WCW alum Buff Bagwell proved he still has the ‘stuff’ by winning championship gold in his first match in close to two years. 

Bagwell was a part of the Memphis Wrestling event this week and teamed with ‘Big’ John Dalton to take on Memphis Tag Team Champions Sir Matthew & Lord Gaston. Bagwell and Dalton won the gold after a big splash from the 300 lb Dalton. 

Bagwell hit a series of elbows and clotheslines in the match as well as a ‘noggin-knocker’ to his opponents. The victory with Dalton was Bagwell’s first match in any promotion since 2022 (according to Profight.) It was his first tag team championship victory since Buff and Rikki Nelson won the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champion in May 2009. 

Buff Bagwell

With his exuberant personality and various high-profile angles, Buff Bagwell is one of the most recognizable names to come from WCW. During his ten-year run with the promotion, Bagwell became a five-time WCW World Tag Team Champion across four different partners. He would be brought into the WWF in 2001 but was let go after an infamous match with Booker T. It’s also reported that Bagwell’s mother Judy (another former WCW Tag Champion) called up WWF offices to demand better work for her son.

In more recent years, Bagwell has struggled with a series of health issues, some of which have stemmed from his days abusing substances. Like many legends of the ring, Bagwell has been receiving help from WWE Hall of Famer ‘Diamond’ Dallas Page and celebrated eleven months of sobriety in July 2023. Bagwell’s life and struggle was documented during a recent episode of VICE’s Dark Side of the Ring.

Shane ‘Hurricane’ Helms has fired back at the comments made by Buff Bagwell on Dark Side of the Ring, branding his fellow WCW alum a “lying POS.”

Bagwell’s life, career, and struggles were covered in the latest episode of the hit VICE series which documents the darker side of pro-wrestling. The episode looked at Bagwell’s upbringing, time with WCW, his issues with substances, and more from his life. 

Buff Bagwell Accuses Shane Helms

The Dark Side of the Ring episode covers Bagwell’s brief tenure with WWE which saw him fired after his much-panned 2001 main event bout with Booker T. This match was so bad it reportedly led to Vince McMahon nixing any plans for WCW to be revived as its own show. 

In the episode, it is claimed that Bagwell confronted Helms during a training session and that Helms allegedly called Buff a drug addict. Bagwell claims he slapped Helms resulting in Helms using a frozen bottle of water as a weapon, resulting in Buff needing 24 staples for his Monday Night Raw debut. 

In the episode, Bagwell blames his WWE release on the fact that he was blamed for striking Helms first during their confrontation. 

Helms Fires Back

On Twitter, a fan who watched Dark Side of the Ring criticized Helms, blaming the former Cruiserweight Champions on Buff’s release. Helms hit back by claiming that Bagwell is lying and witnesses at the scene would disagree with his claims. 

I didn’t either. Buff is a lying POS. Always has been. There were witnesses there and NONE agree with Buff. https://t.co/H5psVtW4ut

— Hurricane Helms (@ShaneHelmsCom) March 14, 2024

A different fan also questioned Buff’s story, especially as it’s been believed for years that his mother Judy rung up to say her son should be booked better. Helms noted that Bagwell has a history of blaming others for his lack of WWE success. 

He used to blame Jim Ross too. Blamed everyone except the man in the mirror. Nothing wrong with failing at something, but accountability is key. Everyone associated with that episode of Dork Side can suck ass. https://t.co/yAdaDUh221

— Hurricane Helms (@ShaneHelmsCom) March 14, 2024

When a fan said that Bagwell seemed like a changed man after being helped by Diamond Dallas Page, Helms said: 

He literally just went on a show and told a bunch of lies. No more second chances from me.

— Hurricane Helms (@ShaneHelmsCom) March 14, 2024

The latest episode of Dark Side of the Ring that focused on the life of Marcus ‘Buff’ Bagwell proved to be quite the spotlight on the infamous WCW star.

Here are just some of the many interesting talking points from the latest Dark Side of the Ring. 

Buff Loves His Family

Right from the start, we get a sense of Buff’s love for his family, which is paid for in kind. The episode opens with Bagwell in his mother’s office that is filled with pictures and magazine covers of his wrestling career. Bagwell makes clear that his success comes down to the late Judy Bagwell and her drive. 

Bagwell adds that from a young age, his family saw big things in him. It is mentioned that there was wrestling on TV growing up by there was never an inkling of getting into the business. 

Buff’s Father’s Parenting

Buff isn’t the only notable Bagwell as his father Steve was a famous drag racer and self-made millionaire. Steve was the more calmer of the Bagwell parents but really lost it if he lost his cool. Former WCW and TNA referee, Mark “Slick” Johnson recalls a time when Steve lost a bet and fired a machine gun on a bunch of geese in anger. Steve confirms the story is true. 

Another example of Steve’s parenting saw him hand out bags of cocaine to his son and his friends and would tell them “Have fun tonight but stay out of trouble.” The rationale was that if his son was going to get drugs, he’d rather he get them from a trusted source. 

