutilized wrestlers for WWE during his first run, never getting his feet off the ground beyond mid-card status.

Placing him a feud with AJ Styles would be a terrific start, in theory. Styles is at a point in his wrestling career where he’s beginning to slowly wind down and is more interested in putting over talent versus having another championship run.

Styles could be used to help push Murphy to the next level in WWE. The wrestling matches these two could have on RAW and SmackDown would be fascinating to witness.

#4. Seth Rollins

This would be a great storyline opportunity for Buddy Murphy seeing as how these two men were once friends and former RAW Tag Team Champions at one point in 2020.

Seth Rollins had essentially used Murphy as a henchman to do his dirty work and aide him in his feud with Rey Mysterio and, ironically enough, Aleister Black.

Murphy could return to WWE to target Rollins as a babyface, seeing as how they had initially begun a feud before his release from the company. Picking up right where the two left off, Murphy re-enters the company with the goal of putting the Monday Night Messiah down for good.

This would elevate Murphy to a level that he feels he could’ve been at if it weren’t for guys like Rollins holding him back from reaching his full potential.

#3. Madcap Moss

I feel these two wrestlers are similar and would benefit each other from having a storyline or rivalry together. Madcap Moss is on the rise on the SmackDown brand and previously had his hands full with his former friend now rival, Happy Corbin.

Murphy had been in the same situation with Seth Rollins prior to his release and could relate to Moss in that aspect.

However, Moss kept his job and is slowly rising up in the men’s division on the SmackDown brand. Murphy on the other hand, never got that opportunity. A return for Murphy to the blue brand as a heel and targeting Moss would raise a few eyebrows for sure.

#2. Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre has been in the main event level position and won the WWE Championship on two different occasions.

He was able to achieve his dream and headline a WrestleMania, despite the circumstances surrounding the COVID pandemic. Buddy Murphy never got that chance or was even in the same ballpark as McIntyre during that timeframe.

Murphy returning to the company and having McIntyre be his first feud back would be interesting to say the least. Murphy has evolved as a character and has shown signs that he could be a main event level star if given the right storyline and stars around him to keep pushing his character.

The Scottish Psychopath would be an excellent vehicle to drive Buddy Murphy to the main event level and beyond if they were involved in a storyline that captivates the audience’s imagination.

#1. Buddy Murphy versus Bron Breakker for the NXT World Championship

There is an off chance that we could see Buddy Murphy return to where it all began for him: NXT! Buddy Murphy was a former NXT Tag Team Champion at one point, but never got a singles run for the brand.

He has some unfinished business to take care of. Bron Breakker is the reigning and defending NXT World Champion, he would be the automatic prime target.

Breakker is without a doubt the biggest star in NXT currently and will likely continue his momentum once he reaches the WWE main roster down the road.

Having Buddy Murphy come in, re-debut for the brand, and dethrone Breakker for the NXT World title to send him up to the main roster. This would give Murphy his well-deserved singles world title run would work perfectly!