Eric Bugenhagen Makes His WWE NXT Debut

Eric Bugenhagen made his WWE NXT in-ring debut on October 19, 2017, at a live event in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Prior to facing the monstrous Lars Sullivan, Bugenhagen spoke on the mic to say that he was making his debut and that he’s now officially on the same level as The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

Unfortunately for Bugenhagen, Sullivan quickly squashed the rookie and came back to destroy him two more times.

#NXTDaytonaBeach #NXTDaytona @LarsSWWE vs. our new friend Eric… well, yeah… pic.twitter.com/WhZkB6Px29

— JJ Williams (@JJWilliamsWON) October 20, 2017

#NXTDaytonaBeach #NXTDaytona the debut of Eric Bugenhagen v @LarsSWWE … pic.twitter.com/DnOCvqpKsZ

— JJ Williams (@JJWilliamsWON) October 20, 2017

#NXTDaytonaBeach #NXTDaytona @LarsSWWE ! pic.twitter.com/YBps822bGE

— JJ Williams (@JJWilliamsWON) October 20, 2017

#NXTDaytonaBeach Definitely wouldn’t want to face @LarsSWWE in my debut like this guy, lol #onemoretime #WeAreNXT pic.twitter.com/dENLhjqk5q

— Libby Hill (@lahill122) October 20, 2017

So who is Eric Bugenhagen?

Bugenhagen is a former collegiate wrestler from the University of Wisconsin-Madison who quietly joined the WWE Performance Center sometime this year after participating in a tryout in February — WWE did not announce his signing. After college, he became a certified personal trainer and garnered a minor following on YouTube with his non-competitive powerlifting videos. You can check out his channel here, which he still updates.

To hear Bugenhagen speak, check out this promo he did with Christy St. Cloud in late August at the 2017 NXT Combine.

Yesterday, #EricBugenhagen summed up Day 1 at the #NXTCombine the best way he knew how… pic.twitter.com/XDKhvqeHqR

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) August 30, 2017

He also appears in this video posted earlier this month on the WWE Performance Center’s monthlong celebration of squats.

You can find Bugenhagen on Instagram at the.real.eric_bugenhagen.