Buff Bagwell is a man who wanted it all. He had the means to get it. A kid who was born into money eventually became an adult who would do anything to get it.
Bagwell became addicted to life’s highs and struggled with its lows. His life has been about finding the stuff that matters.
Marcus Alexander Bagwell was born in Marietta, Georgia, in 1970. He was the youngest of three sons to local racecar legend Steve Bagwell. Their mother Judy ran a large lumber yard in the district.
They were both local celebrities who were known for their determination and their tempers. They both made use of “The Bagwell Slap”. They would strike someone across the face to assert dominance in a disagreement.
His parents were worried about his physical development at first. His growth spurt came later than expected. Once it did, he became the stereotypical jock from a high school movie.
He was a tall and handsome athlete who dated cheerleaders. His family lived in a mansion, and he drove to school in an expensive car. He was the star player on the baseball team, and was expected to turn pro.
That doesn’t mean that the Bagwell brothers had it easy. They were compelled to work in the lumber yard during weekends and school holidays. Their parents were not afraid to use physical discipline.
They also had to put up with their parents’ violent tempers. Steve once allegedly fired guns into the local lake after losing a single hand of poker. Things got worse when they filed for bankruptcy.
One night, the brothers overheard their father threatening their mother once more. Marc grabbed a handgun and warned his father to back off.
His father dared him to pull the trigger and reached for a pistol of his own. Marc accepted the dare and fired first. They did not speak for two years. They eventually reconciled with Steve accepting full blame for the incident.
His home situation prompted him to grow up fast after graduation. He rushed into marriage with his high school sweetheart Tonya. He sought a career as a massage therapist, and trained for his license.
Marc earned an income as a male stripper. One of his regular clients was Missy Hyatt. He had never considered wrestling, but his brother had. He asked Hyatt for advice on his behalf. Hyatt suggested that Marc had the right stuff himself.
Buff’s Beginnings
Hyatt put him in touch with Steve Lawler. Bagwell started working matches very early into his training. Tonya took up a job as an exotic dancer to pay the bills while Marc trained. He repeatedly promised her it would be temporary until he got his first wrestling contract.
He debuted as “Fabulous Fabian”. His character was little more than a narcissist who was obsessed with his own appearance. Fabian was mainly a heel, but sometimes worked as a babyface so more established heels had someone to work with.
Bagwell then went to the Global Wrestling Federation in 1991. He had previously encountered Bill Eadie (Ax from Demolition) on the set of the WWE-produced movie, ‘No Holds Barred’.
Bagwell was an uncredited extra who had only a few seconds of screen time and no lines. Eadie noticed Bagwell received lukewarm reactions and suggested a change.
“The Handsome Stranger” made his first appearance when he escorted The Glamor Girls (Judy Martin and Lelani Kai) to the ring.
He wore skimpy ring gear and an eye mask. When he was wrestling, his ring entrances involved presenting a rose to a beautiful woman at ringside.
The character divided crowds. Some loved his charisma while others were infuriated by his obnoxiousness. Both fans and haters were having more impassioned responses towards his matches.
Bagwell was keen to show Hyatt how far he had come. He sent her a video tape with some of his performances. Hyatt was amazed by how polished he looked already.
She forwarded the tape to World Championship Wrestling’s management. They were equally impressed by the rookie.
“So I go to the Mr. Jimsy [Jim] Barnett. And I said, ‘Here’s a tape’. And I sat there and made him watch it. He was like, ‘Aw Missy, you should be a scout. This boy is faboo’.”
– Missy Hyatt on how easy it was to influence WCW to hire Bagwell.
Buff Bagwell Joins The Big Boys
He debuted under his full name. He worked untelevised matches at first. Bagwell made his first onscreen appearance in an interview with Hyatt at Clash of the Champions XVII. Most of his early matches were on the ‘World Championship Wrestling’ TV show.
Bagwell made his pay-per-view debut at ‘Starrcade ’91: Battlebowl – The Lethal Lottery’. The gimmick of the show was that all undercard matches were tag team matches determined by a random draw.
Bagwell’s name was the first drawn on the night. He teamed with Jimmy Garvin to beat Michael Hayes and Tracy Smothers in the opening match. They both qualified for the battle royal in the main event, which was ultimately won by Sting.
He would challenge recurring opponent Steve Austin for the WCW World Television Championship in early 1992. From then on, he mainly competed in the tag team division for the rest of his tenure.
This started with a partnership with Tom Zenk. They competed for multiple championships but never won. After Zenk went his own way, Bagwell teamed with Brad Armstrong. This alliance fizzled out quickly.
His next team was with 2 Cold Scorpio. The first time they had met in the ring, Scorpio had botched a somersault leg drop and landed on Bagwell’s face.
They feuded with the Hollywood Blonds (Austin & Brian Pillman) but rarely won. WCW were not fully committed to this team. They briefly replaced Scorpio with Erik Watts.
They reverted back because the Bagwell/Scorpio combination was an instant hit with fans. They won a viewer poll to get a shot at the WCW World Tag Team Championships. They defeated the Nasty Boys for the titles, but dropped them back at Halloween Havoc.
Bagwell then had a shot at Austin for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. While there was no plan for him to win the title, he won a more important battle.
The company had decided to release Scorpio. Bagwell was also on the chopping block. But his performance persuaded them to give Bagwell another chance.
