Ridge Holland opened up about taking a significant pay cut in WWE after ‘they’ didn’t see value in him.
Former WWE Superstar Ridge Holland appeared on Busted Open Radio to address the controversy surrounding his termination from the company. He recalled having to take a 58% pay cut in 2024 after he was sent back to NXT. Holland stated that when he asked how the company came up with the numbers, the head coach told him “they” didn’t see the value in him. Holland asked who ‘they’ were, but didn’t get an answer.
Holland revealed that he turned down a three-year deal he was offered, saying they he couldn’t commit for that long after taking a 58% pay cut and opted for a one-year contract to bet on himself and prove his doubters wrong.
“Why offer me a three-year deal for a 58% pay cut, which I obviously said, ‘Look, I can’t be tied for three years for that amount of money, I can’t do that. I’ll bet on myself for a year, I’ll do a year and bet on myself, and then let the chips fall where they may.’ So I really don’t understand where the 58% came from, other than the fact that “they” said they didn’t see the value, and that lit a fire under my a** and I said, ‘Well, I’ll prove you wrong.’
“And obviously, things went the way they went, really, you know,” Ridge Holland continued, “I got taken off TV, and sent to Evolve. Used it as an opportunity, tried to rebrand myself, went to TNA, had a great time, wrestled Mike, and then the foot injury happened, and then I got, you know, not renewed, and subsequently fired because of my own actions.
When asked if he had received any feedback on his progress during that one year, Ridge Holland said he was told everything was fine when he asked which areas he could improve to get back on TV.
“I asked the questions, I said, ‘Is there anything I need to work on?’ When I got taken off TV, I was asking, I was pitching ideas. One of the pitches was for me and (Yoshiki) Inamura to do a best-out-of-five series, and I pitched a few things, and I kept asking, ‘‘Is it my promos? Is it my work? What do I need to do? What have I done wrong?’ And everyone says, ‘No, everything’s fine,’ and I’m like, ‘I ain’t stupid. Don’t p*ss in my pocket and tell me it’s raining.’
Read More: Ridge Holland Says WWE Is Paying For His Neck Fusion Surgery
If you use the quotes from this article, please credit Busted Open Radio and give an H/T to WrestleZone for the transcription.
