Following his main roster call-up, Luke Menzies, fka Ridge Holland, would begin teaming up with Sheamus, and eventually the two would form The Brawling Brutes, and recruit Pete Dunne into the stable. During an interview with “Under The Mat With Simon Miller,” Menzies looked back at the stable and working with Sheamus.
“We all sat together, and we thought, ‘We all look anemic,'” he jokingly said. “You know, [with] wrestling, you’ve got to make the most out of what you’re given. We thought, you know, why not look like, you know, three pasty white guys…”
Menzies added that the group would’ve originally have been called “The Bloody Brutes,” but because The Bloodline already existed, WWE believed that fans would’ve gotten the two confused. No matter the name, the philosophy was simple
“Just go out there, fight people; we don’t really cut promos, don’t talk – they can’t understand me anyway,” he chuckled.
‘I got paid there for standing behind and maybe holding Pete back a few times?’
Luke Menzies’ WWE release was still a blow to the wrestler, but few fans were surprised by the announcement after his long absence from television and being moved to the “Evolve” brand. On the other hand, Sheamus’s release shocked many, especially after his years in WWE.
In hindsight, Menzies shared a sarcastic story about how he was put with ‘The Celtic Warrior’ in the first place.
“Well, obviously he saw me standing there in the car park before I walked into the building and thought: ‘You know, I need a guy who can just stand behind me and do absolutely f**k’all,’ so they went, ‘He’s my guy,'” Menzies said. “Yeah, I mean, I got paid there for standing behind and maybe holding Pete back a few times.”
During his pairing with The Brawling Brutes, Pete Dunne’s name was changed to ‘Butch,’ in a move that many fans questioned. However, Menzies was allowed to continue going as ‘Ridge Holland,’ which he also briefly commented on.
“I was kind of waiting for it,” he admitted. “Sometimes the Creative and things like that and the situation that we found ourselves in, felt like we were on some form of trip at times.”
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Under The Mat With Simon Miller,” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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