Buff and the NWO

Buff says he didn’t need to be asked twice about joining the NWO. He said his time in the faction changed his career and he was thrilled to be in the ring with such talent. 

Buff on Monday Night Raw

After WCW’s collapse, Bagwell was signed to WWE in 2001 but after a critically panned match on Raw against Booker T, he was let go shortly after. Buff says he didn’t think the match was bad, but it wasn’t a barn-burner five-star classic either. Addressing being fired within days of the match. He said: 

“I had a horrible match? So What? I am Buff Bagwell….why would you get fired over a bad match?”

Losing His Mom & Getting Clean

In November 2021, Judy Bagwell passed away after a battle with Alzheimer’s. This is the most difficult loss in Buff’s live and Steve breaks down talking about his wife. Steve recalls her final moments in which Judy fell into a state where she could not wake up and Steve spent over an hour trying to get her to wake. Buff says everyone says their mom is the best but he knows his was the best. 

Judy’s death is seen as a wake-up call to Buff, who’s issues with substances is addressed multiple times in the episode. Buff talks about working to get sober after his niece made clear that he had to or the family would leave him. Buff shares his gratitude to ‘Diamond’ Dallas Page for all his work. 

Feeling the Love

Buff’s ex-wives, Judy (not his mom) and Tonya say they still love and support him and that he has a great support network. Eric Bischoff adds that Buff is a lovable guy and that’s why his ex-wives still love him, and that’s he loves him. Steve says he’s most proud of Buff for working on staying sober and  Tonya concludes by saying she’s rooting for him. 

Special thanks to 411 Mania for assistance with this report.

Pro wrestling fans got excited the moment it was confirmed that it was confirmed that Dark Side of the Ring is coming back for season five. Now, we are getting even more details about what is in the pipeline.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V7xEp5hGzg

Dark Side of the Ring Season 5 Plans

VICE TV’s Dark Side of the Ring has become a must-watch for wrestling fans, as they dive into sometimes controversial topics from pro wrestling’s past. With its past four seasons generating significant discussion in recent memory, season five has a lot to live up to. 

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted that the upcoming fifth season of Dark Side of the Ring is in the works, and a list of episodes has been revealed. 

Season five is set to cover “Black Saturday,” the 1984 moment when Vince McMahon orchestrated a takeover of Georgia Championship Wrestling’s lucrative TBS cable TV timeslot. Additionally, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle and ECW legend The Sandman will each have episodes dedicated to their life stories. 

Other people slated for featured episodes in season five reportedly include Brutus Beefcake, Buff Bagwell, and Harley Race, who passed away in 2019 due to lung cancer. 

Chris Adams, who is credited for training Stone Cold Steve Austin and popularizing the superkick, will also get a focus for an episode on season five.

For the new season of Dark Side of the Ring, we know of these episodes: Brutus Beefcake, Harley Race, Buff Bagwell, Kurt Angle, Chris Adams, Sandman and Black Saturday (when Vince McMahon purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling to get access to the TBS time slot in 1984. Glenn “Kane” Jacobs was campaigning for Donald Trump in Iowa. 

Dark Side of the Ring Season 5 Air Date

As of right now, there is no information on the air date for season five on VICE TV, as filming is scheduled for later this year. We will keep you updated when an actual date comes out.

The show is unafraid to tackle wrestling’s darker moments, such as The Plane Ride from Hell, the Benoit family tragedy, and Owen Hart’s tragic death. The success of the show also led VICE TV to produce several spinoffs, including Dark Side of the ’90s, Dark Side of Comedy, and Dark Side of Football in recent years. 

Marcus “Buff” Bagwell has updated his fans regarding his sobriety. 

The former WCW star noted in a post on Twitter that he’s been sober for 117 days and is on a healthy path toward recovery. Bagwell added that sharing his experiences on Cameo and with those at live events has been super beneficial for his process. 

His full tweet reads, “117 days sober. My walk of sobriety has just begun but I have learned so much in just a few months! Thank you to all those who continue to support me. Sharing my experience on my cameos and at recent live events has been a huge part of knowing I’m on the right path.”

Progress

Back in October, in a video posted on the DDP Yoga YouTube channel, Bagwell revealed that he was working on the “Change Or Die” project to document his addiction issues before going to rehab. Bagwell said that when an intervention was done on him, and he initially didn’t want to go to rehab, he decided to go through with it. 

WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page commented on Bagwell’s post to tell him that he is super proud of the progress he’s made. 

The WWE Hall Of Famer has been instrumental in Bagwell’s recovery as he’s been working next to him at his compound. He previously helped Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Scott Hall with their addictions. Check out the tweets below.

WCW veteran Buff Bagwell fears he may soon lose a limb due to a car accident from over two years ago.

In August 2020, Bagwell was involved in a serious collision when his 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe crashed into another car.

Shortly after the crash, investigators believed that Bagwell was impaired by prescription medication at the time of the accident.

Losing his Leg

The August 2020 accident left Bagwell in a bad way, suffering from broken ribs, a broken right hip, a broken left socket bone, a broken nose, a torn right groin muscle, and heavy bruising.

Even now, two years later, Bagwell is dealing with his injuries and could risk losing his leg.

Speaking to Chris Van Vliet of Insight, Bagwell explained the injuries and the long-term effect they have had (via Wrestling Inc.)

“The actual injury is my patella tendon exploded; it’s not there. So, they cut you down your calf, and they bring a piece of your calf muscle to your knee, and they rebuild your patella tendon. It’s called a gastrocnemius flap.

“Amputation is on the table. It’s on the table.”

Buff Bagwell.

“Well, as I went to the doctor that day, the flap isn’t even there anymore. Now, there are all kinds of stuff, chips, and arthritis. All kinds of stuff is going on, and it’s bad news. Amputation is on the table. It’s on the table. Not that they want to do that, but it’s on the table.”

What’s Next?

Bagwell, of course, wants to avoid amputation and is leaving no stone unturned to avoid the procedure.

In the interview, the former WCW World Tag Champion explained the course of action he and his medical team have devised.

“The deal is we’re gonna keep it clean, keep the wounds good and clean, and we’re getting blood tests every four weeks.”

Buff added that only when his blood and wounds are fully clean and free of the risk of infection, they can take amputation off the table.

Bagwell went on to say that AEW star Sting has been regularly checking in on him.

Marcus ‘Buff’ Bagwell is celebrating after surpassing 30 days without using substances, a new record for the former WCW World Tag Team Champion.

Bagwell’s battle with drugs, alcohol, and other substances has been going on for years, which has resulted in over half a dozen DUIs since 2005.

In August, Bagwell re-entered rehab after suffering a relapse and has also been working on improving himself with WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page.

30 Days

Bagwell has become the latest former wrestler Page has tried to help, after previously doing wonders with Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts and the late-Scott Hall.

In a video shared by the DDP Yoga YouTube channel, Bagwell spoke about his work so far (via WrestlingNews.)

“I spent four weeks up there [at rehab] and it was the only rehab I’ve really taken completely 100% serious. And I’m going to get 100% out of it on this one and already have so far and I’m going to continue.

“This is day 32 or three. I’m not a big counter on your sobriety, but my sober date is August the 26th and today is September 29. So 32 or 33 days I’ve been sober. This is the longest I’ve ever been sober. I’m really excited.”

Bagwell added that thanks to the work at rehab, he is now able to do things he thought he could never accomplish without pills.

Being an Addict

Bagwell by his own admission has suffered from addiction for years, which has severely affected his personal and professional life.

In the video, Buff gave a rare glimpse into how life as an addict works.

“I was staying clean Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and tell myself, ‘great job mark, that’s a great job and you were sober four days, you deserve three days off.’ That’s what the addiction tells you.”

We at SEScoops would like to extend our congratulations to Buff on surpassing 30 days sober.

In WCW, few stars were more excitable than Marcus ‘Buff’ Bagwell, who worked for the promotion from 1991 to 2001.

A five-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, Bagwell would later join the WWF but his career only lasted for one match.

Considered by many to be the worst Raw main event, Bagwell faced Booker T on the July 2, 2001 episode, and was released from the company for reported ‘attitude issues’ not long after.

In recent years, Bagwell has been dealing with numerous substance abuse and legal issues.

Relapsing

As of late, the former WCW star has been working with WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page, who helped changed the lives of Jake Roberts and Scott Hall among others.

Unfortunately, Bagwell has relapsed, as DDP explained in a video on his YouTube channel (via ITR Wrestling.)

“Because of some of the negative influences and Mark’s life, and I’m talking about people who love him and enable him. He’s had a relapse. So we had a meeting with all of my people and Marcus. And we all agreed that it was time for him to go to a rehab facility.”

DDP added that Bagwell is in a positive mindset, but will have to cancel some upcoming scheduled appearances due to rehab.

“he needs to take care of himself. Addiction. We all know someone who’s fighting it. And it’s a tough place

DDP on Buff Bagwell missing scheduled appearances.

We at SEScoops with Buff nothing but the best as he works hard to get back on track.

Like many wrestlers, Buff Bagwell has a Twitter profile that allows fans to keep up to date with the former WCW World Tag Team Champion.

This week though, Bagwell’s name was trending for all the wrong reasons as fans began criticizing some of the comments they have received from his account.

There were also issues raised by fans who say they purchased Buff Bagwell merchandise only to not receive it.

Bagwell’s Response

In a YouTube video, Bagwell addressed the situation head-on, saying that “a guy named Michael Long” has been operating his account.

Bagwell admitted that a lot of fans paid for “certain merchandise that they ordered” and apologized for this mistake.

