One WWE Release Sent This Tag Team Champion Packing For Good

The world of professional wrestling is a cutthroat one, especially at the upper echelons of the industry, with so few spots available for talent. After working hard to make it to companies like WWE, countless wrestlers have then gone through the experience of getting let go. Sometimes these wrestlers are later brought back, but that isn't always the case.

One particularly surprising example of a WWE cut that never made his way back to the promotion is René Dupree (real name René Goguen). In 2002, Goguen signed with WWE at just 18 years old, getting his start in the developmental promotion Ohio Valley Wrestling.

He made his "WWE Raw" debut a year later under the Duprée name, working in a tag team called La Résistance with partner Sylvain Grenier, and they soon won the company's tag team championship. At just 19 years old, this made Duprée the youngest champion in WWE history up to that point, though that record would later be broken by a 10-year-old named Nicholas.

La Résistance continued on by adding a third member, Rob Conway, who stepped in for Grenier as champion after Grenier suffered an injury. Duprée and Conway eventually lost their title to Ric Flair and Batista, but the trio continued on, with Grenier later returning. The faction eventually died out, and Duprée would split his time between the singles and tag divisions.

Apart from a short tag title run with Kenzo Suzuki, Duprée didn't capture gold in WWE again. Instead, he worked his way around the company's midcard and undercard, including an eventual La Résistance reunion with Grenier. However, injuries and a wellness policy violation derailed his career, and Duprée was released by WWE in 2007.

Unlike some other stars of his era, Duprée hasn't made a return to WWE in the years since. However, according to Duprée, it was his own decision. Duprée has claimed Vince McMahon personally offered him a five-year WWE deal in 2011, but he turned it down so he could remain in Canada. These days, he remains active on the Canadian independent scene and regularly hosts a podcast called "Cafe De René."