 Duprée in 2018 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | René Goguen (1983-12-15)December 15, 1983 (age 41)[3][4] |
Spouse | |
| Family | Emile Duprée (father) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | René Duprée[1] Gedon[2] Geddon[2] René Bonaparte[3] René E. Duprée[4] René Rougeau[4] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[5] |
| Billed weight | 260 lb (118 kg)[5] |
| Billed from | Paris, France[3] |
| Trained by | Emile Duprée[3] |
| Debut | 1996[3] |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2021–present |
| Genre | Professional wrestling |
| Subscribers | 34.3 thousand |
| Views | 14.1 million |
| Last updated: August 19, 2025 | |
René Goguen[4] (born December 15, 1983),[4] better known by hisring nameRené Duprée (French:[ʁənedypʁe];Japanese:レネ・デュプリ,romanized: Rene Dyupuri) is a Canadianprofessional wrestler andpodcaster. He is currently signed toPro Wrestling Noah where he is a former two-timeGHC Tag Team Champion.
Goguen is best known for his tenure inWorld Wrestling Entertainment, where he is aone-timeWorld Tag Team Champion withSylvain Grenier as thetag teamLa Résistance and aone-timeWWE Tag Team Champion withKenzo Suzuki. He has also worked for Japanese promotionsAll Japan Pro Wrestling,Wrestle-1 andHustle.
He is the first wrestler in WWE to win a title as a teenager.[2] Goguen is the son ofCanadian Maritimes wrestling promoterEmile Duprée.[4]
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, defeatingJohnny Jeter. Duprée would team up with various wrestlers in dark matches onSmackDown! andRaw, while also competing in Ohio Valley Wrestling until April 2003.
After weeks ofvignettes airing,Sylvain Grenier and Duprée made their first appearance on the April 28, 2003, episode ofRaw asLa Résistance by attackingScott Steiner.[6] Steiner had made remarks two weeks earlier comparing France tohell and Grenier and Duprée were offended. La Résistance went on to feud with Scott Steiner andTest, who was forced to be Steiner's tag team partner byStacy Keibler. La Résistance ended up defeating Steiner and Test atJudgment Day on May 18, 2003, in the team'spay-per-view debut.[7]
On June 15, 2003, La Résistance won theWorld Tag Team Championship fromKane andRob Van Dam atBad 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.[8] Duprée held on to this distinction until April 2018, when Nicholas won theWWE Raw Tag Team Championship atWrestleMania 34 at the age of 10.[9]
The third member of La Résistance,Rob Conway, was originally introduced as an unnamed American serviceman being abused by Grenier and Duprée.[10] On the August 18 episode ofRaw, when TheDudley Boyz came out to attack La Résistance, they brought Conway into the ring with an American flag.[10] 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.[10] Conway, now renamed to Robért Conway, joined Duprée and Grenier and the trio began carrying theFrench flag to ringside and singing theFrench national anthem before their matches. La Résistance lost the World Tag Team Championship to the Dudley Boyz atUnforgiven in a three-on-two handicapped tables match.[11] The trio went on tofeud with several tag teams, including the Dudley Boyz,The Hurricane and Rosey, andGarrison Cade andMark Jindrak.
In October 2003, Grenier suffered a back injury, resulting in Duprée and Conway holding the tag team together. AtArmageddon, La Résistance competed in a Tag Team Turmoil match for the World Tag Team Championship which was won byRic Flair andBatista. At theRoyal Rumble, Duprée competed in the 30-manRoyal Rumble match where he eliminatedMatt Hardy before getting eliminated byRikishi. AtWrestleMania XX, 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 theSmackDown! brand in the2004 WWE Draft Lottery on the March 22 episode ofRaw.[12]
Duprée made his SmackDown! debut on the March 25, 2004, episode ofSmackDown!, defeatingBilly Kidman.[13] He briefly had atalk show onSmackDown!, called "Cafe de René", but his only guest wasTorrie Wilson as the segment was cancelled after only one night. Duprée wrestled Wilson to a draw on the April 29 edition ofSmackDown!.[14] For several months, pursued theUnited States Championship, held byJohn Cena. 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 managerKurt Angle and it took place atJudgment Day. Cena retained the championship at Judgment Day when he pinned Duprée after executing anF-U.[15] AtThe 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 theWWE Tag Team Championship and eventually won the title withKenzo Suzuki by defeating Billy Kidman andPaul London on the September 9 episode ofSmackDown! (making him the youngest man to win the WWE Tag Team Championship at age 20). AtNo Mercy, Duprée and Suzuki defeatedRob Van Dam andRey Mysterio to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship. They lost the WWE Tag Team Championship on the December 9 episode ofSmackDown! to Van Dam and Mysterio.[16] This match happened just days before Van Dam and Mysterio were to challenge Duprée and Suzuki atArmageddon. At Armageddon, Duprée and Suzuki lost to Van Dam and Mysterio in a rematch.[17] At the2005 Royal Rumble, Duprée competed in the 30-man Royal Rumble match where he was eliminated byChris Jericho.
