During his appearance on the TMZ Inside the Ring podcast Ridge Holland (real name Luke Luke Menzies), spoke on his injury and if knew his time in WWE was done before his injury took place.
On his injury:
“I had what’s called a Lisfranc injury. Basically, it’s like a dislocation of the midfoot. The ligament that holds the midfoot together got ruptured. So what they do, they go in and put two screws in there and bring the foot back together. And it’s tedious. It’s a tedious process because there’s not a lot of blood flow that gets to that area. It’s weight-bearing as well. It’s probably a seven-month recovery…but there can be complications. So right now I’m in a boot. I’ve just started light weight bearing, and then … I’ve been doing a bit of the [physical therapy] at the [Performance Center], but right now it’s been outsourced to somewhere close to my home, so we can start rocking and rolling.”
On if he knew his time in WWE was done before his injury:
“I kind of knew the writing was on the wall when I got taken off TV and put on EVOLVE. I’m not silly. I can read the room. So there’s a stress that comes with that…“
Holland also spoke on him having a reputation that couldn’t wrestle, after the botched belly to belly suplex on Big E that took place outside the ring during the March 11, 2022 episode of WWE SmackDown. As a result, Big E fractured C1 and C6 vertebrae.
“I got this kind of reputation of not being able to wrestle, and just because my style wasn’t — because of the Big E thing and because my style wasn’t a thousand high spots in a match… I always like to kind of, you know… just to grind on people and slow things down a little bit, and just because of that style, I think people put the Big E thing, the fact that my style was a little bit different, and a little slower, that I got the connotation that I couldn’t wrestle. So, I just think that going away for a little bit will probably do me good.”
WWE terminated Holland’s contract early following comments he made on social media. His current deal was originally set to expire on November 14. However, it is expected that WWE will still pay for any related medical expenses during his recovery period. He is expected to be out of action for at least seven months.
The comment that got Holland in hot water with WWE, was made in an X post this past Tuesday, which he said he felt “hung out to dry” by WWE and never thought he would not be able make his mortgage payments.
A Go Fund Me has been started for Menzies, to help with expenses. Holland is married and has three-children.
You can watch the full interview below: