Big E Says He Feels For Ridge Holland, Wishes Fans Would Leave Him Alone

Big E still feels for Ridge Holland over four years after career-ending injury.

On March 11, 2022, Big E suffered fractures of his C1 and C6 vertebrae while taking a belly-to-belly suplex from Ridge Holland on SmackDown. As is unfortunately the case with social media, many fans were quick to attack Holland off the back of the mistake, despite The New Day member holding no ill will towards the Brit in the aftermath of the incident. Now, Big E has reaffirmed his support for Holland.

Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Big E says he still feels for Ridge Holland after a section of fans went too far in response to the injury.

I felt for him and continued to feel for him. He actually sent me a 10-pound box of meat as an apology, which felt like a very manly thing to do. Here’s a bunch of meat. At the time I really wasn’t eating much red meat, so I was like, oh, this is great, but I sent that to my creative partner, Johnny. Someone enjoyed it, at least. But no, we talked, and he continued to check in. I actually ran into him briefly at the MGM Grand in Vegas for Mania this year. He was on the move, and I was on the move, and there are fans around too, so it’s pretty quick. But it was good to see him. It seemed like he was in a better place, but yeah, I know it really altered his career, and I tried to put out a statement or two to tell people there’s no ill will whatsoever, please leave this man alone. But more than anything, he has a family to take care of. He has kids, and to see him, one, he dealt with a devastating injury of his own. He dealt with losing his job. I really felt for him, continue to feel for him, because I tell people I’m in a great place, I’m very thankful. I still am continuing with the company, doing broadcasting work. I am good, I am truly, truly good. But, yeah, I think he was just in a very difficult position, and I really hate that his tenure in WWE, for the most part, a lot of it’s going to be defined by the injury and his role in it. But I really feel for him and for his family, and I truly hope he’s in a better place. I hope that’s all come to an end, because a lot of people crossed the line and went too far.”

-Big E

Ridge Holland would remain with WWE until November 2025, going on to have a successful stint with The Brawling Brutes which led him to Survivor Series: War Games in 2022, while his subsequent return to NXT would see him win the NXT Tag Team Championships as part of Chase University.

As for Big E, the star took to social media to officially announce his retirement from the ring on February 6 of this year, ending any speculation that he may one day make a return to active competition. He remains with the company as an on-air broadcaster, often seen covering the company’s Premium Live Events.

On the topic of Big E’s injury, Holland recently revealed that Vince McMahon once cut a segment which would’ve seen him offer an on-screen apology to the injured wrestler at the very last second. You can read more about that here.