Add as a preferred source on Google Ridge Holland has once again opened up about one of the most difficult moments of his WWE career, involving the serious injury Big E suffered in March 2022 during an episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
In an interview with F4WOnline, the former WWE wrestler said he went through an extremely difficult period after the accident, especially because of the reaction from fans on social media and the way he began to be viewed within the company itself.
“It was extremely difficult. Obviously, I’ll always preface it by saying the main point is that making sure that Big E was okay, and he’s all good now, and he’s healthy. But at the time, from a personal standpoint, it was probably one of the hardest times of my life.”
“From like death threats to all the social media things, it kind of marred my…kind of like drove a certain perception of me with fans that I struggled to kind of shake. I just think their confidence in me, and especially my confidence in my own performance, was definitely affected ’cause I didn’t really wanna get in the ring. I was very nervous about getting in the ring after that. It shook me.”
“I remember there were Vince and Bruce standing there, and they were counting down like thirty seconds till we go live. And I’m thinking, ‘I don’t know what I’m gonna say. I’m just gonna speak from the heart.’”
“And then it got to like five, four, and then they cut it. They just didn’t do promos right then. And then I had to go out and wrestle a match.”
Despite everything, Holland said he stayed in contact with Big E after the accident, sending him messages and apologizing several times. Big E suffered fractures to his C1 and C6 vertebrae and has not wrestled since.
Now working outside WWE as Luke Menzies, Holland is trying to rebuild his career after leaving the company in 2025.