Ridge Holland delivered the belly-to-belly suplex on the former WWE champion during an episode of Friday Night Smackdown on March 11, 2022.
Big E was unable to continue and was stretchered out of the arena before later revealing from his hospital bed that he had suffered a broken neck, with fractures to his C1 vertebrae and C6 vertebrae, but no ligament or spinal cord injury.
The 37-year-old New Day Member, whose real name is Ettore Ewen, said he did not require surgery but would later state that he was unsure whether he would be able to wrestle again.
However, as the anniversary of the traffic accident came round, a number of fans directed their hate at Holland, 34.
The English WWE powerhouse tweeted on Sunday: “Death threats. Threats to my family. Lobbying for me to lose my job. Being labelled as racist. Great stuff keep ‘em coming.”
His New Day colleague Xavier Woods, also known as Austin Creed, soon took to social media himself to back up Holland.
He wrote: “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.”
Meanwhile, Big E provided an update on his condition last week.
He said: “I gotta see what the scans say. Talk to doctors, and then go from there.
“Right now, before I know anything, I’m not going to make any rush to judgments or anything. See how everything looks.”
Holland is currently teaming with Butch on the SmackDown roster.
3