Between 2006 and 2011 Eric Bugenhagen or Rick Boogs attended the Wisconsin University of Madison, majoring in kinesiology; During his college years, he competed in several wrestling matches on the National Collegiate Athletic Association circuit and was a coach in amateur wrestling.

In September 2017 he signed a contract with WWE; in the following months he fought in some NXT house shows, but at the beginning of 2018 he suffered a knee injury that forced him to stop for almost a year. On the February 6, 2019 episode of NXT, he made his television debut, being defeated by Drew Gulak, while on May 1, he participated in Worlds Collide in a Battle Royal. Throughout the rest of the year, he continued to compete on NXT house shows, losing most of his matches.

Boogs made a surprise return, after almost a year of absence, on the January 30, 2023 episode of Raw, defeating The Miz in a very short time. On the March 31 episode of SmackDown, Boogs entered the annual André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal but was eliminated.

On May 1, 2023, following the Draft, Boogs returned to the SmackDown roster.