WWE Faces Backlash for Not Extending Ridge Holland’s Contract Amid Ongoing Injury Rehab

Just a few weeks back, on September 27, Ridge Holland suffered a Lisfranc injury during his match against Moose on TNA Impact. He had to undergo surgery to repair his body, and the expected timeline for his return is around six months.

The 37-year-old wrestler is already going through a tough time right now, and he recently got the news that WWE won’t be renewing his contract either. Holland shared this news on his social media channels, and it has sparked a ton of criticism for the TKO-owned corporation.

His current contract expires next month, on November 14th, and while the wrestler did say WWE will cover the rehab for this injury, he will no longer be under contract in a few weeks.

Ridge Holland Is Currently Sidelined Due To A Leg Injury

Ridge Holland first signed with WWE in 2018, a year after he started wrestling professionally. He started with the NXT brand, where he also won the Tag Team Titles with Andre Chase (as part of his recent run). Upon moving to the main roster, WWE put him in a stable with Sheamus as part of The Brawling Brutes.

Holland’s WWE career has been controversial, and most fans only remember him for that injury incident on SmackDown that broke Big E’s neck. While Holland received a ton of heat from fans online, wrestlers backstage (including Big E) didn’t blame him for the injury.

After the Brawling Brutes disbanded, Holland returned to NXT and had rivalries with wrestlers like Ilja Dragunov, The Good Brothers, and many more. Eventually, WWE sent him to Evolve where he wrestled a few matches.

In September, Holland also made his TNA debut, where he faced Mike Santana at Victory Road. This was his only televised match in TNA. The fight with Moose happened as part of a dark match, where Holland injured his foot.

Ridge Holland Will Be Leaving WWE In November

WWE recently released many NXT wrestlers, which included names such as Wes Lee and Stevie Turner. Around this time, Ridge Holland was also informed by the company that his contract would not be renewing in November.

The wrestler said this on his X account:

“I’ve been informed that WWE will not be renewing my contract when it ends on November 14th. WWE are still going to cover my rehab from injury but my guaranteed pay will end, quite frustrating to say the least as I cannot work for another 6 months due to the aforementioned injury, with a family of 5 to support.

My career with WWE has been blighted by misfortune but I’m still thankful and grateful for the opportunity and experience. The shining light that has always kept me going is the HUGE support from a handful of special human beings. Thank you.”

He also talked about starting an online coaching business, something he has been working on for months already.

“I’m unsure what lies ahead of me in terms of wrestling but going forward I will be working hard to heal up and in that time I will be launching my own online coaching business…..so stay tuned. Cheers.”

Going forward, it seems that Ridge Holland will be using his real name, Luke Menzies, in the wrestling business.

Main image credit: Summerslam2022, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons