René Goguen (born December 15, 1983), better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

René Duprée (; ) is a Canadian professional wrestler and podcaster. He is currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah where he is a former two-time

GHC Tag Team Champion The is a professional wrestling tag team title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, ...

. Goguen is best known for his tenure in

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

, where he is a one-time World Tag Team Champion with

Sylvain Grenier Sylvain Grenier (born March 26, 1977) is a Canadian retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He is best known for his time wrestling for WWE between 2002 ...

as the

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...

La Résistance and a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion with Kenzo Suzuki. He has also worked for Japanese promotions

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

Wrestle-1 was a Japanese ''puroresu'' or professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion, founded in July 2013 by Keiji Mutoh following his resignation from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The core of the promotion's roster was formed b ...

and Hustle. He is the first wrestler in WWE to win a title as a teenager. Goguen is the son of Canadian Maritimes wrestling promoter

Emile Duprée Emile Duprée (born Emile Goguen; October 20, 1936 – September 17, 2023) was a Canadian professional wrestler and promoter. He was also the father of former WWE wrestler René Duprée, and lived in Pointe-du-Chêne, New Brunswick. Early lif ...

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2002–2007)

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2002–2003)

In April 2002 Goguen signed with the World Wrestling Federation making him the youngest wrestler to sign with the WWF at the age of 18. On October 9, 2002, Goguen debuted under the ring name, René Duprée, after his father, defeating Johnny Jeter. Duprée would team up with various wrestlers in dark matches on ''

SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...

'' and '' Raw'', while also competing in Ohio Valley Wrestling until April 2003.

La Résistance (2003–2004)

After weeks of vignettes airing,

and Duprée made their first appearance on the April 28, 2003, episode of ''Raw'' as La Résistance by attacking

Scott Steiner Scott Rechsteiner (born July 29, 1962), better known by the ring name Scott Steiner, is an American professional wrestler. Steiner is perhaps best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and has also wrestled for Jim Crockett ...

. Steiner had made remarks two weeks earlier comparing France to

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

and Grenier and Duprée were offended. La Résistance went on to feud with Scott Steiner and

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

, who was forced to be Steiner's tag team partner by Stacy Keibler. La Résistance ended up defeating Steiner and Test at

Judgment Day The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...

on May 18, 2003, in the team's

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

debut. On June 15, 2003, La Résistance won the

World Tag Team Championship In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rival ...

from Kane and

Rob Van Dam Robert Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD) is an American professional wrestler. Known for his unique ring style—which includes his variety of kicks, acrobatic movemen ...

at Bad Blood, making Duprée the youngest wrestler in WWE history to not only win the World Tag Team Championship, but any championship in the company's history at 19 years old. Also, as a result of winning the title, he was the first teenager in the history of the WWE that has won a championship. Duprée held on to this distinction until April 2018, when Nicholas won the

WWE Raw Tag Team Championship The World Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defended on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand exte ...

WrestleMania 34 WrestleMania 34 was a 2018 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was the 34th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 8, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, held for ...

at the age of 10. The third member of La Résistance,

Rob Conway Robert Thomas Conway Jr. (born November 28, 1972), is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Conway is also known for his work with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where ...

, was originally introduced as an unnamed American serviceman being abused by Grenier and Duprée. On the August 18 episode of ''Raw'', when The

Dudley Boyz The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team who consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley. The team was also joined by various Dudley family members, notably Spike Dudley and ...

came out to attack La Résistance, they brought Conway into the ring with an American flag. Once the Dudley Boyz had their backs turned, Conway attacked the Dudley Boyz with the American flag and then tore it off the pole and laid it on top of them. Conway, now renamed to Robért Conway, joined Duprée and Grenier and the trio began carrying the

French flag The national flag of France () is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. The design was adopted after the French Revolution, whose revolutionaries were influenced by the horizontally striped r ...

to ringside and singing the

French national anthem "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. It was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by the First French Republic against Archduchy of Austria, Austria, and was originally titled ...

before their matches. La Résistance lost the World Tag Team Championship to the Dudley Boyz at

Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by David Webb Peoples. It stars Eastwood as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after ...

in a three-on-two handicapped tables match. The trio went on to

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

with several tag teams, including the Dudley Boyz,

The Hurricane and Rosey The Hurricane and Rosey (also known unofficially as The Super Heroes) were a professional wrestling tag team in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) based on the Raw brand. While in the WWE, their ring personas were those of a duo of superheroe ...

, and Garrison Cade and

Mark Jindrak Mark Robert Jindrak (born June 26, 1977) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) under his own name and for his appeara ...

. In October 2003, Grenier suffered a back injury, resulting in Duprée and Conway holding the tag team together. At

Armageddon Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...

, La Résistance competed in a Tag Team Turmoil match for the World Tag Team Championship which was won by

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...

and

Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player João Batista da Silva * Dave Bautista, Batista (wrestler) (Dave ...

. At the

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...

, Duprée competed in the 30-man

Royal Rumble match The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic battle royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...

where he eliminated

Matt Hardy Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he a former List of TNA World Tag Team Champions, three time TNA Wor ...

before getting eliminated by

Rikishi A , or, more colloquially, , is a sumo wrestler. Although used to define all wrestlers participating in sumo wrestling matches, the term is more commonly used to refer to professional wrestlers, employed by the Japan Sumo Association, who par ...

. At

WrestleMania XX WrestleMania XX was a 2004 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 20th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 14, 2004, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New Yor ...

, La Résistance (Duprée and Conway) competed in a Fatal four-way tag team match for the World Tag Team Championship but failed to win the titles. Grenier returned in March 2004, thus reuniting the trio. The reunion did not last long, as Duprée was drafted to the

brand in the 2004 WWE Draft Lottery on the March 22 episode of ''Raw''.

Championship pursuits (2004–2005)

Duprée made his SmackDown! debut on the March 25, 2004, episode of ''SmackDown!'', defeating

Billy Kidman Peter Alan Gruner Jr.(born May 11, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Billy Kidman. He works for WWE, where he is a producer. As a wrestler, Kidman is best known for his work with World Championsh ...

. He briefly had a

talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...

on ''SmackDown!'', called "Cafe de René", but his only guest was

Torrie Wilson Torrie Anne Wilson (born July 24, 1975) is an American model (person), model, former fitness competitor and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE and WCW. As a fitness competitor, Wilson won the Miss Galaxy compet ...

as the segment was cancelled after only one night. Duprée wrestled Wilson to a draw on the April 29 edition of ''SmackDown!''. For several months, pursued the United States Championship, held by

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...

. After an incident that happened during his "Cafe de René" (the same incident involving Torrie Wilson), Duprée challenged Cena to a championship match. The match was granted by SmackDown! general manager

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...

and it took place at

. Cena retained the championship at Judgment Day when he pinned Duprée after executing an '' F-U''. At The Great American Bash, Duprée competed in a Four-way elimination match for the United States Championship which saw Cena retain once again. After losing to Cena, he focused on the

WWE Tag Team Championship The WWE Tag Team Championship is a men's professional wrestling world tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE ...

and eventually won the title with Kenzo Suzuki by defeating Billy Kidman and

Paul London Paul Michael London (born April 16, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he performs as a wrestler and a producer. He is best known for his tenure in WW ...

on the September 9 episode of ''SmackDown!'' (making him the youngest man to win the WWE Tag Team Championship at age 20). At No Mercy, Duprée and Suzuki defeated

and

Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez Rubio (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Widely regarded as both one of the greatest '' luch ...

to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship. They lost the WWE Tag Team Championship on the December 9 episode of ''SmackDown!'' to Van Dam and Mysterio. This match happened just days before Van Dam and Mysterio were to challenge Duprée and Suzuki at

. At Armageddon, Duprée and Suzuki lost to Van Dam and Mysterio in a rematch. At the 2005 Royal Rumble, Duprée competed in the 30-man Royal Rumble match where he was eliminated by

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...

. On the March 24, 2005, airing of ''SmackDown!'', he was "sacrificed" by

The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name the Undertaker, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway ...

as a message to

Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...

(regarding their match at

WrestleMania 21 WrestleMania 21, also promoted as WrestleMania Goes Hollywood, was a 2005 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 21st annual WrestleMania and took place on April 3, 2005, at ...