On the March 24, 2005, airing ofSmackDown!, he was "sacrificed" byThe Undertaker as a message toRandy Orton (regarding their match atWrestleMania 21), when The Undertaker interrupted a match between Duprée andBooker T.[18] The result of the "sacrifice" saw Duprée receiving aTombstone Piledriver on the steel steps which lead up to the ring.[18] Duprée was taken off television after this, working dark matches until the April 28 edition ofSmackDown!, where he was defeated by John Cena.[19] Duprée went back to dark matches and a fewVelocity matches until the June 18 episode ofVelocity, where Duprée came out calling himself "The French Phenom", defeatingMark Jindrak via submission. The following week onVelocity, Duprée came out with a new look, sporting black trunks with his initials as well as jet black hair and aDalí-styledgoatee.
On June 30, Duprée became one of the last minute trades in the2005 WWE Draft Lottery, which saw him jump fromSmackDown! back toRaw.[20] On the July 4 edition ofRaw, Duprée redebuted with his French Phenomgimmick and defeatedVal Venis on the same night.[21] Duprée began cutting promos using a new quote referring to himself as "Simply Phenomenal". Duprée also began a winning streak against superstars such asThe Hurricane,Matt Striker andTajiri before suffering a near career-endinghernia in mid-September.
Once Duprée was cleared to wrestle, WWE sent him back toOhio Valley Wrestling 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 andDavid Hart Smith in what would be Duprée's final appearance in OVW.
On the August 8, 2006, episode ofECW on Sci Fi, a promo aired with Duprée, sporting a clean shave and long hair, announcing that he would be debuting for theECW brand soon.[22] Promos aired throughout the rest of August showing Duprée taking pictures, posing in mirrors, and working out, while claiming he is "the mostextreme athlete in ECW history". Duprée made his ECW debut on September 12, 2006, defeatingBalls Mahoney.[23] On the February 20, 2007, episode ofECW on Sci Fi, Duprée reformed La Résistance withSylvain Grenier, 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.[24]
Duprée returned to the ring at WWE's new developmental territoryFlorida Championship Wrestling 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.[25] In an interview withChris Van Vliet in 2021, Duprée revealed theChris Benoit double-murder and suicide was his main reason for leaving the company.[26]
After leaving WWE, Goguen wrestled primarily on the European independent circuit and Japan. He made his debut forAll Star Wrestling on January 25, 2008, defeating Mikey Whiplash. During his tenure at ASW, he formed a partnership with fellowFrench Canadian,Pierre Carl Ouellet. In March 2008, Duprée wrestled forIrish Whip Wrestling where he fought Mandrake for theIWW 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 defeatedRob Van Dam 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-unitedLa Resistance withSylvain Grenier for AWR France 2010 Tour.[27] 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 inRahway, New Jersey. In May, Rene and his father restarted Grand Prix Wrestling and featured talent from All Japan Pro Wrestling and other assorted talent.
Goguen debuted for theJapanese promotionHustle on August 15, 2007, under the name "René Bonaparte", defeating fellow WWE alumnusTajiri. After debuting, René became a member of PresidentNobuhiko Takada'sTakada 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 andKushida. In July 2008, he lost the first round of the Hustle GP toToshiaki Kawada. Goguen debuted a new maskedgimmick, Dina Sharp, and teamed with Mighty Sharp, this gimmick didn't last long with them dropping thegimmick after only two shows. In April to May 2009, Bonaparte teamed withLance Cade and stayed undefeated in tag team matches until they lost twice to Tajiri andMagnum Tokyo. In June, Bonaparte teamed withTravis Tomko 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.
