Rick Boogs has made a series of claims about his time with WWE, including suggestions Vince McMahon’s retirement impacted his career.
On September 21st, WWE began its latest round of cost-cutting with a number of main roster and NXT talents being released. Among those let go were Dolph Ziggler, Shelton Benjamin, and Rick Boogs.
While some names on the list were more surprising than others, Boogs had only wrestled on the main roster six times in 2023. After a spell in NXT, Boogs found success alongside Shinsuke Nakamura but suffered a serious quadriceps injury at WrestleMania 38 while challenging for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles.
Boogs later moved to Raw and briefly appeared in singles action after recovering from injury, but found chances on-screen hard to come by.
While Boogs was on the sidelines, Vince McMahon ‘retired’ surrounded by a wave of sexual misconduct allegations. Although he returned in January 2023 and remains in a position of power today.
Speaking on YouTube following his release, Boogs claimed McMahon’s departure effectively killed his WWE career.
“I can say with 100% certainty, the removal of Vince [McMahon] killed my career.”
He added aside from McMahon, no one gave his character a chance, telling fans they had no idea about the “bullsh*t he had to put up with. Boogs went on to accuse an unnamed person of having a “weird grudge” against him, explaining he’ll tell all when the time is right.
Rick Boogs has since said he’s unable to talk about his release until December 21st.
The releases reportedly caused frustration within WWE, as they came just hours after the company announced a huge new TV deal.
When Did Vince McMahon Leave WWE?
Vince McMahon announced his retirement from WWE in July 2022 as the sexual misconduct allegations completely surrounded him. However, by January, McMahon had reinstated himself to the Board of Directors after a previous attempt at a return was blocked.
The Executive Chairman eventually resumed a role within the company and again began to influence creative. In more recent weeks, McMahon was heavily involved in WWE’s merger with UFC and now holds a position on the Board of the TKO Group.
H/t to Wrestling Inc