It looks like WWE is going to take care of Ridge Holland after all.
WWE initially terminated the existing deal of Ridge Holland (Luke Menzies) a few days early, taking away the remaining money he would have received in reaction to Holland breaching his contract by talking negatively about the company in public via social media.
Menzies then released a full-length YouTube video explaining the entire situation, taking ownership for his actions and making it clear that he has no ill will towards WWE, and that he reflects on his tenure with the company fondly.
In an update, on today’s episode of Busted Open Radio, the former WWE, WWE NXT and WWE EVOLVE wrestler revealed that WWE will, in fact, be paying for his upcoming neck fusion surgery.
The surgery is for the serious injury that Menzies suffered while wrestling a match for WWE at a TNA iMPACT television taping.
Also during the interview, Menzies spoke about the main point that led to WWE feeling justified in releasing him while he was on the sidelines with an injury he suffered working a match for them. The issue being that WWE signed him to a one-year extension in 2024 that was a 58-percent pay cut, with the one-year being Menzies’ decision after turning down a three-year offer that would lock him into a long-term, low-paying deal.
“It was a contradiction,” he said. “If they didn’t see value, they would cut me right there and then, right? If they didn’t see the value,” Menzies said. “So why offer me a three-year deal for a 58 percent pay cut? Which I obviously said — I said, ‘Look I can’t be tied in at three years for that amount of money. I can’t do that. I’ll bet on myself for a year. I’ll do a year and bet on myself and then let the chips fall where they may.’”
Menzies continued, “So I really don’t understand where the 58 percent came from, other than the fact that they said they didn’t see the value. And that lit a fire under my ass to say, ‘Well, I’ll prove you wrong.’ And obviously things went the way they went, really. You know, I got taken off TV and, like I said, to Evolve. Used it as an opportunity, tried to rebrand myself. Went to TNA, had a great time, wrestled Mike [Santana]. And then the foot injury happened and then I got, you know, not renewed and then subsequently fired because of my own actions.”
Busy day on a Monday edition of Busted Open with @davidlagreca1 & @bullyray5150!#SmackDown Review: Cena tournament, Jade’s promo & more 👀
PLUS @RidgeWWE joins us at 10:00AM
And that’s not all… Harvey Wippleman & Jon from @RingsideC stop by in hour 3! pic.twitter.com/ZIg3nhfu4Y— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) November 10, 2025
(H/T to Joseph Currier and F4WOnline.com for transcribing the above Ridge Holland interview quotes from the November 10 episode of Busted Open Radio.)
