'I’ve exceeded all my expectations': 'Teddy Goodz' Bolduc wrestles on WWE SmackDown
Ted Bolduc almost gave up on the dream.
For all the things he had done right and well as a professional wrestler on the local, regional and national levels, he just couldn’t seem to break through and realize that dream: to wrestle for a major organization on national television.
But something inside him, along with the urging of some of his closest friends in the wrestling business, kept that pilot light burning.
And lo and behold, this spring Bolduc did indeed break through, in double-barreled fashion. In a span of a week-and-a-half in April, the Westport resident wrestled on national television for both World Wrestling Entertainment and WWE’s rival organization, All Elite Wrestling.
“The best part,” the 40-year-old said recently, “is seeing how excited my friends and family are for me.”
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Friday Night SmackDown
The WWE show, Friday Night SmackDown, was in Albany, New York, on April 22. Bolduc, whose wrestling name is Teddy Goodz, was invited to serve as an “extra,” an invitation he has received and accepted at dozens of WWE shows over the last decade. Extras show up at the event and work as needed, if needed. Sometimes they wrestle tryout matches, in an empty arena, before the actual show. Sometimes they land a bit TV role, as Bolduc did a few years back when he played a member of a security team that hauled away WWE superstar John Cena. Sometimes, if they’re lucky, they get to wrestle on TV.
Often they just sit around for hours on end and do nothing for a few bucks. They dress in the men’s room.
Bolduc had been an unused extra on the previous week’s SmackDown, in Worcester. That had left him discouraged and thinking AEW might be his only real road to the big time. But he still accepted WWE’s offer to be an extra in Albany.
Good move, despite the eight-hour round-trip drive and 10-hour work day at the arena. Bolduc was the only one of about 10 extras selected to actually wrestle on that SmackDown, aired on FOX.
Facing star heel (bad guy) Gunther, Bolduc lost in a quick match. He happily and professionally did his duty, helping to put the star over, as they say in the business. Gunther, Bolduc said, told him good job.
Surprisingly to Bolduc, WWE allowed its first-time TV performer to use the Teddy Goodz name. Bolduc was prepared to be introduced as Ted Steel, or just as Ted Bolduc. “They never let you keep your (ring) name,” Bolduc said. “It’s almost like it slipped through the cracks.”
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Getting involved with AEW
With primary investors auto parts billionaire Shahid Khan (owner of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars) and his son Tony Khan, AEW in three years has grown from infancy to a major player in pro wrestling. Its cast features many former WWE stars, including Sting, CM Punk and Chris Jericho. Bolduc had wrestled on AEW matches in Newark, N.J., before a crowd of 15,000 and at Universal Studios in Orlando, but nothing on TV. (The organization has shows aired on TNT.)
On April 11, Bolduc made his national TV debut at the AEW Dark Elevation show in Boston, at Boston University’s Harry Agganis Arena. As would be the case 11 days later in Albany, Boduc was the lone extra selected to wrestle on the televised card. Unlike in Albany, he got to enjoy a handful of high spots in his match, an entertaining loss to babyface (good guy) star Frankie Kazarian.
Despite being cast as the heel in the match, he was enough of a local boy favorite to enjoy conspicuous crowd support in Boston. His pre-match introduction was met by some cheers, and chants of “Teddy, Teddy” and “Let’s go, Teddy” rang out during the match.
At one point at the end of a pro-Teddy Goodz chant, Kazerian appeared to give a nod to Bolduc. Bolduc said that Kazerian later told him that he was taken aback by the pro-Goodz support and that given Bolduc’s regional popularity, he should in the future should be cast as a favorite when wrestling in and around Boston.
The AEW announcing crew included WWE Hall of Famers Mark Henry and Paul "Big Show" Wight, and longtime internationally-known play-by-play man Tony Schiavone. They acknowledged Bolduc’s fan popularity, his wrestling skills, and his very cool ring name. “When you got the goods, you got the goods,” Henry said.
In neither of his long-awaited TV matches, Bolduc said, were nerves an issue.
“Not even a little,” he said. “Not even 1 percent. I felt beyond prepared.”
Upcoming shows
AEW has a July 28 TV show in Worcester, a WWE building, and Bolduc may get a call for that one. The calls usually come a week or two out. WWE may call again, sooner or later. Or never again. Bolduc may continue to play the extra role, for one or both organizations. One or both may choose to give Bolduc a push, to make him a regular. If so, he’d have an interesting life decision to make.
“It’s never ruled out,” he said. “I’m just not waiting around. Life goes on. All these opportunities came when I least expected.”
The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder says he still loves his bread and butter wrestling life, working locally and regionally for Fall River-based Top Rope Promotions, as well as for the larger Beyond Wrestling, which, Bolduc noted, rates second only to WWE for wrestling organization YouTube subscribers. Beyond Wrestling has a very strong online presence, a weekly online show for subscribers, and its lineup includes more than a few former WWE stars. Bolduc also works for Wrestling Open, Beyond Wrestling’s sister organization, which does Thursday shows in Worcester. Those two connections, he said, have helped to significantly boost his social media presence.
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Bolduc has worked dozens of shows, as far away as Florida, for Big Time Wrestling. He’s a proven ring pro.
Bolduc started his career at Top Rope Promotions (then Yankee Pro Wrestling) and it was there that he met and became very close friend to wrestler Nick Steel, who died in his early 40s just before COVID struck. Bolduc said Steel constantly told him that he was good enough to perform on television and that he should keep striving toward that goal. “He made me believe in myself,” Bolduc said.
It was as a tribute to Steel that Bolduc was ready to be introduced as Ted Steel at the WWE show in Albany.
Another encourager has been Fairhaven’s Bobby Cruise, the ring announcer for the Ring of Honor wrestling organization (recently purchased by AEW). Back in the day, Cruise was the Yankee Pro Wrestling booker, and booked Bolduc’s first career match. He and Bolduc have remained close through the years.
“He would ask me, ‘Why haven’t you broken out? People love you.’” Bolduc said. “I’d tell him I don’t know.”
Bolduc wrestles two to three times per week, sometimes more. One night, it might be in front of 75 fans, the next time 400 fans, and the next night in front of thousands. Between his wrestling fee and merchandising (selling autographed photos, etc.) at the events, Bolduc said, he can sometimes take in $300 to $400 per show. He knows the ropes.
Life outside the ring
Out of the ring, life is also satisfying.
In 2021, Bolduc and his cousin Jason Aguiar opened Cojo’s Toy World, a vintage toy store, on Purchase Street in New Bedford. Interestingly, he and Aguiar used to hunt for vintage toys at a New Bedford Flea Market spot run by Irvine Johnson, whose daughter Samantha Irvine (real last name Johnson) is the SmackDown ring announcer who introduced Bolduc/Goodz in Albany. She subsequently messaged him on social media.
Last November, Bolduc was married, and he and wife Elizabeth recently enjoyed a belated honeymoon, to Maui. He owns his own house in Westport, a community he loves.
“I’m very content in life,” Bolduc said. “I’ve had more exposure since the pandemic than I had in my first 18 years of wrestling. I’ve exceeded all my expectations.”
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Westport's 'Teddy Goodz' Bolduc wrestles on WWE Friday Night SmackDown
