Rene Dupree was recently forced to pull out of a contest in Japan, blaming fast-food giant McDonald’s – and more specifically, Ronald McDonald himself – in the process.
Despite never being a top guy during his WWE tenure, Rene Dupree has found success in Japan, which is where’s predominantly wrestled since his WWE release. ‘The French Phenom’ is currently signed to Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he was scheduled to compete on their Yokohama card on 24 June.
However, a diagnosis of gastroenteritis rendered him medically unfit to wrestle on the Yokohama Radiant Hall card. Dupree was penned to face NOAH legend Go Shiozaki at the event; Shuhei Taniguchi replaced him, ultimately falling to ‘The Strong Arm’.
The former WWE Tag Team Champion slammed Ronald McDonald, having undertaken the binge in a bid to compare McDonald’s portion sizes in Japan and North America. Rene Dupree reportedly spent $75 at the fast-food chain to prove his point.
Dupree made a statement via his Cafe de Rene podcast, blaming Ronald McDonald’s burger for taking him out of the match with Go Shiozaki:
“I blame the burger I ate at McDonald’s. That big red-headed f*ck clown Ronald is a big McA**hole. His food gave me the drizzling McS*its, so he and his s*itty food can go and McF*ck themselves.”
Rene Dupree hasn’t wrestled since 19 June in Kobe. He teamed with his Sugiura-gun comrades Takashi Sugiura, Timothy Thatcher, and El Hijo del Dr Wagner Jr. in a loss to Shiozaki, Masa Kitamiya, Yoshiki Inamura, and Michael Elgin.
Spending five years under contract with WWE, the real-life Rene Emile Gougen departed the company in July 2007. He held both the WWE and World Tag Team Championships with Sylvain Grenier and Kenzo Suzuki, respectively.
Since departing the company, he’s wrestled across the globe for the likes of HUSTLE, All Japan Pro Wrestling, and now Pro Wrestling NOAH. He and El Hijo del Dr Wagner Jr. are former two-time GHC Tag Team Champions, having also won the 2020 Global Tag League together.