The March 11th, 2022 episode of SmackDown saw Ridge Holland and Sheamus take on New Day members Kofi Kingston and Big E, and one spot in the match went very wrong.
After falling to the outside of the ring, Big E was given an Overhead belly-to-belly suplex by Holland. However, instead of the New Day star landing flat on his back, he landed on his head and neck. While Big E was taken to the backstage area on a stretcher, it was later confirmed that he had broken his neck. The star explained at the time that his C1 and C6 vertebrae were fractured, but he thankfully hadn’t sustained any damage to his spinal cord and would not require surgery.
In the weeks after the match, the former WWE Champion revealed that Holland had visited him in the hospital and apologized for the accident.
Despite this, Holland shared on social media that he has been receiving death threats as a result of the incident even a year later.
“Death threats. Threats to my family. Lobbying for me to lose my job. Being labeled as racist. Great stuff keep ‘em coming.”
“Please Be Kind” – Xavier Woods Came To The Defense Of Ridge Holland
One of the men closest to Big E is his New Day tag team partner Xavier Woods, and Woods took to social media in defense of Holland, asking fans to be kind to the star as accidents happen in the world of professional wrestling and no one involved as any ill will toward the Brawling Brute.
“Pro Wrestling is extremely dangerous. All of us involved understand that. Ridge & his family do not deserve to be treated this way. Please do not send any hate towards them. Instead use your energy to do something positive like sending love to E. Be kind. Please be kind.”
Pro Wrestling is extremely dangerous. All of us involved understand that. Ridge & his family do not deserve to be treated this way. Please do not send any hate towards them. Instead use your energy to do something positive like sending love to E. Be kind. Please be kind. https://t.co/3iPM30qBtk
— Austin Creed (@AustinCreedWins) March 13, 2023
Big E himself addressed the situation in a July 2022 interview with ESPN, saying:
“I have no issue whatsoever with Ridge. He’s reached out and said some very kind things. … What we do is dangerous, and there are inherent dangers. And to that degree, we all kind of know what we sign up for, and it was unfortunate that it went down that way. But I’m not dead. I’m alive. I’m doing well.”