), when The Undertaker interrupted a match between Duprée and

Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 194 ...

. The result of the "sacrifice" saw Duprée receiving a ''

Tombstone Piledriver A piledriver is a professional wrestling driver move in which the wrestler grabs their opponent, turns them upside-down, and drops into a sitting or kneeling position, driving the opponent head-first into the mat. The technique is said to have b ...

'' on the steel steps which lead up to the ring. Duprée was taken off television after this, working dark matches until the April 28 edition of ''SmackDown!'', where he was defeated by John Cena. Duprée went back to dark matches and a few ''

Velocity Velocity is a measurement of speed in a certain direction of motion. It is a fundamental concept in kinematics, the branch of classical mechanics that describes the motion of physical objects. Velocity is a vector (geometry), vector Physical q ...

'' matches until the June 18 episode of ''Velocity'', where Duprée came out calling himself "The French Phenom", defeating

via submission. The following week on ''Velocity'', Duprée came out with a new look, sporting black trunks with his initials as well as jet black hair and a Dalí-styled

goatee A goatee is a style of facial hair incorporating hair on the chin entirely. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture. Description Until the late 20th century, the term ''goatee'' was used to refer solely to a bear ...

Brand switches (2005–2007)

On June 30, Duprée became one of the last minute trades in the 2005 WWE Draft Lottery, which saw him jump from

back to Raw. On the July 4 edition of ''Raw'', Duprée redebuted with his French Phenom

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand out ...

and defeated

Val Venis Sean Allen Morley (born March 6, 1971), better known by his ring name Val Venis, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) from 1998 to 20 ...

on the same night. Duprée began cutting promos using a new quote referring to himself as "Simply Phenomenal". Duprée also began a winning streak against superstars such as The Hurricane,

Matt Striker Matthew Kaye (born June 26, 1974) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, professional wrestling Sports commentator, commentator, actor and former high school teacher, signed to Major League Wrestling, using the ring name ...

and Tajiri before suffering a near career-ending

hernia A hernia (: hernias or herniae, from Latin, meaning 'rupture') is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. The term is also used for the normal Devel ...

in mid-September. Once Duprée was cleared to wrestle, WWE sent him back to

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion, professional wrestling promotion and former developmental territory based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow, Matt Jones (radio host), Ma ...

for training before returning to WWE. On October 19, 2005, Duprée returned to OVW facing Robert Fury in a no-contest. On February 21, 2007, La Resistance defeated Kofi Kingston and

David Hart Smith Harry Francis Smith (born August 2, 1985), better known by his ring name Davey Boy Smith Jr., is a Canadian professional wrestler and catch wrestler. He currently performs for Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is a two-time Opera Cup wi ...

in what would be Duprée's final appearance in OVW. On the August 8, 2006, episode of ''

ECW on Sci Fi ''WWE ECW'' (officially known as simply ''ECW'' and colloquially known as ''ECW on Sci-Fi'' or ''ECW on Syfy'' and ''WWECW'', a portmanteau of both "WWE" and "ECW") is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by W ...

'', a promo aired with Duprée, sporting a clean shave and long hair, announcing that he would be debuting for the ECW brand soon. Promos aired throughout the rest of August showing Duprée taking pictures, posing in mirrors, and working out, while claiming he is "the most

extreme athlete Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are physical activity, activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk of injury or death. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly speci ...

in ECW history". Duprée made his ECW debut on September 12, 2006, defeating

Balls Mahoney Jonathan Rechner (April 11, 1972 – April 12, 2016), better known by his ring name Balls Mahoney, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and WWE, W ...

. On the February 20, 2007, episode of ''ECW on Sci Fi'', Duprée reformed La Résistance with

, but the team's reunion was short-lived after Duprée was suspended at the start of March and sent to rehab after violating the Health and Wellness policy. Duprée returned to the ring at WWE's new developmental territory

Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until ...

on June 26, 2007, and defeated Steve Madison. However, he was released from his WWE contract a month later on July 26, 2007, by his own request. In an interview with

Chris Van Vliet Christopher Van Vliet (born May 19, 1983) is a Canadian television/radio personality and YouTuber currently living in Studio City, Los Angeles. He was born and raised in Pickering, Ontario. He is an entertainment reporter for FOX affiliate WSV ...

in 2021, Duprée revealed the

Chris Benoit double-murder and suicide Over a three-day period between June 22 and 24, 2007, Chris Benoit, a 40-year-old Canadian professional wrestler employed by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), murdered his wife Nancy and their seven-year-old son, Daniel, before hanging himse ...

was his main reason for leaving the company.

