Ridge Holland (real name Luke Menzies) is telling the world exactly how things went down -- and it's brutal. After suffering a serious injury during a match in TNA, he says WWE called him just days later and told him they weren't renewing his contract.
In a new YouTube video, Ridge broke down what led to the end of his WWE run. The story starts with a high point -- some solid indie matches and then landing a shot in TNA, where everything seemed to be going right.
"Had a couple of good matches on Evolve and found myself in TNA. Jumped. Had a really, really solid match with Mike -- tons of fun. I had a fantastic time at TNA. It was great. Everyone was fantastic there. The boys, everything -- you know, I can't say enough good things about that place."
But that high didn't last long. The very next day, disaster struck during a match against Santara when a move with Moose went wrong.
"What had happened was, I was going for a pop-up powerbomb on Moose. He jumped -- because he's so athletic, he jumped so high, I thought I was going to lose him. So I stepped forward. He came down, I stepped back, the foot twisted -- and that was the injury."
The injury was serious enough to require surgery, and Ridge was sidelined with his mom flying in to help take care of the family.
"So I had surgery. I think I recovered for about a week, and I'd got a kind of complimentary stay at one of the resorts in Orlando for the family, 'cause my mom had flown over to help with the kids because I was incapacitated -- really couldn't do much."
And then came the phone call that changed everything.
"And then we got there the first day. That's when I got the call that they said that they weren't going to renew my contract. Bear in mind, I'm injured and don't know how I'm going to make a living."
Fans online were quick to speculate about his financial situation, but Ridge had a blunt response for all the armchair accountants.
"And I've seen comments about money management and financial stuff. I'm not going to air my financial details on here. That's nobody's business. Everyone has their own opinion -- but like I've always said, opinions are like [__], right? Everyone's got one, and the majority of them stink."
To make things worse, Ridge is now staring down another major health issue -- possibly needing spinal fusion surgery.
"I might have to have another surgery. I'm probably going to have my neck fused. I've got some issues there from my wrestling career where I'm getting kind of radiating pain down my arms, and I think it's a C5, C6 that possibly needs fusing. I've got some nerve compression going on. So I'd like to get that fixed and not have to deal with that in later life, if I'm honest."
From getting hurt while working on WWE's behalf in another promotion to getting dropped while still recovering, Ridge Holland's story is the kind of real-life wrestling fallout few ever talk about out loud. He's not looking for sympathy -- but he's definitely setting the record straight.
What's your take on Ridge Holland's situation? Should WWE have kept him under contract while he healed, or is this just how the business works now? Let us know what you think in the comments.