WWE star Ridge Holland -- who inadvertently broke Big E's neck during a match last year -- says he's received death threats and been called "racist" ... one year after the tragic incident occurred.
Remember, Holland and Big E were fighting on SmackDown last March ... when E's neck was broken after a belly-to-belly suplex went wrong. The WWE Superstar later said doctors told him the injury could've killed him.
Big E has been out of ring action ever since .