Matthew Adams (born 26 September 1988) is an Australian professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Buddy Matthews and is a former AEW World Trios Champion. He also makes appearances on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time with WWE where he performed under the ring name Buddy Murphy (later shortened to Murphy).
Prior to joining WWE, Adams wrestled primarily in his native Australia under the ring name Matt Silva, appearing with promotions such as Professional Championship Wrestling (PCW) and Melbourne City Wrestling (MCW). In 2013, he relocated to the United States to work for WWE, starting out in its developmental territory NXT. During his time in NXT, he formed a tag team with Wesley Blake that won the NXT Tag Team Championship on one occasion, making him the first Australian national to win a championship in WWE. In 2018, Adams was moved to WWE's main roster, appearing on 205 Live; he won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship later that year. He was moved to SmackDown in April 2019 and then to Raw in October 2019, where he aligned himself with Seth Rollins, leading to the duo winning the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship. Adams was released from WWE in June 2021, and subsequently started wrestling for New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Major League Wrestling as "Buddy Matthews". He then made his debut for All Elite Wrestling in February 2022.
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Early life
Matthew Adams was born on 26 September 1988 in Melbourne, Victoria. He attended Berwick Secondary College, where he graduated in 2006.
Professional wrestling career
Early career (2007–2013)
Adams was trained by Carlo Cannon. He made his debut on 8 September 2007 as "Matt Silva", at Professional Championship Wrestling (PCW), where he teamed with Jacko Lantern to defeat Adam Brooks and Diaz. He won the PCW State Championship by defeating Danny Psycho on 3 December 2010. He was also a mainstay in Melbourne City Wrestling (MCW), where he won the MCW World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Slex on 28 January 2012. He held the championship for 293 days.
WWE (2013–2021)
On 17 March 2013, Adams signed a developmental contract with WWE and was assigned to their developmental territory NXT. On 23 November, he debuted as Buddy Murphy at an NXT house show, teaming with Sawyer Fulton and Troy McClain against Angelo Dawkins, Colin Cassady, and Wesley Blake. On 15 May 2014 episode of NXT, he teamed with Elias Samson in a losing effort against The Ascension.
In August 2014, Murphy formed a tag team with Wesley Blake. On 14 August episode of NXT, they were defeated in the first round of a number one contender tag team tournament by The Lucha Dragons (Kalisto and Sin Cara). For the rest of 2014, they lost multiple matches to The Lucha Dragons and The Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch). Also in October 2014, they lost a number one contender tag team battle royal, being eliminated by The Ascension.
On 21 January 2015 episode of NXT, Blake and Murphy defeated The Vaudevillains and quickly challenged The Lucha Dragons to a title match. On 28 January episode of NXT, Blake and Murphy defeated the champions to win the NXT Tag Team Championship, making Murphy the first Australian to hold a championship in WWE. At NXT TakeOver: Rival, Blake and Murphy, now billed simply by their surnames, defeated the Lucha Dragons in a rematch for the title. Following that in March, Blake and Murphy began a feud with Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, who were intent on capturing the tag titles. Blake and Murphy attempted to woo Carmella on several occasions. On 13 May episode of NXT, Blake and Murphy distracted Carmella during her match with Alexa Bliss, causing her to lose. At NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, during Amore and Cassady's NXT Tag Team Championship match against Blake and Murphy, Alexa Bliss came out mid-match and attacked Carmella and Amore, ensuring the win for Blake and Murphy. After making several successful title defences, Blake and Murphy lost the championships to the Vaudevillians at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, ending their reign at 219 days.
On 18 May 2016 episode of NXT, after losing to Austin Aries and Shinsuke Nakamura, Bliss and then Blake walked away from Murphy, teasing a split for the team. On 1 June episode of NXT, his ring name was reverted to Buddy Murphy, where he was defeated by Tye Dillinger. On 15 June episode of NXT, Blake and Murphy reunited, but after a miscommunication between the two, they were defeated by TM-61 (Nick Miller and Shane Thorne). The following week, Murphy announced himself as a singles competitor by interrupting Shinsuke Nakamura, leading to a match with Nakamura, which Murphy lost. On 4 January 2017 episode of NXT, Murphy teamed with Tye Dillinger to defeat Bobby Roode and Elias Samson, and this turned out to be Murphy's last televised appearance in NXT, before being called up to main roster.