Independent circuit (2007–2012)

After leaving WWE, Goguen wrestled primarily on the European independent circuit and Japan. He made his debut for

All Star Wrestling All Star Wrestling (ASW), also known as Super Slam Wrestling (SSW), is a British professional wrestling promotion founded by Brian Dixon in 1970 and based in Birkenhead, England. Founded as Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead in October 1970, i ...

on January 25, 2008, defeating Mikey Whiplash. During his tenure at ASW, he formed a partnership with fellow

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

, Pierre Carl Ouellet. In March 2008, Duprée wrestled for Irish Whip Wrestling where he fought Mandrake for the IWW International Heavyweight Championship. In July 2008, he represented Europe in the Grand Prix Tournament. In September 2008, Duprée returned to Europe for several months where he won European Wrestling Promotion Royal Rumble and wrestled regularly for American Wrestling Rampage. In March 2009, Duprée defeated

for the AWR No Limits Championship and would vacate it after two days when he was awarded the AWR Heavyweight Championship. On November 24, Duprée lost the AWR Heavyweight Championship to RVD in a best of two falls match but would regain the title on December 9. Duprée re-united La Resistance with

for AWR France 2010 Tour. After leaving AJPW, Duprée wrestled on the European independent circuit only and won the Southside Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat match. However his time in Europe came to an end when he returned to Canada. On November 11, 2012, made his debut on the American independent circuit when Duprée lost to the Dynamic Sensation in a four corners match which also included Dan Maff and Devon Moore for Pro Wrestling Syndicate in

Rahway, New Jersey Rahway () is a city (New Jersey), city in southern Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway River, Rahway Valley region, in the New ...

. In May, Rene and his father restarted Grand Prix Wrestling and featured talent from All Japan Pro Wrestling and other assorted talent.

Hustle (2007–2009)

Goguen debuted for the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

promotion Hustle on August 15, 2007, under the name "René Bonaparte", defeating fellow WWE alumnus Tajiri. After debuting, René became a member of President

Nobuhiko Takada Nobuhiko Takada (, ring name: ) (born April 12, 1962) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist, retired professional wrestler, actor, and writer. He competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) and the Uni ...

's Takada Monster Army thus continuing his winning streak. Bonaparte and Wataru wrestled their grudge match was on September 22, with the stipulation being that Wataru's wife, Eiko, was to become the wife of the winner of the match. Bonaparte defeated his tag team partner Sakata via disqualification, thus winning Eiko. After a brief hiatus, Bonaparte made his return to the promotion in January 2008 and defeated Tajiri. His undefeated streak came to an end on January 17, when he and Giant Vabo lost to Tajiri and Kushida. In July 2008, he lost the first round of the Hustle GP to

Toshiaki Kawada (born December 8, 1963) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), whom he worked for from his debut in 1982 up until 2008. In the promotion, he was a five-time Triple Crown He ...

. Goguen debuted a new masked

, Dina Sharp, and teamed with Mighty Sharp, this gimmick didn't last long with them dropping the

after only two shows. In April to May 2009, Bonaparte teamed with

Lance Cade Lance Kurtis McNaught (March 2, 1981 – August 13, 2010) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he performed under the ring names Garrison Cade and Lance Cade. After be ...

and stayed undefeated in tag team matches until they lost twice to Tajiri and Magnum Tokyo. In June, Bonaparte teamed with

Travis Tomko Travis David Tomko (born March 23, 1976) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2003 to 2006 under the ring name Tyson Tomko, with New Japan Pro-Wrestling ...

as Armageddon, where Tomko was named Arma and Bonaparte was named Geddon. In July, Geddon turned on Arma and reverted to his René Bonaparte name before defeating Arma. Goguen wrestled his final match for Hustle on October 10, where his team lost a five-on-five tag team match.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2008, 2010–2011, 2013)

On June 22, 2008, Goguen debuted for

under his René Duprée ring name and defeated

Manabu Soya is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Pro Wrestling NOAH. He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling, and he previously lived in Canada training at the Can-Am Wrestling School under Scott D'Amore, working ...