He added that while fans paid, he did not see any of that money and plans on getting to the bottom of this.

Long reportedly also has a criminal record, according to Bagwell, which the wrestler said he was unaware of when hiring Long to the position in charge of his social media.

Bagwell also promised to deal with that situation on his own.

Addressing claims that he wasn’t tweeting a lot and it was mostly Long who tweeted on his behalf, Bagwell said that he and his team discuss things when he is away, but that he is still a huge part of his Twitter profile.

Nevertheless, Buff promised to be more “activated” with his online presence.

Bagwell finished the video, which can be viewed below, saying he plans on making sure controversies like these do not happen again.

Former WCW wrestler Buff Bagwell recently spoke with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston about if he is the one running his twitter account.

It turns out Buff was never running his account.

Steve Fall asked “I just want a simple yes or no and you can add a little bit, people say you don’t run your twitter account.”

Buff replied with “Not true……I don’t even get everyone. I don’t understand…. they actually came up with I got Diamond Dallas Page to run it ….. like Dallas Page has time to run my twitter account.”

“I had the fight with Strowman….. yeah even Dallas goes you know I know we have some guys help us and stuff I know you’re doing uh most of your stuff if not all he said, but I knew you said this and he was talking about part of the Strowman apologizing to me… Uncle Buff baby.”

Speaking to Steve Fall from NBC Sports Boston, former WCW wrestler Buff Bagwell shared his thoughts on Theory’s performance against Pat McAfee at WrestleMania.

“Vince McMahon hand-picked him as a like a a protégé, so when you have Vince McMahon the boss hanging out with you on TV because think about the list of people who Vince has been involved with Austin, Rock, Taker, Triple H, and then suddenly here’s Theory. It’s immediately the fans look at it as like boom stamp of approval!

“This kid’s throwing hand signals and selfies, he was doing it all. I went this kid…this kid is somebody you know and then sure enough he did some kind of crazy ass move that looked incredible off…. like he jumped through hit the second rope…. yeah bounced up and DDT’d. That kid can work, he was very confident you know to be honest with you when I first saw him I went this kid’s gonna win tonight he just had a whole swag about him that was way too confident. I mean for example if he would have lost he would have almost looked stupid… he was so confident and I know that I wouldn’t do that if I was losing so I know that he wouldn’t do that if he was losing so I went this kid’s doing way too many hand signals and stuff and throwing cool things out that I was like if you don’t pull this off he’s gonna be buried you know kind of not buried, but it wasn’t going to look good”

Buff Bagwell has respect for Vince McMahon but he’s stunned by how the WWE Chairman has aged.

There’s no doubting that Vince has built a global empire. For decades, McMahon has been very hands-on with the WWE product.

Today, WWE is quite lucrative and has been able to snag massive broadcast deals.

Father time eventually gets to us all, however. Vince will be turning 77 years old in August.

Speaking to Steve Fall from NBC Sports Boston’s Ten Count podcast, Buff Bagwell expressed his belief that Vince McMahon is looking rough these days.

Bagwell took notice of Vince’s appearance when he raised Theory’s hand after he defeated Finn Balor to capture the WWE United States Championship.

“God dang, brother. I hate to even say this but it was shocking how bad Vince looked. It shocked me, bro. I am a — there’s nothing on any video out there in the world that’s got me dogging out Vince McMahon.

“Never would, never will.

“He is a genius that has run the WWF into the WWE. How can you possibly say anything bad about a billionaire that built the WWF? You can’t but he looked rough, man and I hated it.

“I don’t want him to get old cause that means I’m getting older.”

Please H/T SEScoops if you use any quotes from this article.

Adam Scherr, formerly known as Braun Strowman in WWE, found himself beefing with Buff Bagwell before cooler heads prevailed.

Scherr has been at the center of controversy with the CYN promotion, which is the brainchild of EC3. The promotion has gotten its share of flak from those on social media. Some have accused CYN of being an escape for QAnon and alt-right groups.

CYN has become a bit of a joke on Twitter and Scherr has seen enough.

Adam Scherr & Buff Bagwell Trade Barbs

Former WCW star Buff Bagwell hopped on Twitter to crack a joke about CYN.

“I just joined CYN. Wait, never mind, it was just gas.”

Scherr didn’t find the joke amusing and he fired back, bringing up Bagwell’s history of legal troubles.

“Funny you gonna try and throw shade cause what you think it’s the cool thing to do. You wanna look edgy?? Cause you sure were a mark asking to take a picture with me. You should probably worry about your narrative.”

Bagwell fired back, bringing up one of Scherr’s past incidents.

“Should I have done it on the water? Adam Scherr something about glass houses. I’m open about my past mistakes, and tend not to bring others up against them. You got offended because I made a joke about something I didn’t even know you were part of because I didn’t know you.”

Scherr insisted that most of the image that Bagwell posted was fake.

“Did I get a driving ticket on a boat? Yes. The rest of that picture you posted is fake. I wasn’t with WWE, definitely didn’t spend the night in jail. Paid my ticket and went on about life.”

