Former WWE star Ridge Holland has claimed the company asked him to accept a 56% pay cut during contract negotiations, weighing in on the recent discussion surrounding WWE’s contract offers.
Holland, who now performs under his real name Luke Menzies, made the claim on social media while responding to Kofi Kingston and Austin Creed revealing that WWE proposed deals that would have reduced their compensation by more than 50%.
Menzies suggested that he may have been among the first wrestlers to experience what he described as the TKO-era approach to contract negotiations. “Honestly I think I may have been the first to experience the new TKO version of ‘contract Negotiations.’ 56% paycut…. OUCH!”
Menzies didn’t suggest that his experience proves WWE offered Kingston and Creed identical terms. However, his claim provides another specific example of a former WWE performer alleging that the company sought a reduction of more than half of his previous compensation.
The exact figure offered to Kingston and Creed has been the subject of discussion this week. Conrad Thompson claimed he had heard that WWE proposed a 75% reduction, although he acknowledged that the figure hadn’t been publicly confirmed by the pair.
Bryan Alvarez subsequently disputed the 75% claim, reporting that the proposed reduction was slightly more than 50%, which is consistent with what Kingston and Creed have publicly stated about their negotiations.
Menzies previously revealed that WWE initially offered him a lower-paying three-year contract before he instead negotiated a one-year agreement.
That deal was scheduled to expire in November 2025, but WWE released Menzies several days before its expiration following his public criticism of his situation.
WWE has not publicly addressed Menzies’ claim that he was asked to accept a 56% pay cut.
