Boogs made his WWE debut on October 19, 2017, at a WWE NXT live event, where he fell short to Lars Sullivan in a singles match. After an injury set him back significantly, he returned to wresting at NXT live events under the ring name Ric Boog. Under his real name, Eric Bugenhagen, he lost to Drew Gulak on February 6, 2019 on NXT in his television debut. On the May 1, 2019 at WWE Worlds Collide, he participated in a 20-man battle royal as Rik Bugez, competing against other superstars such as Brian Kendrick, Akira Tozawa, Drew Gulak, Tyler Bate and the winner Roderick Strong. On February 21, 2019 at WWE NXT Live, Bugez teamed up with Denzel Dejournette to unsuccessfully face the NXT Tag Team Champions at the time, The Viking Raiders (Ivar and Erik). A notable confrontation of his career took place on February 22, 2020 at WWE NXT Live, where Bugez unsuccessfully competed against Finn Balor in a losing effort.
Bugez made several appearances as an extra on the main roster, being one of the many NXT performers being used as part of a makeshift crowd on Raw in 2020. Leading up to WrestleMania 37, Bugez played the character of Joseph Average in several backstage advertisements at Fastlane and after WrestleMania 37, during which he defeated R-Truth and Akira Tozawa to capture the WWE 24/7 Championship twice.
On May 21, 2021, Bugez, now going by the tweaked ring name Rick Boogs, made his official main roster debut on SmackDown, playing Shinsuke Nakamura to the ring with an electric guitar. He made his in-ring debut on the August 20 episode of SmackDown, teaming with Nakamura to defeat Apollo Crews and Commander Azeez. At WrestleMania 38, Boogs and Nakamura faced The Usos for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, in which The Usos retained. During the match, Boogs suffered a torn quadriceps/patellar tendon injury, requiring surgery.
After a nine month absence due to injury, Boogs made his return on the January 30, 2023 episode of Raw, being introduced as the newest member of the roster before defeating The Miz in an impromptu match. Boogs was drafted to the SmackDown brand in the 2023 WWE Draft. At SummerSlam, Boogs would participate in the "Slim Jim" battle royal, which was won by LA Knight. This would be his last televised match as Boogs was released from his WWE contract on September 21.