. During his short stint in 2008 he aligned himself with the

Voodoo Murders Voodoo Murders (stylised in all capital letters, also stylised as VDM) were a professional wrestling stable who were best known as the main heel group in All Japan Pro Wrestling between 2005 and 2011, and 2022 to 2023. In 2013, the group was ref ...

stable where he teamed up with TARU mostly. On January 2, 2010, Duprée returned to AJPW and rejoined Voodoo Murders by filling in the final spot for a Voodoo Murders vs Gurentai tag team match which he lost, later on in the night he lost a seventeen-man battle royal. In April, he participated in 2010's

Champion Carnival The is a professional wrestling tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The tournament is also known by the nickname and is sometimes abbreviated to CC. Created by AJPW founder Giant Baba, the tournament has been held annually since ...

, where he won only one match upon defeating

Taiyō Kea Maunakea Mossman (born November 18, 1975) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known under his ring name . Best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), he is the only wrestler in AJPW's history to have held the Tri ...

. On September 20, 2010, Duprée and former tag team partner Kenso were defeated by Akebono and

in a match for the

. From November 20 to December 7, Duprée teamed with TARU in the 2010

World's Strongest Tag Determination League __NOTOC__ The , more commonly known in the West as the Real World Tag League, is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling since 1977, usually, run on the first weeks of December. The first tournament was actuall ...

, where they finished seventh in their bracket. On June 3, 2011, AJPW disbanded Voodoo Murders, suspended all of its Japanese members, including Duprée, and vacated all championships following the aftermath of a backstage fight between

Yoshikazu Taru is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known simply as Taru (stylised in all capital letters). He is signed to Makai, while also working for Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1) and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is the leader of the Voodo ...

and

Nobukazu Hirai Nobukazu Hirai (born December 30, 1969) is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for competing in All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is the son of former Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance wrestler Mitsu Hirai. Professional wrestling career Super World ...

, which resulted in Hirai suffering a stroke. In the aftermath of this, Duprée and former Voodoo Murders member

Joe Doering Joseph Doering (born April 16, 1982) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he was a member of Violent By Design. He is currently inactive due to cancer surgery. He is a former two- ...

stayed together as a tag team until the end of Duprée's run with AJPW. At the joint pay-per-view All Together, which featured wrestlers from AJPW, Pro Wrestling Noah and

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

, Duprée participated in the Destroyer Cup battle royal, which was ultimately won by

Kentaro Shiga is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer. He returned from a two-year hiatus due to injury in 2005. History All Japan Pro Wrestling (1994−2000) Shiga trained in the All Japan dojo and debuted in All Japan Pro Wre ...

. During an AJPW international tour in Cocagne, New Brunswick, Canada on May 27, 2013, Duprée defeated

Seiya Sanada , better known by his mononymous ring name Sanada (stylized in all caps), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of House of Torture and a former member of Bullet Club. He is a f ...

to win the

Gaora TV Championship The is a professional wrestling championship owned by the All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) promotion. On August 28, 2012, AJPW and Gaora TV announced that AJPW would introduce a new championship called the Gaora TV Championship. A tournament for ...

. However, he returned the title to AJPW on September 11 after leaving the promotion to begin performing for

Wrestle-1 (2013–2014, 2019–2020)

While still officially the Gaora TV Champion, Duprée made a surprise appearance at the AJPW splinter promotion Wrestle-1's inaugural event on September 8, 2013, teaming with

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...

in a main event tag team match, where the two were defeated by

Bob Sapp Robert Malcolm Sapp (born September 22, 1973) is an American mixed martial artist, kickboxing, kickboxer, professional wrestler, actor, and former American football, football player. He is currently under contract with Rizin Fighting Federatio ...

and

Keiji Mutoh is a Japanese professional wrestling executive, actor and retired professional wrestler. He is known for his work under his real name and as his alter ego in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and duri ...

