Ridge Holland Was Told A ‘Big Push’ Was Planned For Him In WWE NXT Before Rebrand To NXT 2.0: ‘Every One Of Triple H’s Guys & His Vision Of NXT Got Whittled Out’

WWE

Former WWE star Luke Menzies (Ridge Holland) has recalled being told that a “big push” was planned for him in WWE NXT before the show’s rebrand to NXT 2.0.

After suffering a serious ankle and knee injury in October 2020, Luke Menzies returned to WWE NXT just two months before the show’s major overhaul to NXT 2.0 in September 2021.

Gone was the black and gold aesthetic, replaced with a colourful set design, new logo and a whole wave of new superstars such as: Bron Breakker, Tony D’Angelo and The Creed Brothers, among many others.

Menzies’ time on NXT 2.0 was short-lived, wrestling four matches before being called up to SmackDown in November 2021, where he would begin a partnership with Sheamus and eventually Pete Dunne.

While Menzies’ time in The Brawling Brutes saw him rub shoulders with some of WWE’s top names, he revealed during an appearance on Tagging in With Chris Harris that he was originally promised a “big push” down in WWE NXT before his time on the blue brand eventually came.

Menzies recalled:

“Initially I was getting ready to come back and they said, ‘Yeah, we’re going to pick straight up where we left off. We’re going to give you a big push.’ But at that time what had happened was Triple H had his heart issue and it was like every one of Triple H’s guys and his vision of NXT kind of got whittled out and NXT 2.0 started.

“So you had an influx of talent like Bron Breakker came through and other people, so like Vince’s guys: John Laurinaitis, Bruce Prichard, they saw these new guys and I kind of fell by the wayside.

“I remember Shawn Michaels, I was going to have a tag match on NXT, I was laying there and we were putting over Bron Breakker and he said, ‘Hey, Ridge do you remember when you were the young hot new stud?’ And I said, ‘Oh yeah thanks, cheers.’

“Then I think maybe a couple of months (later) I was waiting for this push to happen and it never happened. We were kind of doing jobs and putting other people over. I was tagging with Pete Dunne at the time and I either thought something’s happening because I heard that my name had been mentioned higher up and I thought, I’m either going to get called up or I’m going to get canned. It’s one or two.

“I remember being sat at home, I was eating a meal and the draft was on. So I’m eating and it says the next draft pick for Friday Night SmackDown is Ridge Holland. And I’m like, ‘Well I guess I’m going to SmackDown.’”

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Menzies would eventually return to NXT for his final two years in WWE, and it was during this spell that the English star would receive something akin to a “big push”, as he challenged for the NXT Championship and main evented several major shows on the brand.

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• Triple H
• Ridge Holland
• NXT 2.0
• nxt
• wwe

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