The former WWE Champion later called for peace with Bagwell.

“And I’ll man up right now and admit I came at you too hard. I went for the kill. And shouldn’t have. I understand you didn’t know I was a part of CYN. But imagine you being one of the boys taking shots at a place giving work to other wrestlers.

“We should be sticking together to better the industry. It’s toxic enough with the IWC. We shouldn’t be going at each other on social. Best wishes.”

Bagwell agreed, thus ending the brief Twitter spat.

“I agree we should be sticking together, but we also need to listen to the fans, even the ones we don’t like because they pay our bills. Let’s all be better, much love brother.”

Buff Bagwell says WWE wanted him to go into the WWE Hall of Fame along with the other members of the NWO in 2020. Bagwell says he turned down the offer, however, as he didn’t want to go into the Hall of Fame as a member of a group. He made these comments on the “Who The Fook Are These Guys” podcast.

“They actually called me to do the Hall of Fame thing,” Bagwell said. “I was like, I’ll be honest with you I said ‘I don’t want to be part of a group in the Hall of Fame.’ I’d be like Brett Favre getting a Hall of Fame ring because of the Green Bay Packers.”

“Brett Favre got a ring because he’s Brett Favre.”

When Bagwell asked if he felt that a solo induction was possibly in his future, the 51-year-old stated he didn’t believe that was ever going to happen. He also noted that Lex Luger isn’t in the WWE Hall of Fame either.

Bagwell had a 10-year-run in WCW from 1991-2001. He then had a very brief run with WWE that ended shortly after a disastrous match against Booker T on the July 2nd, 2001 episode of RAW.

If you use any of the above quotes please credit the “Who The Fook Are These Guys” podcast with a H/T to SEScoops for the transcription.

Jim Ross recently commented on the time he fired Buff Bagwell from WWE in 2001. IT was soon after a disastrous match he wrestled against Booker T. JR recently spent some time addressing this on his Grillin’ JR podcast.

“Well, Buff had a higher opinion of his work than Vince did,” JR said. “I become the bad guy because I’m the middle-man, I’m the guy that delivers the bad news, or the good news at times. I don’t hold any animosity to this day on Marc Bagwell.”

“He just wasn’t a good fit, Conrad. That partying lifestyle, we were trying to distance ourselves a little bit from that if we could.”

“Vince just didn’t see the money in Marc that Marc saw in himself. I can only deal with the hand’s that dealt me when I’m told ‘this kid’s no going to get it, I want you to let him go’.”

Ross would continue to say that despite what some believe, Judy Bagwell had little to do with Buff being released.

“Judy had little to do with that. Marc’s own personal habits and the way he conducted himself is what let the air out of his sails,” Ross continued.

JR’s full comments on releasing Buff Bagwell from WWE in 2001 can be heard in the video below.

Buff Bagwell was arrested in May on a slew of driving charges, including driving under the influence. He has a jury trial scheduled to begin in November. He recently spoke about his situation and recent communication he’s had with WWE on his “Rebuilding Buff” podcast.

According to Bagwell, WWE recently turned down his request for rehab. WWE has been paying for former and current talent’s rehab as part of its Wellness policy for many years now.

“You ready for this one? The WWF turned me down on going to rehab,” Bagwell said (transcriptions via Wrestling Inc.) “I want to put that in your head and let you run with that and just think about Scott Hall going 4 and 5 times, that crazy, crazy, crazy ass girl, that Dustin Rhodes was married to, that went 5 and 6 times. Not to mention Road Dogg… you kidding me? You think he went once? They went every time they could, I ask once and they deny me. They deny me, bro. Here I am trying to get better, I’ve come to them, on what they want me to do, which is get better, and it’s not like I’m off the chain.”

According to the Georgia Gazette, Bagwell was charged with the following stemming from the incident in May:

1. Driving under the influence of drugs (Misdemeanor)
2. Failure to yield when entering an intersection (Misdemeanor)
3. Following too closely
4. Hit-and-run; duty of driver to stop at all return to the scene of an accident (Misdemeanor)
5. Duty upon striking a fixed object (Misdemeanor)
6. Reckless driving
7. Driving within a gore or median or emergency lane (Misdemeanor)
8. Giving false name, address, or birthday to a law enforcement officer (Misdemeanor)
9. License to be carried and exhibited on demand (Misdemeanor)

Marcus “Buff” Alexander Bagwell has been arrested in Georgia for multiple driving-related offenses. Bagwell was charged with a slew of offences on Saturday night. These included DUI, hit and run, giving false info to a police officer, and reckless driving.