. Three days later, after Duprée had been announced for all future Wrestle-1 events, he returned the Gaora TV Championship to AJPW. During the October tour, Duprée joined Masayuki Kono's Desperado stable. On March 2, 2014, Duprée took part in the big Kaisen: Outbreak event, teaming with Desperado member

Masayuki Kono is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is working as a freelancer. He is best known for his time in Wrestle-1, where he is a former two-time Wrestle-1 Champion. Career All Japan Pro Wrestling (2003–2005) Kon ...

and

Samoa Joe Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), better known by the ring name Samoa Joe, is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Opps, and is one-third of the AEW Worl ...

losing to

Rob Terry Robert Terry (born 30 April 1980) is a Welsh Bodybuilding, bodybuilder and a former Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring names Rob Terry, Robbie T and Th ...

, Keiji Mutoh and

in a six-man tag team match. On March 15, Duprée competed in a

battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...

to determine the number one contender for the

TNA X Division Championship The TNA X Division Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). It debuted on June 19, 2002, at the taping of TNA's second then- weekly pay-per-view (PPV) event. The cur ...

, which was won by

Seiki Yoshioka , previously known as Seiki (stylized in all capital letters), is a Japanese professional wrestler. Yoshioka is known for his time in Wrestle-1, where he was a three-time Wrestle-1 Cruiser Division Champion and UWA World Trios Champion and a on ...

. Duprée was due to return to Wrestle-1 on September 1, 2019, as part of the Pro Wrestling Love in Yokohama event but was unable to attend due to flight trouble. Enfants Terribles leader Shotaro Ashino announced that Duprée had joined the faction. On September 15, 2019, Duprée teamed with Ashino, Kuma Arashi and Yusuke Kodama in a losing effort. He teamed with Arashi in the

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Wrestle-1 Tag League The Wrestle-1 Tag League was a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by Wrestle-1. It was created in 2014. Originally known as the Tag League Greatest in 2014. The tournament was given its current name in June 2017. The inau ...

, going undefeated in the round robin portion of the tournament before losing to T-Hawk and

Shigehiro Irie is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist best known for his work in DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). Irie has also competed for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW), and a number of North American inde ...

in the final. Wrestle-1 financial issues meant Duprée would not return to the promotion and would eventually close on April 1, 2020.

Return to the independent circuit (2015–2021)

On January 24, 2015, Duprée made his first post

appearance for the Canadian Wrestling Federation (CWF) defeating Tyson Dux. On May 20, 2015, Duprée began touring with his father promotion

Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling Grand Prix Wrestling (GPW) was a professional wrestling Promotion (marketing), promotion run and owned by Emile Duprée. It toured parts of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. It has no connection with Paul Vachon's Grand Prix Wr ...

from May 2015 through August 2015. On April 29, 2017, Duprée defeated Hannibal to become the new GNW Canadian Champion as part of the 2017 AGPW tour in

O'Leary, Prince Edward Island O'Leary is a village located in Prince County, Prince Edward Island, about 60 kilometers west of Summerside. Its population in the 2021 Canadian Census was 876 people. O'Leary was incorporated as a village in 1951, and as a community in 1983 ...

. On May 26, 2017, Duprée competed for What Culture Pro Wrestling as part of their World Cup tournament where he was defeated by

Michael Elgin Aaron Michael Frobel (born December 13, 1986) is a Canadian professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Michael Elgin. He is known for his work with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a List of IWGP Intercontinent ...

due to disqualification in the first round of the Canadian qualifier. On June 30, 2017, Duprée unsuccessfully defended his GNW Canadian Championship in a three-way elimination match against

Wes Brisco Wesley Brisco (born February 21, 1983) is an American professional wrestler known for his time in Impact Wrestling (TNA), where he is a former member of Aces & Eights. He is a member of the Brisco wrestling family; the son of former Championshi ...

and Hannibal, Brisco went on to win the championship. On August 12, 2017, Duprée and

defeated Kryss Thorn and Scotty O'Shea to win the Canadian Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship. On February 9, 2018, Duprée debuted in Singapore Pro Wrestling (SPW) at SPW Repentless, but was defeated by "The Statement" Andruew Tang.

