Eric Bugenhagen is a professional WWE wrestler, bodybuilder, and even a former powerlifter. When he first made his thunderous debut, people had lost their crazy minds with his physique and character.
Sports bring you a new face daily, thus a tight competition veil to leave a mark in the industry.
As we turn to the old news pages, that’s when we come across the previous players and remember them as a reminiscence.
Likewise, Eric Bugenhagen has been such a face, although he debuted not long ago.
All we can say of him is his unique insane state, someone who can give you a kick of adrenaline rush—actually, just someone who loves life and honors it.
In the professional view, Eric is still active in the wrestling ring and during his matches this year. He got injured in a match. Know other things about him by sticking to the end.
Quick Facts | Eric Bugenhagen
| Full Name | Eric Bugenhagen |
| Date of Birth | October 19, 1987 |
| Birth Place | Franklin, Wisconsin |
| Ring Name | Ric Boog Ric Bugez Eric Bugenhagen |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Zodiac Sign | Sagittarius |
| Age | 36 years old |
| Height | 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 106 kg (275 lb) |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye Color | Blue |
| Build | Muscular |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Wife’s Name | Name Unknown |
| Kids | Daughter |
| Education | Franklin High School University of Wisconsin |
| Tattoo | Yes (in the chest and near the waist) |
| Profession/ Job | Wrestler, Powerlifter |
| Professional since | October 19, 2017 |
| Net Worth | $1 million |
| Earning from YouTube | $72,000 |
| Social Media | Instagram, Twitter, YouTube |
| Last Update | April, 2024 |
Eric Bugenhagen | Body Measurements & Lifestyle
Eric Bugenhagen is a muscular wrestler with a well-exercised body. He stands at a decent height of 1.85 m while weighing 275 lb.
Furthermore, Eric has a mesmerizing body with 20 inches of biceps, a waist span of 16 inches (40.4 cm) (0.40 m), and a shoulder span of 23 inches (59.7 cm) (0.59 m)
As for his appearance, Eric has a fair skin tone, a rectangular face, black hair, and a beard to complement it.
Besides his clean, maintained facial and normal hair, he has light blue eyes. Moreover, as you glance into the left side of the chest, Eric Bugenhagen has a tattoo engraved.
His tattoo is the letter “WWE,” which is overlapped with a human’s skull.
According to the sources, that tattoo represents Eric Bugenhagen ruling WWE.
Workout
Workouts and training it’s the critical factor in an athlete’s life.
Similarly, everyone has their way of training, and with the uniqueness of Eric’s personality, his training is unique.
Eric believes that to get stronger is not to get bigger but to be able to lift heavier.
Equally important, since Eric always dreamt of being a lifter, he has been hitting the gym since his high school days.
Apart from it, when he is in the gym, Eric does a lot of reverse flies on the cable crossover to strengthen his rear delts, traps, and rhomboids.
Eric’s training primarily includes a load of deadlifts and lifting every day, including sumo deadlifts, pullups or dips, bent-over rows, and so on.
Watch Eric Bugenhagen’s Arthur lift; click to follow!
Diet
With hardcore, training comes a balanced diet for a healthy body. Eric Bugenhagen has an intense workout plan followed by a strict diet that includes a daily calorie intake of 2,000 to 6,000.
To illustrate, his dirt changes as per his exercise, with the addition of protein supplements and sleeping pattern maintenance.
In addition, before the workout, Eric drinks a whole pot of coffee as a fat burner, and he may sometimes go with oatmeal or milk.
Talking about his diet, Eric Bugenhagen did go to an extreme length for his hulking frame. Recently, he revealed that he ate cat food during his early days while desperately trying to build and maintain mass.
As per him, the cat food acted as his added protein punch on the go to ensure he was hitting his daily macros.
“Because I thought it would be a good snack on the go, [I’d have] highly-dense, nutritious treats to carry in my pockets, so at all times, I was calorically satisfied, micro-nutritionally full if you will. It was disgusting. It didn’t last very long, but the fact is that I went that far.”
-Eric Bugenhagen
Eric Bugenhagen | Early Life And Education
Bugenhagen was born on October 19, 1987, under Sagittarius’ sun sign in Franklin, Wisconsin.