According to the Georgia Gazette, Bagwell was charged with the following:

1. Driving under the influence of drugs (Misdemeanor)
2. Failure to yield when entering an intersection (Misdemeanor)
3. Following too closely
4. Hit-and-run; duty of driver to stop at all return to the scene of an accident (Misdemeanor)
5. Duty upon striking a fixed object (Misdemeanor)
6. Reckless driving
7. Driving within a gore or median or emergency lane (Misdemeanor)
8. Giving false name, address, or birthday to a law enforcement officer (Misdemeanor)
9. License to be carried and exhibited on demand (Misdemeanor)

Bagwell was arrested in Cobb County, Georgia, a town with a long history of law and order in professional wrestling. According to PW Insider, he was released on bail yesterday.

Last August, Bagwell was hospitalized following an automobile accident. Reports at the time of the accident suggested Bagwell was under the influence of prescription medication at the time.

Former WCW star Marcus “Buff” Bagwell was recently involved in an unfortunate car accident. He would be hospitalized with reported serious injuries on August 16.

Atlanta promoter Ron Gossett has provided a medical update on his friend in a recent Facebook post. He asked fans to send prayers in support of Buff Bagwell. According to Gossett, Bagwell messaged him and shared how he hoped to soon leave the hospital. However, because of the severity of the car wreck, he suffered several broken bones.

Gossett noted how Bagwell is currently dealing with broken ribs, a broken right hip, broken left socket bone, a broken nose, a torn right groin muscle, and heavy bruising. Thankfully, despite the reported seriousness of the incident, Gossett shared how Bagwell does not require surgery of any sort.

Bagwell was driving his 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe on Cumberland Boulevard this past Sunday at around 5:18pm local time when the collision occurred. Investigators believe he was impaired by prescription medication at the time of the accident. At the time of writing, the investigation is still underway, and Cobb County police have requested that anyone with further information get in contact with its investigators at 770-499-3987.

All of us at SEScoops wish Buff Bagwell the best during the time and hope he has a speedy recovery.

WWE Hall of Famer and AEW Commentator Jim Ross recently discussed a number of intriguing topics on the Grilling JR podcast. A recent episode of the audio show saw JR and co-host Conrad Thompson look at the 7.6.98 episode of WCW Monday Nitro.

This episode of the WCW flagship show was hugely significant, as it featured Goldberg challenging for and winning the WCW World Championship against Hollywood Hulk Hogan.

One of the acts that appeared during the watch-along was Marcus ‘Buff’ Bagwell and his mother, Judy Bagwell. Conrad would ask JR about the infamous story that involved all three when Bagwell first joined WWE as part of the Invasion angle in 2001.

Jim Ross and Buff Bagwell

Supposedly, Bagwell was unhappy with the way he was being treated in then WWF and wanted to skip a live date. Judy Bagwell apparently called JR and asked that Buff be allowed to skip a date, with Jim Ross apparently saying that Judy should pass on the news that Marcus was fired.

Buff Bagwell would refute these claims back in 2017. “Do you really believe, out there in video world, that Buff Bagwell got fired because of his mother?” Buff stated on The Steve Austin Show. “Do people really believe that I had my mother call the WWF and say let him off Augusta in Birmingham? Well f**k no that’s not true! Why would I do that? But people believed it. And one person was responsible: Jim Ross. And only God, Jim Ross and me know the truth, and who’s gonna believe me. Nobody… The true, true story is Jim Ross created that monster, and people believed it.”

JR gave his own take on the situation on Grilling JR. “That’s old news. You know, we had a conversation on the phone, once. [I said] I want to talk to Marc, not to her. With all due respect I’d never met the lady, I didn’t know her. I have no issues with her. I’ve just made it clear that when Marcus wanted to talk about his WWE run? He should just call me. Simple as that. It became a story and it really wasn’t a story.”

This podcast episode as well as a ton of other premium audio content is available now on AdFreeShows.com. Subscribers get exclusive content from Grilling Jr, What Happened When (w/Tony Schiavone), 83 Weeks (w/Eric Bischoff), ARN (w/Arn Anderson) and Something To Wrestle (w/Bruce Prichard).

Also Check out:

• Booker T Comments On Heath Slater’s Monday Night RAW Appearance
• Triple H Congratulates Keith Lee, Comments On Adam Cole’s Reign
• Renee Young Provides Further COVID-19 Update
• Matt Riddle Addresses Allegations Against Him

WWE Hall of Famer Booker T recently commented on the now infamous match between him and Buff Bagwell back in 2001. The match has been described on WWE.com as “the most awkward ever.”

The former King of The Ring winner seems to agree.

Booker T vs Buff Bagwell

The match was seemingly the true death knell for the WCW brand. Whilst Vince McMahon had already bought his competition; there was a belief that WCW could still function as a separate entity. With the rumors at the time indicating that Nitro would become the Monday show and SmackDown would be the WWF show later in the week. Due to the massively negative reaction that the match got in the main event of the July 2, 2001 edition of RAW the idea was seemingly scrapped. Although it seemed as though Bagwell and Booker undelivered; it’s arguable that they were never put in a position to succeed in the first place.

