Ridge Holland Reflects On Roller Coaster WWE Journey Leading Up To Release

Former WWE star Ridge Holland has been the center of much discussion lately, with the company letting the injured wrestler’s contract expire before then informing him the contract was being terminated slightly early because he broke a non-disparagement clause. Holland (real name Luke Menzies) has since started up his own YouTube channel, and his first video features the former rugby player reflecting on his up-and-down journey in the company.

First, Menzies noted that he’d characterize his overall WWE experience as a positive one despite some bumps in the road. One of the highlights was getting to perform at WWE WrestleMania 38, where he teamed with Sheamus against Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods of The New Day.

Still, there were certainly rough patches in his WWE career. Menzies went over the entire timeline, with the first issue arising not long after WWE officials decided they’d like to hire him. In anticipation of moving to Florida from the United Kingdom, Menzies sold his house, only to find out a short time later that his visa application had been declined.

Menzies and his wife moved in with the aspiring wrestler’s grandfather, and he was forced to spend months working on the indies to build a resume for himself that he could present with his visa request. Eventually, the situation was sorted out. Menzies packed up and moved his family to America.

‘There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think about what happened’

Once he’d made it to the United States, Menzies started his training at the WWE Performance Center. Putting in work on live events, he soon started appearing on TV, with Menzies recalling matches against the likes of Matt Riddle and Keith Lee. Sadly, his momentum was halted by a compound leg injury.

“10 months out there, just as I was getting started,” Menzies said. “And then I found myself getting called up [to] the main roster when I got back. And the funny thing was, it was like I never really established myself in NXT. I never really had a character, so there was no reference point for the creative team on how to book me. So I got put with Sheamus, which was a massive rub, but as a character and a performer, I didn’t know myself.”

Once Sheamus and Menzies were partnered up onscreen, they were soon joined by Pete Dunne, and the trio became known as The Brawling Brutes. Around this same time, Menzies was in the ring with Big E of The New Day when a mistimed move led to Big E breaking his neck. As of today, nearly four years later, Big E has yet to return to the ring and may have to retire for the sake of his own health.

“The thing, I think, that affected me more than anything was the Big E thing,” Menzies continued. “If I had a time machine, right here, right now, the first thing that I would do is go back and not do that spot. There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t think about what happened.”

Luke Menzies discusses final months in WWE

Following the injury to Big E, Menzies recalled finding himself in a decidedly negative headspace, but he credits Dunne and Sheamus for helping pull him out of it. As for his relationship with Big E, Menzies stated that the former New Day member has forgiven him.

Menzies took a knock to his confidence in the aftermath, and he now believes that it set him back in WWE. Not wanting to damage Dunne’s career, Menzies said he requested to be sent back to NXT temporarily, with the idea that he’d rebuild his confidence and image for an eventual main roster return. It didn’t work out that way, however.

“[I] had a semi-feud with Ilja [Dragunov], kind of touching on the injury stuff, but it was a bit too close to the bone, so that got nixed, which I can totally understand,” Menzies stated. “We had a few things with Gallus and then we got into the Chase U thing, where we won the belts. There was the heel turn, which I thought was really good. I thought I had great heat. I thought I probably had the most heat of any heel in NXT.”

Without getting into detail, Menzies acknowledged that he signed a new, short-team WWE deal around that time. Then, after a self-described “mediocre” match with Ricky Saints, Menzies was taken off TV. The company didn’t stop utilizing him, with the Ridge Holland character making appearances in EVOLVE and then TNA, where he was ultimately injured. About a month before his WWE deal expired, the company let Menzies know they wouldn’t be extending him.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Luke Menzies on YouTube and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

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