4 reasons why Ridge Holland announced his "WWE exit"

WWE NXT aired last night, and it featured several big matches, moments, and video packages. Perhaps the best part of the night was the ongoing Prime Target videos highlighting the epic rivalry between Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams.

While that might have been the best aspect of the show, the most confusing and downright surprising segment was a promo from Ridge Holland. Ridge offered a long monologue discussing his struggles in wrestling, ultimately revealing that he is stepping away from in-ring competition indefinitely.

Despite the promotion and even removing him from the active roster, Holland has seemingly not retired. Reports claim that this is all an angle for a storyline on WWE's third brand.

Now, fans are very curious as to why Ridge did what he did. In this article, we will take a look at some of the possible reasons behind the decision and what they may lead to in the future. Why did the star make such a stunning announcement? Where could he go from here?

Below are four reasons why Ridge Holland announced his WWE retirement.

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#4. He may genuinely feel remorse for his behavior

The character of Ridge Holland has been fascinating to follow since he returned to WWE NXT. On his first night back, he battled Ilja Dragunov in a singles match. Something went awry, however, and Dragunov was hurt in kayfabe. This led to Ridge suffering a mental spiral of sorts.

Since then, Holland has clearly struggled due to his own violent and physical nature. Even when he battled Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey, and Wolfgang on his own, Ridge hesitated and seemed frustrated when taking a steel chair to the Gallus faction.

If he feels legitimate remorse for his behavior, it would make sense as to why he may want to step away. Ridge may believe he can't be in WWE and remain cool, calm, and collected. As a result, he's removing himself entirely from the equation.

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#3. Ridge Holland may be trying to manipulate the WWE Universe

While there's a real chance that Ridge Holland is genuinely feeling awful about the incidents his character has been a part of, there's also a strong chance that isn't the case. Instead, Ridge could be trying to manipulate the WWE Universe.

Fans have seen things like this in the past. Shawn Michaels famously lost his smile and walked away from WWE for a brief period of time. Other stars, such as Daniel Bryan and Edge, had to sadly announce their retirements due to medical reasons.

When these incidents happened, fans got further behind the performers. Ridge could be aware of that and is attempting to gain sympathy and attention from the NXT Universe. There were definitely some audience members who felt bad for the former Brawling Brute.

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#2. He could've gotten tired of the abuse from the crowd

Ridge Holland has had an interesting career in WWE. His most notable time in the company came as part of The Brawling Brutes. He worked under Sheamus and alongside Butch, now best known as Pete Dunne.

While Ridge had a surge in popularity thanks to WWE fans loving the stable, there was some animosity towards him. Many fans blamed him for the unfortunate injury that took Big E out of action, and some believe that Holland is not safe to work with in the ring.

Unfortunately, that means Ridge receives a lot of backlash on social media and during the shows. Both in character and out, Holland is likely tired of hearing it. As a result, he may have done this to hopefully silence any doubters who will presumably move on while he's out of the spotlight.

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#1. Ridge may be setting up a heel turn

Prior to Ridge Holland making the shocking announcement on WWE NXT last night, he was seemingly in an angle with Shawn Spears, formerly known as Tye Dillinger. In fact, the two stars even recently wrestled on an episode of NXT.

Shawn Spears recently returned to WWE and immediately targeted Holland. This led to the two fighting, but Spears doesn't necessarily despise Ridge. Instead, it looks like The Chairman wants to bring out that vicious side of Holland.

Ridge announcing his retirement could be a red herring. The next time Shawn Spears is in a big match, Holland may show up and shockingly help Spears. From there, the pair could join forces and take over the white and gold brand moving forward.