Backstage Update On Ridge Holland's WWE NXT Status

WWE fans were left shocked during the March 26 "WWE NXT" after Ridge Holland took to the microphone to announce that he would be stepping away from wrestling for the foreseeable future. Holland had already left his former Brawling Brutes teammate Pete Dunne high and dry, and has received a lot of backlash from fans for having a reputation of being unsafe in the ring following the incident that left Big E with a broken neck in 2022. The Englishman thanked people like Shawn Michaels and William Regal for helping him through such a tough period of his life, and said that he needs to focus on his mental and physical health from now on.

However, fans shouldn't be worried about seeing Holland away from their screens for good. According to Fightful Select, Holland's "retirement speech" was part of his on-going storyline, and he is not actually leaving. Holland is apparently motivated to execute the story correctly, and has been very open to suggestions and critiques from veterans backstage. Despite legit backlash from fans after the worked-injury angle that was performed with Ilja Dragunov a few weeks back, talent and people in creative are determined to see the story through to the end.

To make the absence appear legitimate, Holland was moved to the alumni section of the WWE website, and there is no word on how long Holland is planned to be away from TV. The Englishman has only been in the business for eight years, debuting on the British indie scene in 2016 before signing a developmental contract with WWE in 2018. He would be drafted to the "WWE Smackdown" brand in 2021, but wouldn't appear on "Smackdown" until November of that year, where he would go on to form The Brawling Brutes with Sheamus and Pete Dunne.