WWE: Ridge Holland Speaks out on Receiving Death Threats

Ridge Holland is speaking out about the death threats he’s received recently. On March 11, 2022, Holland gave Big E a belly-to-belly overhead suplex outside the ring, causing Big E to break his neck and possibly end his professional wrestling career. Accidents like this happen in wrestling, but some fans are blaming Holland for the injury. 

“Death threats. Threats to my family. Lobbying for me to lose my job. Being labeled as racist. Great stuff keep ’em coming,” Holland wrote on Twitter on March 12. Big E fractured in C1 and C6 vertebrae, and the injury has kept him out of the ring since. He and Holland have spoken since the incident about Holland visiting Big E in the hospital and buying him gifts to apologize, per WrestleTalk.

Big E is a member of The New Day with Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. When Holland tweeted about the death threats, Woods sent a message to the fans. “Pro Wrestling is extremely dangerous,” Woods wrote. “All of us involved understand that. Ridge & his family do not deserve to be treated this way. Please do not send any hate towards them. Instead, use your energy to do something positive like sending love to E. Be kind. Please be kind.”

Back in August, Holland spoke to The Metro about Big E’s injury. “It was a massive knock to my confidence. The main thing is that E’s functional, he’s OK, he’s gonna live a full life,” Holland said, per Wrestling Headlines. “From a personal standpoint, I’d like to get in the ring more and show people what I can do because there is a stigma there with the Big E thing. So, I wanna show people what I can do and how good I can be, and wash that stain off my back. It’s just been a slow process, getting back into it and learning how to trust myself, and obviously building that trust up with the boys as well. The trust of your peers is what we aim for.”

Holland, 34, made his professional wrestling debut in 2017 after spending nine years as a professional rugby player. He made his WWE debut in 2018 as part of NXT and moved up to the main roster in 2021. Big E, 37, began his WWE career in 2009. He has won the Raw Tag Team Championship twice, the SmackDown Tag Team Championship six times, the Intercontinental Championship twice, the NXT Championship and the WWE Championship.