Thunder Rosa Says WWE Is ‘Playing With Fire’ With NXT-Ridge Holland Angle

[Rollie Forbes]

WWE ran an angle on Tuesday’s episode of NXT in which Ridge Holland accidentally injured Ilja Dragunov. It was a callback to a real-life injury Holland was involved with, which was when Big E broke his neck in 2021. In the latest episode of Busted Open Radio, Thunder Rosa worried that it might put a label on Holland as an unsafe worker, citing the social media reaction from fans.
She said: “When you have to run angles when it’s very close to reality … his opponent, of course, was the one who was in the ring when Big E got hurt, and he got hurt fairly badly to the point where it’s an ending career injury. It got intense (on X) because people were calling him [Holland] all kinds of stuff, probably even got death threats, who knows. For me, personally, there are certain things that … they have to have a big payoff and I think you have to be in the ring and you have to sign it with blood. When you’re playing with fire with someone who already has a bad ‘track record,’ it’s going to be difficult. If they label him as an unsafe worker and they then do this and it turns out to be true, what else are they gonna do?”
She did add that Holland and Dragunov did an an “amazing” job of selling the angle on Tuesday’s episode.

 

[Silkk]

She’s right

 

[Toe Jay Simpson]

 

[OneDeep]

Not wrong

Why would they give someone who almost paralyzed/killed someone that type of gimmick

 

[Norrin Radd]

He was already getting death threats BEFORE all this too

 

[NoMorePie]

Her fine thick ass got a point

 

[Cattle Mutilation]

It was in very bad taste regardless of what effects it had or what potential effects it will have on Ridge Holland.

Like when Bryan Danielson was faking that seizure in the Okada match. Like the fukk is wrong with you?

 

[Starboy52]

She's not wrong. That shyt was in terrible taste, regardless of context.

 

[El Poyo Loco]

I got no problem with it. It's actually old school carny territory shyt. I suggested they should've run this angle with Nia since everyone in the IWC swears she really hurts people like this.

It's not like they let Ridge drink someone's real blood or simulate doing lines with ugly skanks

 

[Kidd Dibiase]

Agree

WWE did something similar with Kidman when he gave Chavo a concussion with his trash shooting star press

 

[Larry]

Has anyone… asked… big e how he feels about it?


Since everyone is writing think pieces about how offended they are for E… let’s actually ask him?


I assume his position would be the most important, no? And if he says he doesn’t give a fukk, we can stop pretending to lol


It’s like being upset and calling AEW tasteless for all the dead father jokes. If Nick Wayne and his family fine with it, who cares.

 

[DaKidFromNoWhere]

Crazy when AEW started I seen her say she didn't give a fukk about that company.

 

[Cattle Mutilation]

Has anyone… asked… big e how he feels about it?


Since everyone is writing think pieces about how offended they are for E… let’s actually ask him?


I assume his position would be the most important, no? And if he says he doesn’t give a fukk, we can stop pretending to lol


It’s like being upset and calling AEW tasteless for all the dead father jokes. If Nick Wayne and his family fine with it, who cares.

You watch your mouth when you talk about the Patriarch

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

I missed the very end of NXT this week. @CBoz what's the word on this?

 

[itiswhatitis]

Soft ass mark society. They trying to get someone over as a heel. Nothing wrong with that. HBK did the same angle with Owen in 95 after getting his ass beat in Syracuse.