WWE SmackDown Star Returning From Injury

Ridge Holland is set to return to in-ring action for the first time since he suffered a broken nose during a match. WWE announced Friday that Holland will be in a tag team match on SmackDown.

Ridge Holland will tag with Sheamus against the team of Cesaro and Ricochet. It's a rematch from WWE's Day 1 Kickoff Show where Holland's nose was broken.

The injury happened when Cesaro helped his tag partner, Ricochet, flip onto Holland for a pin attempt. Ricochet's boot landed flush on Holland's face, breaking his nose. Holland was removed from the match. Sheamus went on to win the match despite facing both Cesaro and Ricochet while Holland received medical attention.

Ridge Holland underwent surgery to repair his nose. He hasn't ruled out the possibility of wrestling with a mask upon his return.

"Yeah, the option's out there [to use a mask]," Holland told El Brunch de WWE earlier this month. "I think I'll need some protection when I first get in the ring so, I might have to, you know, borrow something off [Sheamus], you know?"

Sheamus suffered a broken nose last year. He wrestled with a mask for nearly a month after he returned to the ring.

Ridge Holland was drafted to the SmackDown brand last October during the WWE Draft. He was called up to WWE's main roster after recovering from a pair of serious leg injuries.

Holland suffered an ankle dislocation and fracture in his left leg; and a knee patellar dislocation and tendon rupture in his right leg during an episode of NXT in October 2020. He underwent surgery and returned to NXT in July 2021.

It's unclear if Ridge Holland will be added to the men's Royal Rumble match on Saturday. As of Friday afternoon, he is not listed among the announced participants on WWE's website.