10 Awful WWE Backstage Hazing Stories
8. René Duprée’s Constant Abuse
René Duprée was the only teenager to ever hold a WWE championship until Tyler Bate came along this year, but while the French-Canadian made an early impact as one half of La Résistance, he often struggled behind the scenes. Duprée claims that his problems started after being traded from Raw to SmackDown in 2005, when he became a regular target for a certain Mr. Layfield.
According to René’s 2013 shoot interview, JBL would hurl xenophobic, homophobic abuse at him whenever they crossed paths, though he didn’t refer to any specific incidents. JBL apparently ridiculed Duprée in front of the whole locker-room on a regular basis, but the Canadian never once complained to management as a felt nothing would be done about it.
Similarly, Duprée had major problems with infamous backstage authoritarian Bob Holly prior to moving to the blue brand. Having unknowingly acquired a speeding ticket on Holly’s rental car, an apologetic Duprée claims he offered to pay the fine twice over, only for Holly to threaten to kill him, then kick him in the head 15-20 times for good measure. Knowing this, it’s no wonder René left the company at just 23 years old...