Former Ridge Holland, now once again using his real name Luke Menzies following his WWE departure, has opened up about the emotional aftermath of the in-ring accident that caused Big E to suffer a broken neck in 2022.
Speaking with F4WOnline.com, Menzies reflected on the backlash he received following the incident and described feeling deeply uncomfortable with how WWE handled the situation backstage in the immediate aftermath.
According to Menzies, WWE initially offered him counseling support following the injury.
“So initially, I was offered to go to counseling and stuff like that,” Menzies explained. “Like it would be like, you know, obviously, like speak to someone, which I declined at that minute. I just didn’t really wanna speak to anyone, to be honest.”
However, Menzies said things became more difficult the following week when WWE planned for him to deliver a live apology promo before a match.
“The initial backlash, obviously, it’s funny ’cause the week after — which I thought was kind of rough — they wanted me to do an apology promo live before I went out for a match.”
He recalled standing backstage moments before going live alongside Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard while trying to process what he would say.
“And I remember there were Vince and Bruce standing there, and they were counting down like thirty seconds till we go live. And I’m thinking, ‘I don’t know what I’m gonna say. I’m just gonna speak from the heart.’”
According to Menzies, the segment was abruptly canceled only seconds before airtime.
“And then it got to like five, four, and then they cut it. They just didn’t do promos right then. And then I had to go out and wrestle a match.”
Menzies admitted the experience significantly altered how he viewed management afterward.
“So I think that was in poor taste. I think they did that to mess with me, and it really put a bad taste in my mouth, and I never really looked at those people the same, to be honest. I thought it was in really poor taste.”
The injury to Big E occurred during a March 2022 episode of WWE SmackDown when a belly-to-belly suplex on the floor went wrong, resulting in Big E fracturing multiple vertebrae in his neck.
Big E has since remained active with WWE in non-wrestling roles and has publicly stated multiple times that he never blamed Menzies for the accident.
