Buddy Matthews

Matthew Adams (born 26 September 1988) is an Australian professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Buddy Matthews as a member of the stable House of Black and is a former one-time AEW World Trios Champion.

Adams also makes appearances on the independent circuit and is best known for his time with WWE where he performed under the ring names Buddy Murphy and 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).

Matthew Adams was born on 26 September 1988 in Melbourne, Victoria.

He attended Berwick Secondary College, where he graduated in 2006.

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.

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.

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.

In 2018, Adams was moved to WWE's main roster, appearing on 205 Live; he won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship later that year.

In early 2018, Murphy lost about 25 pounds and asked to compete on the 205 Live brand.

On 20 February episode of 205 Live, he made his debut as a participant in the Cruiserweight Championship tournament, defeating Ariya Daivari in the first round but lost to Mustafa Ali in the quarterfinals.

On 27 March episode of 205 Live, Murphy defeated TJP, Akira Tozawa, Kalisto in a fatal four-way match for a future shot at the Cruiserweight Championship.

On 10 April episode of 205 Live, Murphy attacked new WWE Cruiserweight Champion Cedric Alexander from behind, starting a feud between the two.

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.

Murphy left WWE in June 2021, subsequently wrestling for New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Major League Wrestling as "Buddy Matthews".

Adams then made his debut for All Elite Wrestling in February 2022.