Booker T discussed the bout during the most recent episode of Lillian Garcia’s Chasing Glory podcast. “It was a real war back then between WCW and WWF, you know,” Booker began. “And it didn’t help putting Bagwell and I in that spot, I think we were Tacoma, Washington.”

Booker T elaborated further, mentioning how they were never going to succeed in that position. “It was one of those things where, we were in a position. You know. Fail or succeed. [Except] it wasn’t designed for us to succeed, I understood that. I think Bagwell may have understood that, as well. And and what happened happened I go back and I look at the match, and it wasn’t the crappiest match in the world but it was no way that we’re gonna succeed.”

You can listen to Lillian Garcia’s Chasing Glory every week via iTunes, Stitcher or your favourite podcast host

Buff Bagwell was one of the top stars of the WCW roster when WWE bought the company after a long war between these two promotions.

During a recent interview with WrestleZone Bagwell recalled the time and shared his experience of being in the WCW locker room the day the company was sold, among other things.

He also discussed the invasion angle which many believe was handled very poorly and talking about it; Buff mentioned how everyone in the world knew that if Shane McMahon was the owner then in the real world Vince McMahon must have bought it.

Continuing on the topic, the former WCW Star claimed that making Shane McMahon the storyline owner of the company was the reason why the angle wasn’t believable from the start:

“Right off the bat, it wasn’t believable because they know Shane didn’t go out and buy WCW, they knew his father bought it and gave it to him for an angle so it became, wrestling became fake again”

Apart from this Buff Bagwell recalled seeing WWE trucks at the time and not knowing what was going on. He revealed that Shane McMahon took a meeting after this and made things clear. You can check out his full interview at this link.

Former WWE and WCW Superstar Buff Bagwell recently did an interview with CBS to talk about a variety of topics. Bagwell discussed finding out Vince McMahon bought out WCW, WWE releasing him and the rumors that it was due to his match with Booker T on RAW, and his issues with Jim Ross. You can check out the highlights here:

Finding out Vince McMahon bought WCW:

“We all pulled up [to Nitro], and we all saw the WWF trucks together, and we all looked at each other and went, that’s not good. We were seeing people crying and taking pictures with Ric and the belt. We knew it was bad, but we just didn’t know how bad. Then Shane [McMahon] calls a meeting in five minutes. In five minutes of us trying to find out what was going on, Shane had a meeting, and he comes walking in with the entire company inside this room. It was about 45 seconds long tops.

He said, “Hey, my name’s Shane McMahon. I own the company. My dad bought the company today, so we now own the WCW. We’re going to keep some wrestlers. We’re going to get rid of some wrestlers. We’re going to keep some referees. We’re going to get rid of some referees. We’re going to keep some office talent, and we’re going to fire some office talents. Good luck. See you later.”

Getting released by WWE and rumors that it had to do with his match against Booker T on RAW:

“It couldn’t have been the match, because I’ve wrestled Booker a thousand times and never missed a step until that night. That’s out. If my mom called or not, once again I know she didn’t, but let’s say she did, it’s not worth getting fired over. I think Buff Bagwell deserves, “Tell your mother not to ring our phone no more.” Give him a warning.

“I basically ended up getting released for … I don’t know. I raised my hand to find out why I was getting fired. They called it released. I said, “Well, what do I do with a release?” And they said it means they could bring me back in three months. I knew that was (garbage), but I still told myself, “I’m going to shake hands, smile and get out of the room before you start crying.

“I waited three months and almost four months just to show I wasn’t bothering them. I called up Jim Ross, and he goes … I swear to God, he went, “What do you want, Marc?” I went from Buff Bagwell to, “What do you want, Marc?” I said, “Jim, let me totally clear the air here. You guys asked me to call you back in three months. I waited three months and three weeks, almost four months, and did what y’all told me to do.” I was scared I’d get heat for that, but I said “I did what you asked me to do.”

Then he said, “We have no openings. We’ll call you if we do.”

His issues with Jim Ross:

“No, and there’s way unless he says, “I lied, I don’t like you, and I was passing the truth along.” And I will thank him for telling the truth, and then he’s off the hook. But for him to defend himself and say he likes me after having dogged me out and viciously calling me a mama’s boy and that I can’t wrestle… I don’t think it’s fixable. I just don’t.”

You can read Bagwell’s full interview with CBS by clicking this link here.

Former WCW President Eric Bischoff has released yet another episode of his podcast, Bischoff On Wrestling, where he spoke on his days as the head of WWE’s biggest competitor of all time. In his latest episode, Bischoff details how scared he was when former WCW World Tag Team Champion Buff Bagwell broke his neck inside the WCW ring during a match on WCW Thunder in 1998. Here’s what he had to say:

“The only thing I remember about Judy Bagwell was when Mark (Buff Bagwell) broke his neck in the ring. I think we were somewhere in South Carolina and it was pretty serious. When Mark broke his neck he was in the ring for a long time not moving. That was one of the first times that I was really scared for someone. I had gotten to know Mark, we weren’t good buddies or anything like that, but there was something lovable about him. He’s just like that obnoxious kid in school that you really didn’t want to hang out with but in a group of people he was pretty fun. Mark was like that for me.

