When news broke that Rick Boogs was among the dozen or so Superstars released by WWE back in September, it didn't take too many members of the online wrestling community by surprise.

Once one of the more entertaining prospects to join the WWE Universe, Boogs found as much success outside of the ring as in it through his pension for playing rippin' guitar, doing ads for Old Spice and Mike's Hard Lemonade, and just generally running around the backstage area like a throwback Sunset Strip maniac. Sure, he wasn't the most polished wrestler, but he was big, he was buff, and when he linked up with Superstars like Shinsuke Nakamura, he made magical moments that got over big with fans in the crowd and did numbers online.

And yet, when Paul “Triple H” Levesque took over for Vince McMahon as the creative lead of WWE, the change affected Boogs for the worse, with the throwback strong man seeing less and less screen time with each passing month before ultimately landing on the chopping block in the Fall.

Discussing the end of his WWE career with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Boogs noted that he wasn't too surprised to get a call from HR back in September, as he could sort of see the “writing on the wall.”

“If you want to talk about my second run on the main roster, I guess I saw the writing on the wall, but it wasn’t like let me get ready for it,” Rick Boogs told Chris Van Vliet via 411 Mania. “It was just basically thank God for my YouTube community because I always had that. I have an awesome community. Everyone I meet in real life is awesome. I have done a ton of meet and greets, and it’s great, it’s awesome.”

Expanding further into the differences between his initial run in WWE and efforts under the new regime, Boogs noted that Mr. McMahon was far higher on his character than Levesque, with a return from his WrestleMania injury delayed because creative didn't have anything for him.

“Well, I mean, if you look at it objectively, look at my NXT run and then look at when I was seen by Vince and look at that run,” Boogs noted. “Then, when management and the whole regime changed again, look at that run. A lot of people say, ‘Oh, he was injured.' I was supposed to be brought back early when I wasn't cleared, a month or two after rehab. I was really pumped. ‘Yeah, let's get back out there,' and it was kiboshed.”

Asked if he holds a grudge about how his career in WWE came to an end, Boogs said no, though he does have an issue with the idea that he needed to improve in order to get on television weekly, as, in a scripted show, fans will watch whatever the promotion puts on their screens.

“I mean, grudge wasn't the right word,” Boogs noted. “In development, I was told, ‘You have an awesome personality, and people like you, and the crowd is with you. Just keep getting better in the ring.' Basically, with that regime, that's all I ever heard. Dude, this is scripted television. We can make this whatever. It's frustrating, but at the same time, I get where both sides are coming from.”

What does the future hold for Boogs? Only time will tell, but based on his comments, it doesn't sound like he'll be back in a professional wrestling ring any time soon.

Rick Boogs is ready for the next chapter of his life post-WWE.

Continuing his conversation with Chris Van Vliet, Rick Boogs opened up about his future and what he'd like to do now that he's a free agent from WWE.

While many of his peers are booking indie dates, showing up in New Japan Pro Wrestling, and looking for their next big in-ring break, Boogs is looking past the squared circle, with plenty of other avenues he'd like to explore.

“I'm happy. I'm great. I'm better than ever. Basically, I started a YouTube channel. I've kind of become this underground lifting cult figure, which is cool,” Rick Boogs explained via Fightful. “That kind of built my own brand. Eric Bugenhagen was an entity. Rick Boogs was cool, but I've always had Eric Bugenhagen. I was at this crossroads. I was in developmental for four years and clearly it was going nowhere. Luckily, I had Old Spice, which brought forth my attention to the higher ups. I thought, should I cash out on who I really am instead of pursuing this endeavor? It's all worked out, really. I'm very thankful for every opportunity I've gotten. It's all better than putting all your eggs in one basket, you can never have enough baskets. Now that this is over, I can invest in all that.”

Would it be unfortunate to never see Boogs in a professional wrestling career ever again? Most definitely, but it's nice at least to learn that, with his run in WWE officially done, Boogs can look back on the highlights from his career and appreciate them for what they are.

“At the time, I knew I couldn't talk about it. I didn't want to talk about anything, but there was a comment on my YouTube channel,” Boog said. “‘Now is not the time to talk about it, but I will.' These are super positive. I'm just responding to a couple, which I shouldn't have. There was no bitterness. I'm happy, I'm happy to be done, but I'm also really proud of what I have done. I had to make a reel for an agent. I used Old Spice, a movie I did for Netflix, and I was like, ‘I should probably use some wrestling stuff.' I was going through clips like ‘This is awesome.'”