Like any other athlete, he is pretty particular about what he chooses to share his life in the media.
There is no detailed information about his childhood, family background, and even parents.
As for his academics, Bugenhagen accomplished his high school studies at Franklin High School and then enrolled at the University of Wisconsin.
Besides, during his college, Eric majored in Kinesiology and History.
Also, below are some of the likes and facts on Eric Bugenhagen.
Bugenhagen can play musical instruments like guitar, drum, and bass well. Back in his childhood, he used to perform in a band with his brothers.
- His favorite movie is Conan the Barbarian.
- Eric is an animal lover and owns a dog pet himself.
- Eric is crazy for metal songs, and his top six are;
Neo Seoul – After the Burial
Instinct – Decapitated
Dom/Hollow – Pantera
Hordes of Chaos – Kreator
Shogun – Trivium
Pennyweight – After the Burial
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Eric Bugenhagen | Early Career
Bugenhagen was fond of muscles and strength since high school and started working in it.
At the same time, he also coached the team, and by the end of his college, he was already ranked as one of the top ten U.S. amateur wrestlers in 2011.
Hence, during his early years, he was a part of the Badgers wrestling team, competing as a heavyweight in 2012. Before trying wrestling, Bugenhagen was one of the top lifters on youtube.
Lifting
Eric Bugenhagen commenced lifting after high school as he started hitting the gym and introduced the gym into his own house. However, his serious performance in lifting has been since 2011.
Furthermore, he had appeared in the USAPL push-pull meet back in 2013, where he had the opener with a 605 deadlift and a 375 bench.
Moreover, for lifting, he makes his video for youtube, and anyone can watch it like his hack lift “behind the back deadlift” (first introduced by a Russian weightlifter).
Apart from these, Eric fears death cause the eventual death may make him no one in this world; hence, he works hard for everyone to remember him.
Wrestling
When Eric stepped into wrestling at Franklin High School, no one knew him.
No one knew him even when he trained hard under coach Barry Davis and wrestled in the NCAA Division I at the University of Wisconsin.
By the end of his senior year in college, he had compiled the 56-55 mark after heavyweight wrestling and stuff.
To that date, he had partaken in two NCAA CHampionship; one in 2011 at Omaha, Nebraska, while the other in 201 at Philadelphia.
Following it, Eric started working as a strength coach and a volunteer assistant coach in Wisconsin.
Eric Bugenhagen | Lift Stats
| Year | Bench Press | Deadlift |
| 2014 | 170.1 kg | 274.4 kg |
Accident 2022
This year’s Wrestlemania got off to a bad start when superstar Rick Boogs got a serious knee injury in the first match on Saturday.
After his opponents, the Usos, both jumped on his back, causing his knee to collapse under him, Boogs, whose real name is Eric Bugenhagen, appeared to have a ruptured right patella tendon, according to the video.
Bugenhagen’s previous knee injury, which he described as an “explosion,” resulted in injuries to his ACL, MCL, meniscus, and bones. The 36-year-old wrestler was cleared to return to the ring after more than a year.
The wrestler, who stood 1.85 m and weighed 275 pounds, made his WWE main roster debut in May 2021 and was competing in his first Wrestlemania.
Eric Bugenhagen | Professional Career
In 2017 WWE signed a deal with Eric Bugenhagen and debuted under NXT on October 19, 2017. His foremost match came against Lars Sullivan, which unfortunately came as a loss.
He couldn’t get the hang of the arena a few times, thus claiming losses.
Laster, Eric paired with the Heavy Machinery (Otis Dozovic & Tucker Knight) as they claimed victory against Chad Lail & The Forgotten Sons (Steve Cutler & Wesley Blake).
After a year in wrestling, Eric Bugenhagen changed his ring name to Ric Boog, removing his real name.
With the new name, he wrestled in the November 30, 2018, live event against Kassius Ohno, followed by December 6 live event.
For the first tag team match, Eric paired with Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) and later changed to pair with Mansoor Al-Shehail.
Bugenhagen closed the year with a loss against Punishment Martinez in a singles match. The following year, Eric faced his former tagged partner, Mansoor Al-Shehail, which also came as a loss.
