Luke Menzies a.k.a. Ridge Holland regrets his recent social media post about his contract not being renewed at WWE and states he is grateful for his time there.
The former WWE talent has launched a YouTube channel to address the recent issues surrounding him and WWE. The tensions mounted this week after a post by Menzies alluding to being unable to pay his mortgage and venting his frustrations over WWE opting not to renew his contract while he recovers from a Lisfranc foot injury suffered while Menzies was outsourced to TNA.
Menzies’ deal was set to expire on November 14 but was cut several days early due to the social media post, according to Fightful Select.
In Menzies’ video, he said the “majority of the time at WWE was a positive” and was grateful for his time there. He was a long-time wrestling fan while playing Rugby before making the switch and joining WWE in 2018.
He went through his career in WWE, overcoming a nasty series of injuries in 2020 when he broke his ankle, dislocated a kneecap, and tore his patella tendon after catching Oney Lorcan on a dive and planting his foot.
Regarding the Brawling Brutes’ affiliation during his main roster run, he praised Pete Dunne as the best wrestler in the world but saw a ceiling for the group, designed to “facilitate” Sheamus.
He said there was no bigger regret than the injury to Big E. in March 2022, where he landed on his head during a belly-to-belly suplex executed by Menzies. He said they had less time to go over the match in advance and wished they had just done a suicide dive and cut out the suplex. He called Big E. “a good human being,” and the injury led to Menzies’ confidence being shaken.
In NXT, he was appreciative of his time working with Chase U and the heat he garnered opposing the group. He said he was taken off television after a mediocre match with Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo this past February. He wrestled the following week against Tony D’Angelo and Ricky Saints in March but disappeared after those matches, only appearing on EVOLVE and live events.
Menzies wouldn’t comment on his contract details, but regretted sending the tweet this past week on his frustrations with WWE.
From the post:
I never thought I’d not be able to pay my mortgage.
I feel like I’ve just been hung out to dry after getting injured working for another company on behalf of WWE. Add to that my contract not being renewed knowing that I wouldn’t be able to wrestle for 7 months. This is brutal.
Yes they are taking care of the surgery and physical therapy but let’s be honest, that’s the bare minimum after what we sacrifice for the company.
Plus the possibility of having to get my neck fused too.
Talk about getting totally fucked.
Menzies said it was “out of character” for him to post something like that, but he needed to vent and wouldn’t have done that in hindsight.
He is dealing with multiple health issues, including the Lisfranc foot injury, which he noted might require another surgery. The injury occurred at the TNA tapings in Edmonton, where he was loaned out by WWE to work at the taping.
Plus, he may need neck fusion surgery with his C-5 and C-6 vertebrae as he’s experienced nerve compression.
