WWE star Ridge Holland admits he’s relishing proving people wrong after swapping Rugby’s Super League for the spotlight of professional wrestling.
The 34-year-old Yorkshireman, real name Luke Menzies, is among a host of stars from wrestling’s biggest organisation heading to Cardiff this weekend for Clash at the Castle.
The event at the city’s Principality Stadium will host an expected crowd of around 70,000 as well as a television audience on BT Sport.
And Holland will feel right at home amongst it all, and not just because he had a chance to venture back to his grandmother’s house for a cup of tea earlier this week.
Indeed, it’s in WWE’s wacky and wild world of enthralling athleticism and drama that he’s thriving – even if it is a universe away from the life that saw him play 200 games of rugby for the likes of Hull Kingston Rovers and Salford Red Devils.
Even while playing rugby, he harboured dreams of making it in WWE. He told The Independent: “It was always something I wanted to do as I was a fan when I was young. I looked into it while I was playing professional rugby, but you tell the wrong person… you know what rugby lads are like, there's always a bit of stick.
“I got released from the rugby club and was on honeymoon when I saw a tweet promoting the services of Marty Jones… six months later I had a WWE tryout. It just kind of went from there.
“It’s so cliché, but the first time I stood in a wrestling ring, it was like I was meant to be there, like I was home. You go into rugby, and it is all laid out for you, but you never stop learning in this business – the psychology and everything you do to put on a performance. It takes years to learn that and to do it well and, even after that, you never stop learning.”
As Saturday’s event shows, WWE has no shortage of support thanks to a huge global fanbase.
Holland was always wise enough to know that many others might sneer at it – not least some of his former rugby colleagues. He’s gone from keeping tight-lipped about his passion for the squared circle to fending off interest from old pals for tickets – something that brings a wry smile to his face.
Asked whether those ex-teammates tune in to watch him, he added: “They do now! I’ve actually flipped people’s opinions because when I first started, I did get a lot of stick from it and people were taking the mickey. Now those people are asking: ‘Can you get me some tickets?’
“It’s nice to shove it down their throats. It motivates you because this is all I’ve wanted to do, and I refuse to be defined by just being a rugby player because that’s not what I want to be remembered as. It’s nice that I’ve been able to take that leap of faith and come out here, prove some people wrong and prove myself right.”
Based in Orlando, Florida, Holland is only able to make occasional trips home. That he’ll be able to actually spend a couple of days in his hometown with family and old friends is an even greater rarity.
Whatever the topic of chat is over tea at Grandma’s, it certainly won’t be her fussing over her grandson’s physical state. Quite apart from his rigorous career, Holland’s father, Alan, was a rugby player who this weekend retires after a career in the police.
“My dad played rugby all his life, so she is used to the scrapes and bumps that come with that,” Holland said of her. “They know there’s a risk, but it is just that working-class mentality of dust yourself down and get on with it – that Monty Python sketch where he gets his arm and leg cut off… ‘It is but a scratch.’
“Put a plaster on me and crack on.”
WWE Clash at the Castle takes place at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Saturday 3 September. Tickets remain available at Ticketmaster and full details are at wwe.com
