Ridge Holland’s WWE contract was set to expire on November 14, but the 37-year-old former rugby league player has been terminated early. The company opted to end his deal ahead of schedule due to recent social media posts made by Holland. Fightful Select was the first to report the news.
Social Media Controversy
Holland, real name Luke Menzies, recently noted on X (formerly Twitter) that he felt he had been “hung out to dry” by WWE. This came after he was informed his contract would not be renewed, which is happening while Holland is out of action with an injury. In the same post, Holland mentioned that he was unsure how he was going to pay his mortgage.
Holland is currently dealing with a Lisfranc foot injury, which he sustained in September while performing for TNA as a WWE representative. He may also require neck fusion surgery.
WWE’s Perspective
Despite Holland’s financial issues and his inability to wrestle until at least well into 2026, Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE feels Menzies should have known he was likely going to be let go and should have adjusted his finances after he accepted a pay cut in 2024.
Menzies reportedly accepted a $200,000 pay cut when he signed a new one-year deal in November of last year. Meltzer claimed that WWE was planning to cut Holland in 2024 before he worked out the new agreement.
“He had signed a one-year renewal at a much lower rate,” Meltzer said. “The way that that went down, they were going to cut him a year ago and he kind of worked out a deal with them where he would go to NXT for one year and he would be paid less because he was in NXT than he had been paid before. So they gave him another year.”
WWE informed Holland in mid-October 2025 that his contract would not be renewed, making him a free agent on November 14. However, after he criticized the company on X (formerly Twitter) in recent days, WWE fired him, feeling he was in breach of contract.
“In your deal, you’re not supposed to talk badly about the company in public. And so they felt that they now have the right to fire him,” Meltzer added. “It’s gonna cost him, it’ll either be one week’s pay or two weeks’ pay, because he wasn’t getting paid beyond November 14th anyway. They didn’t need to do it. I guess they felt that they, however you want to look at it, they wanted to send a message to everybody out there that if you say anything bad, you can be cut. And that’s what happened.”
Meltzer also noted the company’s side regarding Holland’s financial statements. “I have been told the other side from them, which is essentially that he should have known from last year that the way everything went down, that he probably wasn’t going to be under WWE much longer either way, and he was getting paid through the end of that WWE deal… Their feeling is as well, when you know that this is happening, you should adjust your finances and everything like that. At the end, ‘I may lose my mortgage, they weren’t happy he said that.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Wrestling Observer Radio with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