“He wasn’t a guy that we’d go out and have dinner with. He’s not someone I’d jump on my motorcycle with and ride up into the mountain with. In the right environment he was fun to be around, in small doses. There were parts of Mark that I really, genuinely liked. When he broke his neck I was really, really fearful for him and what might have happened to him. I remember I went to the hospital and stayed in the room with him for awhile when it was pretty serious and his Mom, Judy, was there. She obviously loved her son very much. She was very upset and that’s all I remember about Judy Bagwell.”

H/T WrestleZone for the transcriptions

Former World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Tag Team Champion Buff Bagwell recently did an interview with Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc. to talk about his professional wrestling career. Bagwell talked about what led to WCW’s massive drop in ratings, talents advising Eric Bischoff not to create WCW Thunder, not being featured in the final episode of Nitro, and quickly being released by WWE. Here’s what he had to say:

What led to WCW’s drop in ratings:

“I think everything you said; the changes, the background of one week it was [Vince] Russo, one week it was [Eric] Bischoff, you never knew who was running the shows; so I think some of it was that, but I think we just killed it,” said Bagwell. “We did three-hour Nitros; I can’t watch wrestling for three hours. Nobody can watch wrestling for three hours; then you had WCW Thunder on Thursdays; it was just too much for the fans; just too much.”

Multiple people advising Eric Bischoff not to create WCW Thunder:

“Serious human mind; we’re Monday Night Nitro, making millions; everyone is happy and Eric Bischoff comes up with the Thunder idea, and we were like, Eric, don’t do that; that’s too much TV, it’s too much,” said Bagwell. “He said that it would be a side show so we wouldn’t work it; it’d be like another group, kind of like what Raw and SmackDown is now; there’d be an A and a B show. That was his plan was, but he put Thunder out there the first week and it didn’t do well, so suddenly you had Bill Goldberg, Scott Steiner, all these guys get on Thunder, so it just added more work for us.”

“I think it was just too much TV,” said Bagwell. “That is the honest truth. I think we watered it down. I have a picture where we have the black and white nWo on, and the other side red and black and I couldn’t tell you why. I can tell you kind of, but the ones who were wearing the red were figured in. There was so much turmoil backstage; it was supposed to be Wolfpack, about 5-6 guys to get rid of the nWo, and become the next move, to keep an Elite Wolfpack group.”

Not being featured in the final episode of Nitro:

“I actually was believe it or not, on the final Nitro, but I never watched it,” said Bagwell. “100% I was on it, I did an interview with Luger. It’s not good on the very last night you’re not on the crowd. I’m trying to leave and go home and realize that my career is over.”

“Half my way driving home my dad calls and asked if I was going to be on TV, I said no. He said, well, they just mentioned five names and you were one of the five. I said, what? He said, believe it or not, I’m not just saying this as your dad, because I went back and listened to it as well, but it’s probably the second, maybe the third biggest pop of the names mentioned,” said Bagwell.

His quick departure from WWE:

“Then to be fired two weeks later, how do you explain that? I still don’t know what happened,” revealed Bagwell. “No matter what thought you come up with, drugs, whatever you want to come up with, hey Mark, quit it, or we’re going to fire you. No warnings, still don’t know what happened. They said that we were going to chill out for about three months and then bring you back afterwards, but of course that wasn’t true. I shook their hands and thanked them and then went on my way.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Buff Bagwell was recently interviewed by Josh Modaberi of Cult of Whatever and discussed various wrestling topics. Here are some highlights from the interview:

On Vince McMahon as a boss:

“Satan!”

First TV match in WWE against Booker T (2001):

“What people don’t realise is that they put Booker T and myself on as the main event of Monday Night Raw for the WCW World Title in Seattle, Washington with all of the odds against us. A week later WWE were going to be in Atlanta, Georgia, why could they have not waited seven days and put Booker T v Buff Bagwell for the WCW World Championship on in Atlanta which was the home of WCW instead of seven days earlier in Seattle where we got booed out of the building.

My honest opinion is that it was set up for us to fail, it didn’t work and we knew we shouldn’t have been in the main event, we knew there was something wrong about it but you don’t ask questions in this business you just go and do what your told.”

Eric Bischoff as a boss:

“I thought he was the best, he was the best to me, I’ve heard other people say different things about him but in my opinion he was the best.”

 The final night like of WCW Monday Nitro:

“Nobody knew what was going to happen beforehand, it took everyone by surprise when we walked up and all of a sudden Shane McMahon was there. It was a really horrible atmosphere in the changing room that night because people didn’t know if they still had jobs or not, there was a lot of uncertainty.”

Bagwell also discussed his time in the NWO, how he got into professional wrestling and more. You can check out the entire interview by clicking here.