AEW star (not Buddy Matthews) shares wholesome pictures with Rhea Ripley amid her WWE absence

The former Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley was seen with an AEW star amid her absence from the WWE due to injury. The All Elite star is not Rhea's fiancee, Buddy Matthews.

The star in question is Marina Shafir. After a decent run in Mixed Martial Arts, Marina pursued a career in pro wrestling with her debut in the WWE back in 2018. After her release in 2020, Shafir joined Tony Khan's promotion in 2021. She was last seen on an episode of Rampage in December 2023.

Amid her absence, Marina has been performing on Ring of Honor and other independent wrestling promotions. Meanwhile, Shafir was spotted with The Nightmare. Rhea recently relinquished her Women's World Title and is currently on a hiatus from the WWE.

Marina Shafir took to her Instagram handle recently to share a couple of pictures with Ripley, including a recent photo and one from their training days. Shafir also added a two-word caption.

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The new Women's World Champion took a shot at Rhea Ripley

After Ripley relinquished the championship due to injury, Becky Lynch won a battle royal to become the new Women's World Champion.

At the recent King and Queen of the Ring PLE, however, The Man dropped the title to Liv Morgan. After her title win, Liv took a shot at Rhea in an exclusive interview:

"I waited eight long months for this moment, to get revenge, to get redemption, to show Rhea Ripley why she made the biggest mistake of her entire life. I did what nobody said I could do. I finally beat Becky Lynch and I got my revenge on Rhea Ripley and became new Women's World Champion."

Moreover, Dominik Mysterio also got involved in the match between Liv Morgan and Becky Lynch. Only time will tell where the story with Dominik and Liv is heading and how The Nightmare is going to factor into that.