Consequently, Eric made the NXT television debut under his real name as he stood against Drew Gulak, which was unsuccessful too.
Equally important, Eric rose high after defeats as he claimed NXT Tag Team Champions the War Raiders alongside his tagged partner, Denzel Dejournette.
As of 2020, Eric Bugenhagen featured with his new ring name Rik Bugez as he claimed victory over Tino Sabbatelli at a March 7 live event.
EVOLVE
Likewise, the same year, Eric Bugenhagen enrolled in WWE’s business partner EVOLVE wrestling. He unsuccessfully debuted with the ring name Rik Bugez at EVOLVE 143 against Joe Gacy.
Eric rose to lick the wound with the fall and later defeated Anthony Greene at EVOLVE 144.
Eric Bugenhagen | Character
Bugenhagen is a guy who can deadlift 800+, loves caffeine, rocks with metal music, and is all about life and its charisma.
Most importantly, he doesn’t have that cliche in character, and he is someone that seems to try hard because his flow comes naturally.
He is also all about his instruments, drums, guitar, bass, keyboard, and high-pitched yells and screams.
Just like him, his theme music is also Blood Pressure. In 2019, Eric also optimized his attire with long hair and a handlebar-styled mustache.
Back then, he had the entrance with his theme song and a guitar in his hand, giving in the vibes of a rock star with unlimited fun.
Trend Graph
The search graph illustrated below got spiked when he got injured in the month of April in a match.
Eric Bugenhagen | Net Worth & Salary
As of 2021, Eric Bugenhagen is reported to have a net worth of $1 million.
Furthermore, Bugenhagen runs his own YouTube channel where he puts on his signature headband and teaches about weight training, which is expected to earn $72,000.
Eric Bugenhagen also endorses fitness brands like Rogue Fitness, which is a positive and scientifically sound influencer for health and fitness.
Eric Bugenhagen | Private Life And Social Media
Bugenhagen is a married man with a beautiful baby girl.
Apart from being a strong man, wrestler, and lifter, he is a dad! It’s fantastic to see someone so humorous and full of life.
Unfortunately, he is pretty selfish not to expose his family to the spotlight; hence, we have no information about them.
However, it’s understandable for the reason why they aren’t exposed is because people, you know!
Anyway, Eric Bugenhagen does share his cutesy little moments with his family and never fails to express love for them.
Also, everything’s right when they are solid and happy with each other.
- Instagram – @rickboogswwe
- Twitter – @rikbugez
I’m absolutely SICKENED by what I’ve just witnessed #WWENXT
— Eric Bugenhagen (@rickboogswwe) October 6, 2021
- YouTube – Eric Bugenhagen
Check out Eric Bugenhagen’s time with a peacock; click to watch!
Eric Bugenhagen | FAQs
Who made Eric’s action figure?
The fighter’s action figure was made by Steve A, who makes custom and non-custom WWE and wrestling figures.
Bugenhagen thanked the artist for creating his action figure through an Instagram post.
How much can Rik Bugez bench press? What is his wrestling record?
As of 2021, the professional wrestler can bench press 470 lbs. As for his wrestling record, Eric Bugenhagen maintains 56-55.
What is Eric Bugenhagen’s tattoo?
The WWE wrestler has the promotion’s logo tattooed on his chest. Furthermore, the logo is overlapped by a picture of a skull. From far away, it almost looks like a heart.
Did Eric Bugenhagen sustain an injury?
Yes, at the start of 2018, the Youtube personality severely injured his knee. However, he kept training and lifting, which worsened the situation.
As a result, he suffered a torn ACL, and MCL, and two tears in the meniscus. Finally, he took some time off training and had surgery on his left knee.
Is Rik Bugez involved in politics?
No, as of now the Youtuber and wrestler is purely focused on his work and not involved in politics.
What is Eric Bugenhagen’s famous motivational quote?
Eric is an optimistic person and can always be heard saying, “It’s a mindset,” and is quite well-known.
Did NXT release Eric Bugenhagen?
Yes, Eric was released by NXT in 2021 avidly. Nevertheless, he still performs on SmackDown.
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