"I Never Thought I'd Not Be Able To Pay My Mortgage" - Ex-WWE Star Opens Up On Release (WWE News)

Former WWE man says he's been "hung out to dry" by a company doing the "bare minimum".

NXT Ridge Holland
WWE

Former WWE man Ridge Holland was released on 13 October whilst injured, and that naturally hasn't sat well with him. The one time Brawling Brutes member took to social media and complained that those at the top were doing the "bare minimum after what we sacrifice for the company". In a particularly harrowing statement, Ridge added: "I never thought I'd not be able to pay my mortgage".

That's depressing.

The statement, posted as a screenshot note via X, also revealed that Holland feels he's been "hung out to dry" by WWE and described the whole scenario as "brutal". Whilst true that company coffers will take care of the costs tied to Ridge's broken foot surgery and any other physical therapy bills, they won't pay a penny for the remaining 7 months he'll spend unable to wrestle after that.

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On top of all of this, Holland says there's "the possibility of having to get [his] neck fused too". This is a seriously distressing time for the guy, and it certainly doesn't help that various outlets like The Wrestling Observer and Fightful reported on Ridge being "on NXT money" towards the end of his time in WWE. In other words, he wasn't actually on a lot of cash, and had inked fresh terms for approx $200,000 less than his previous deal in November 2024.

WWE won't pay Holland anything above and beyond his medical/therapy costs. Once those have cleared, he'll have to hope he recovers ASAP so he can get back out there and wrestle again. Ridge isn't happy that he was injured on WWE's watch whilst wrestling for TNA on 27 September (vs. Moose).

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.