Independent circuit (2021–present)
On 11 September 2021, Murphy, now going by Buddy Matthews, made his first post-WWE appearance at Pennsylvania Premiere Wrestling (PPW), where he defeated Facade and JT Dunn in a three-way match.
In 2022, Matthews returned to Melbourne City Wrestling (MCW)a in the Ballroom Brawl event, winning the right to face Mitch Waterman for the MCW World Heavyweight Championship. Matthews then defeated Mitch Waterman to win his second MCW World Heavyweight Championship, at The House Always Wins event in 2023 before losing the title to Slex in 2024.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2021–2022)
On 16 October 2021, a video aired during NJPW Strong announcing that Matthews,would make his New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) debut at the Battle in the Valley event on 13 November, where he lost toKazuchika Okada. Matthews would continue to appear on Strong in 2022, facing the likes of Ren Narita and Yuya Uemura.
Major League Wrestling (2022)
On 21 January 2022, Matthews wrestled for Major League Wrestling (MLW) at their Blood & Thunder event, losing to TJP.
All Elite Wrestling (2022–present)
Matthews made his debut for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on 23 February 2022 episode of Dynamite, joining the House of Black with Malakai Black and Brody King. The trio would defeat Death Triangle and Erick Redbeard at the Revolution buy-in show on 6 March. In August 2022, the trio feuded with Darby Allin, which culminated in a six-man tag team match at All Out on 4 September, where the House of Black were defeated.
At Revolution on 5 March 2023, The House of Black defeated The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson) to become the AEW World Trios Championship. In the summer of 2023, Matthews feuded Andrade El Idolo on Collision, which concluded in a ladder match for Andrade's mask, where Matthews lost. House of Black lost the trios titles to The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn at All In on August 27.
On 1 May 2024 episode of Dynamite, Matthews unsuccessfully challenged Adam Copeland for the AEW TNT Championship. On 15 June episode of Collision, the House of Black won a #1 contenders' match for The Patriarchy's AEW World Trios Championships. After the match, Patriarchy leader Christian Cage appeared on the titantron and revealed that they had attacked Matthews with a con-chair-to, turning the entire House of Black stable face for the first time. On 25 August at All In, the House of Black participated in the ladder match for the AEW World Trios Championships, but failed to win.
On 22 January 2025 episode of Dynamite, a vignette aired of King, Matthews and Julia Hart silently kicking Black out of the group and as leader, stating "that they are done living in the shadows and that it is time to honor themselves with no leaders, no masters, no gods". On 25 January episode of Collision, the group was renamed to the "Hounds of Hell". On 15 February at Grand Slam Australia, Matthews unsuccessfully challenged Kazuchika Okada for the AEW Continental Championship. After the match, Matthews revealed that he had suffered an ankle injury during his entrance, leaving him out of action indefinitely.
Other media
Adams as Buddy Murphy made his video game debut as a playable character in WWE 2K16 (as a downloadable character) and also appears in WWE 2K17, WWE 2K20 and WWE 2K22. He appeared on an episode of the reality show Total Divas in January 2018.
Personal life
Adams was engaged to American professional wrestler Alexis Cabrera, better known by the ring name Alexa Bliss. It was reported that the two ended their engagement in September 2018, but still remain friends.
He later began a relationship with fellow Australian wrestler Demi Bennett, known professionally as Rhea Ripley. They married in June 2024.
Adams has a background in extreme sports, particularly bungee jumping, rock climbing, and swimming with great whales. He is a supporter of his hometown Australian rules football club, the Carlton Football Club; his WWE ring name is a reference to former Carlton midfielder Marc Murphy.
Championships and accomplishments
All Elite Wrestling
AEW World Trios Championship (1 time) – with Brody King and Malakai Black
Ballarat Pro Wrestling
BPW Australian Championship (1 time)
CBS Sports
Breakthrough Wrestler of the Year (2018)
Melbourne City Wrestling
MCW World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
MCW Ballroom Brawl (2022)
Professional Championship Wrestling
PCW State Championship (1 time)
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Ranked No. 33 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2019
WWE
WWE Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)
WWE Raw Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Seth Rollins
NXT Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Wesley Blake/Blake