EXCLUSIVE: Danny Burch talks new group with Pat McAfee, Oney Lorcan and Pete Dunne and if Ridge Holland was originally part of it

Danny Burch is at the centre of one of the hottest angles in NXT right now.

The Londoner recently captured the NXT Tag Team titles alongside Oney Lorcan and then proceeded to align with Pat McAfee.

Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan won the tag team titles from Breezango

A week later, Pete Dunne also joined the group after attacking Kyle O’Reilly, but the original plans seemed to indicate that Ridge Holland – another Brit – was set for the spot.

Holland suffered a gruesome injury during an NXT taping where in catching Lorcan he dislocated and broke his ankle as well as dislocated and ruptured his patellar tendon.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Burch intimated that Holland was indeed set for the role and talked about the terrible injury that went down.

Ridge Holland’s left leg buckles and it’s not nice to watch

“I guess so, yeah,” Burch said in reference to Holland’s spot. “I’m not going to say too much. But the dots can be connected there. Awful, awful injury for Ridge. When you’re out for a couple of weeks, it’s a pain in the backside. But, a freak accident like that for both knees and your ankle…it’s awful.

“I haven’t had anything that awful happen, but it brings me back to the very first time I was signed to a developmental deal in 2010. When I went to Pittsburgh to do the pre-existing medical stuff, I found out I had a torn ACL which I had no idea about and I’d been wrestling on for eight years.

“My contract was rescinded upon and I had to get it fixed. So I spent a year of agony of trying to get it fixed on the NHS and things going wrong.

Danny Burch appearing in NXT in the StatesWWE

“Finally I got it fixed and then when I reported for duty in 2012 at the time – which was FCW, this was before NXT was in the fold – after four weeks of training it re-tore because the graft was put in wrong so I was on the shelf for another nine months.

“So longterm injuries like this are the most gut-wrenching things ever. But Ridge, he’s a tough old boy, his mindset is absolutely phenomenal and he will bounce back better than ever.”

Burch, 38, has reached the apex of his career thus far with a title reign in WWE and he sees the new story in his new group as something that is going to open a lot of eyes.

Pete Dunne aligned with Oney Lorcan, Danny Burch and Pat McAfee at Halloween Havoc

“It was brought to me very recently – very, very recently – so I was like ‘OK, let’s do it’. People are going to get to see a side of me that they’ve never seen before.

“I broke in 17 years ago as a heel and I haven’t been seen as a heel in WWE yet, so you’re about to see a very, very different side of me,” Burch said.

Now he stands alongside McAfee and Dunne in addition to his usual tag team partner in Lorcan. Burch holds each man in the highest regard and it couldn’t have worked out better.
“Pat’s the man,” Burch started. “If there is such a thing as a natural in this business, Pat is it.

“So charismatic and the ability to rub every single person the wrong way is something that can’t be taught. Now with Pete in the fold, we’re about to get as violent as you can get. So this is going to be very, very good.”

You can catch Danny Burch and his new group on Wednesday nights with NXT on BT Sport