On June 22, 2008, Goguen debuted forAll Japan Pro Wrestling under his René Duprée ring name and defeatedManabu Soya. During his short stint in 2008 he aligned himself with theVoodoo Murders stable where he teamed up withTARU 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'sChampion Carnival, where he won only one match upon defeatingTaiyō Kea. On September 20, 2010, Duprée and former tag team partnerKenso were defeated byAkebono andTaiyō Kea in a match for theWorld Tag Team Championship.[28] From November 20 to December 7, Duprée teamed withTARU in the 2010World's Strongest Tag Determination League, 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 betweenYoshikazu Taru andNobukazu Hirai, which resulted in Hirai suffering a stroke. In the aftermath of this, Duprée and former Voodoo Murders memberJoe Doering stayed together as a tag team until the end of Duprée's run with AJPW. At the joint pay-per-viewAll Together, which featured wrestlers from AJPW,Pro Wrestling Noah andNew Japan Pro-Wrestling, Duprée participated in the Destroyer Cup battle royal, which was ultimately won byKentaro Shiga.[29]
During an AJPW international tour inCocagne, New Brunswick, Canada on May 27, 2013, Duprée defeatedSeiya Sanada to win theGaora TV Championship. However, he returned the title to AJPW on September 11 after leaving the promotion to begin performing forWrestle-1.[30]
While still officially the Gaora TV Champion, Duprée made a surprise appearance at the AJPW splinter promotion Wrestle-1'sinaugural event on September 8, 2013, teaming withZodiac in a main event tag team match, where the two were defeated byBob Sapp andKeiji Mutoh.[31] Three days later, after Duprée had been announced for all future Wrestle-1 events, he returned the Gaora TV Championship to AJPW.[30] During the October tour, Duprée joined Masayuki Kono's Desperado stable.[32] On March 2, 2014, Duprée took part in the bigKaisen: Outbreak event, teaming with Desperado memberMasayuki Kono andSamoa Joe losing toRob Terry, Keiji Mutoh andTaiyō Kea in a six-man tag team match.[33] On March 15, Duprée competed in abattle royal to determine the number one contender for theTNA X Division Championship, which was won bySeiki Yoshioka.[34]
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.[35] Enfants Terribles leaderShotaro Ashino announced that Duprée had joined the faction. On September 15, 2019, Duprée teamed with Ashino, Kuma Arashi andYusuke Kodama in a losing effort.[36] He teamed with Arashi in the2019Wrestle-1 Tag League, going undefeated in the round robin portion of the tournament before losing toT-Hawk andShigehiro Irie in the final.[37] Wrestle-1 financial issues meant Duprée would not return to the promotion and would eventually close on April 1, 2020.[38]
On January 24, 2015, Duprée made his first postWrestle-1 appearance for the Canadian Wrestling Federation (CWF) defeatingTyson Dux.[39]
On May 20, 2015, Duprée began touring with his father promotionAtlantic Grand Prix Wrestling from May 2015 through August 2015.[40] On April 29, 2017, Duprée defeated Hannibal to become the new GNW Canadian Champion as part of the 2017 AGPW tour inO'Leary, Prince Edward Island.[41]
On May 26, 2017, Duprée competed for What Culture Pro Wrestling as part of their World Cup tournament where he was defeated byMichael Elgin due to disqualification in the first round of the Canadian qualifier.[42]
On June 30, 2017, Duprée unsuccessfully defended his GNW Canadian Championship in a three-way elimination match againstWes Brisco and Hannibal, Brisco went on to win the championship.[43]
On August 12, 2017, Duprée andSylvain Grenier defeated Kryss Thorn and Scotty O'Shea to win the Canadian Wrestling Federation Tag Team Championship.[44]
On February 9, 2018, Duprée debuted inSingapore Pro Wrestling (SPW) at SPW Repentless, but was defeated by "The Statement" Andruew Tang.[45]
Duprée signed withPro Wrestling Noah as a member ofTakashi Sugiura'sSugiura-gun stable. He made his in-ring debut teaming with fellow Sugiura-gun member,El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. to defeatKenoh andMasa Kitamiya.[46] Duprée and Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. would enter in the Global Tag League, where they won by defeating AXIZ in the finals.[47] On April 19, 2020, they defeatedNaomichi Marufuji andMasaaki Mochizuki to win theGHC Tag Team Championship.[48]
On July 26, 2020, it was announced that Duprée and Wagner Jr. vacated theGHC Tag Team Championships.[49] On April 30, 2022, Duprée made his return after a near two year absence due to theCOVID-19 pandemic teaming with Wagner Jr. defeating the team ofDaiki Inaba andMasato Tanaka.[50] On May 4, 2022, Duprée and Wagner Jr. defeatedTakashi Sugiura andHideki Suzuki to reclaim the GHC Tag Team Championships they previously were forced to vacate.[51] On May 21, 2022, Duprée and Wagner Jr. lost the GHC Tag Team Championships to the team ofMichael Elgin andMasa Kitamiya.[52][53]
Goguen's father,Emile, was also a professional wrestler and apromoter.[3][54]
After leaving WWE, Goguen adopted severaltattoos, including flame patterns on hisforearms andlower legs,[55] thekanji characters forJapan (日本) on hisleft deltoid and pectoral,[55][56] and a largecrucifix spanning across his back.[57]
On October 14, 2009, Goguen married in Japan.[58][unreliable source?][59]
He hosts a podcast titledCafe De Rene.[60]
,Internet Wrestling Database
