In the soap opera that is WWE NXT, Ridge Holland has decided it’s time to press the pause button, turning his wrestling boots in for… well, probably some very comfy slippers. Following a storyline that’s more twisty than a bag of pretzels, Holland announced he’s stepping into the great unknown of “indefinitely away” land.
The plot thickens, folks: Holland, who’s been wrestling with a confidence crisis not unlike your average teenager choosing a prom outfit, has had a rough go of it. This all spiraled out from two incidents: one where he accidentally broke Big E’s neck (for real, not in the “I stole your parking spot” kind of way) during a SmackDown match in March 2022, and another that saw Ilja Dragunov taking a kayfabe tumble courtesy of Holland.
To sell this retirement angle like it’s Black Friday and everything must go, WWE.com has done the digital equivalent of moving Holland from the “Present” to the “Past” folder by slotting his profile into the alumni section. Talk about commitment to the bit!
Let’s rewind to the neck-breaking, heart-aching incident with Big E: an overhead belly-to-belly throw on the floor that went south faster than birds in winter. Fast forward through a year of Holland throwing punches and not towels with The Brawling Brutes, and then a mysterious November departure from the group.
Holland’s NXT comeback last December against Dragunov was short-lived, as reality took a backseat to kayfabe injuries, continuing the trend of his tumultuous wrestling career chapter.
In a feud that could only be described as a WWE version of “The Fast and the Furious” (if it were about chair shots instead of car chases), the returning Shawn Spears turned Holland’s world upside down faster than you can say “chair-shot-to-the-head.” Spears marked his NXT return with a literal bang on Holland’s noggin, leading to a defeat in last week’s episode that might have been the straw that broke the wrestler’s back. Or at least, made him say, “Time out.”
So, as Ridge Holland waves goodbye (for now) to the NXT arena, fans are left wondering: When will he return? And more importantly, will he swap his wrestling attire for a bathrobe during his indefinite hiatus? Stay tuned for the next episode of “As the WWE Turns.”