Pro Wrestling Noah (2020–2022)

Duprée signed with Pro Wrestling Noah as a member of

Takashi Sugiura is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). Sugiura, an accomplished amateur wrestler, joined Noah's dojo in 2000, making his professional debut on December 23, 2000, and thus becoming the first wrestl ...

's Sugiura-gun stable. He made his in-ring debut teaming with fellow Sugiura-gun member, El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. to defeat

Kenoh (born January 1, 1985) is a Japanese professional wrestler and martial artist, better known by the ring name . He currently wrestles in Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a 3-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He is also a former GHC National Championsh ...

and

Masa Kitamiya is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. Kitamiya's ring name is a tribute to former professional wrestler Masa Saito. Kitamiya also wears a similar ring attire to Saito as tribute. Early life Kitamiya was an amateur ...

. Duprée and Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. would enter in the Global Tag League, where they won by defeating AXIZ in the finals. On April 19, 2020, they defeated

Naomichi Marufuji (born September 26, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. Marufuji is a four-time GHC Heavyweight Champion, as well as the first of two men to win Junior Heavyweight Championships in all three major Japanese ...

and

Masaaki Mochizuki is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Dragon Gate and Pro Wrestling Noah. Mochizuki is a former FIP World Champion and three-time Open the Dream Gate Champion. Professional wrestling career Early years A former karat ...

to win the

GHC Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), title in Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 19, 2001, when Big Van Vader, Vader and 2 Cold Scorpio, Sc ...

. On July 26, 2020, it was announced that Duprée and Wagner Jr. vacated the

s. On April 30, 2022, Duprée made his return after a near two year absence due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic teaming with Wagner Jr. defeating the team of

Daiki Inaba is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who currently competes as a freelancer, majorly for Pro Wrestling Noah. He's best known for his time in Wrestle-1, where he was a two-time Wrestle-1 Championship, Wrestle-1 Champion, and ...

and

Masato Tanaka is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in Japan where he was a FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship#Title History, one-time FMW Brass Knuckle ...

. On May 4, 2022, Duprée and Wagner Jr. defeated

and Hideki Suzuki to reclaim the GHC Tag Team Championships they previously were forced to vacate. On May 21, 2022, Duprée and Wagner Jr. lost the GHC Tag Team Championships to the team of

and

Personal life

Goguen's father, Emile, was also a professional wrestler and a promoter. After leaving WWE, Goguen adopted several

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

s, including flame patterns on his

forearm The forearm is the region of the upper limb between the elbow and the wrist. The term forearm is used in anatomy to distinguish it from the arm, a word which is used to describe the entire appendage of the upper limb, but which in anatomy, techn ...

s and lower legs, the

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

characters for

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

(日本) on his left deltoid and pectoral, and a large

crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

spanning across his back. On October 14, 2009, Goguen married in Japan. He hosts a podcast titled ''Cafe De Rene''.

Championships and accomplishments

Bodybuilding

*Mr. Canada Bodybuilding National Champion (2001)

Professional wrestling

( 1 time) *American Wrestling Rampage **AWR Heavyweight Championship (2 times) **AWR No Limits Championship (1 time) *Canadian Wrestling Federation **CWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

*Federation de Lutte Quebecoise **FLQ Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with The Beast King FTM *Great North Wrestling **GNW Canadian Championship (1 time) * Pro Wrestling Noah **

(

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) – with El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. **

Global Tag League The Global Tag League is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created in 2008. The Global Tag League is held under a points system, with two points for a win, one for a time limit draw and n ...

(

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

) – with El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. *Southside Wrestling Entertainment ** SWE Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Ultimate Championship Wrestling **UCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Sylvain Grenier *

( 1 time) – with

( 1 time) – with Kenzo Suzuki *

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...

** Worst Tag Team (2003) with

References

External links

Online World of Wrestling profile
*
Slam Sports profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dupree, Rene 1983 births 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century Canadian professional wrestlers Canadian people of Acadian descent Canadian male professional wrestlers Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Canadian podcasters Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan Living people Professional wrestlers from New Brunswick Professional wrestling podcasters Sportspeople from Moncton GHC Tag Team Champions Gaora TV Champions Global Tag League winners World Tag Team Champions (WWE, 1971–2010) World Tag Team Champions (WWE) 21st-century Canadian sportsmen