Ex-WWE Star Confirms Retirement

One ex-WWE star won’t be back in the ring.

Rick Boogs was released by WWE on September 21st after finding televised appearances hard to come by for much of 2023. The star began working with WWE regularly in 2019 as part of NXT before moving to SmackDown two years later.

Boogs went on to form a partnership with Shinsuke Nakamura and the pair became a popular part of the blue brand. At WrestleMania 38 the duo challenged The Usos for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles but Boogs suffered a serious quadriceps injury during the match that put him on the sidelines for nine months.

During a recent interview with Chris Van Vliet, Boogs was asked whether he plans to continue wrestling following his WWE release.

“No. When I first decided I was going to do wrestling, pursue it, I had to be all in on something. So like, I was doing strength and conditioning stuff, personal training. I was like, if I’m gonna commit to this other endeavor, I just quit my job. I have a wife and a daughter.

I just got unemployed for the sake of you know, getting hungry that I really wanted to make it happen, which my wife was not happy about. She was like, ‘Why did you have to quit?’”

Rick Boogs Blames WWE Exit On Vince McMahon

During the same interview, Rick Boogs said that it was Vince McMahon’s departure from WWE in 2022 that caused his own exit. The star explained that McMahon had been a big supporter of his, but when he was forced to step back from creative, that key support disappeared.

H/t to WrestlingNews.Co