While things were going great for his career, his personal life was falling to pieces. Bagwell fell hard into the party lifestyle. He blew the money he was making on alcohol, drugs, and painkillers.
He appreciated the attention from female fans too much. He would cheat on Tonya multiple times before she finally demanded a divorce.
WCW invested much more into his next team. He was partnered with The Patriot to become “Stars & Stripes”. He would copy Patriot’s gimmick and ring gear.
He didn’t wear a mask as management felt it was part of his appeal. He and Scorpio had begun a feud with “Pretty Wonderful” (Paul Orndorff & Paul Roma). They never won a single encounter. Stars & Stripes were more evenly matched.
History repeated itself when Bagwell’s team won the tag titles just before Halloween Havoc, and then lost the titles at the PPV.
The difference is they would regain the titles a short time later. They dropped the titles to Harlem Heat (Booker T & Stevie Ray). WCW tried to keep the team going after Patriot left the company. They tried using Jim Duggan, Johnny B. Badd, and Alex Wright as potential replacements.
Bagwell then took some time off for cosmetic surgery. He had become concerned that his legs did not match his muscular physique. He decided to add more mass with calf implants.
His body rejected them. He developed an infection and slowly lost the ability to walk. He needed his roommate Mike Johnson to help with simple tasks, such as going to the bathroom. He was warned he would have to remove the implants or risk having his legs amputated. And he seriously considered it.
In September 1996, Bagwell was repackaged with newcomer Scotty Riggs as “The American Males”. They were heavily based on The Chippendales dance troupe.
They were male strippers that had become a pop culture phenomenon in the ‘80s. Their popularity plummeted after their creator was arrested on multiple charges, including murder for hire. It was far too late for the American Males to capitalize on their popularity.
The Males were introduced through a series of forgettable video packages. One of them was an erotic-themed music video introducing the team and their valet/lover “Heather”.
She would be dropped from the act before their debut. They were one of the first tag teams to get an entrance video in WCW.
They were pushed as a top team right away. They won the tag titles on the third episode of Monday Nitro. Management quickly discovered their theme song was more over than the team were.
After several weeks of poor reactions, they dropped the titles to Harlem Heat. They slid down the rankings with Bagwell blaming Riggs for their misfortunes.
WCW achieved their greatest success with the New World Order. The nWo would repeatedly attack WCW stars in the ring and backstage.
Riggs would often run to the rescue first with Bagwell trailing behind. The nWo became so popular that company President Eric Bischoff added himself to the act.
Becoming Buff Bagwell
Bischoff ran an angle where he warned the WCW roster that they must join the nWo, or be regarded as targets. It looked like the American Males were going to be the first to challenge them, this time with Bagwell leading the charge. Instead, Bagwell accepted the offer and turned on Riggs.
Kevin Nash personally asked Bagwell if he wanted to join the nWo. Bagwell understood the reason why he asked when he was alone because Riggs wasn’t invited. He didn’t want to betray his friend and tag team partner.
He also knew it would be a major boost for his career. And declining could prevent him having any future opportunities. He accepted the deal and talked things out with Riggs after.
“I didn’t want to be a d**k and go, ‘Man, this sucks, I wanted to go to the nWo’. You know, that sort of thing? So, I went ‘Alright, it’s cool, let’s make it work for you, brother’. And we did.”
– Scotty Riggs on Bagwell leaving the American Males for the nWo.
He began competing as “Buff Bagwell”. He became much more cocky and arrogant. He never missed an opportunity to taunt opponents or fans.
This attitude spilled out into his everyday life. Bagwell fell much harder into the party lifestyle. When his ex-wife saw his new persona on TV, she realized they may never reconcile.
The American Males knew that the next thing for them was a break up feud. They realized that for Bagwell to make it as a singles star, he needed a new finisher.
And the best moment to introduce it was when he turned on Riggs. Being a fan of Rick Rude, Bagwell went for the Rude Awakening neckbreaker. The move was not as impressive as he intended.
Instead of tarnishing the legacy of a man he admired, the American Males thought of a unique twist to the move. They came up with the idea of Bagwell performing a forward flip over the opponent, and catching them with the neckbreaker. Disco Inferno pitched naming it the “Blockbuster”.
The first time Bagwell ever attempted a Blockbuster was at the end of his first PPV match against Riggs. He used it (and help from his new nWo cohorts) to win every clash. Their final encounter was the strap match at Uncensored.
Around this time, Bagwell was cast as a main character in both ‘L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies’ movies. In ‘Day of the Warrior’, he played the titular villain “Warrior”.
The character was a former CIA agent turned assassin. He had stolen a database with all of the female agents’ identities and was actively hunting them. Then in the sequel ‘Return to Savage Beach’, he was teaming with the heroes.
The newest nWo members struggled for relevancy. Once the feud with Riggs was over, management clearly didn’t have anything for him either.
He and Scott Norton were often extra muscle at ringside to their teammates, or each other. They decided to make the most of the situation.
Broken But Not Beaten
Bagwell and Norton became a tag team called “Vicious and Delicious”. Bagwell would infuriate opponents and fans with his posturing and athleticism.
Then he tagged out to Norton who pulverized them with intense strength. They also represented the stable on a tour with New Japan Pro Wrestling as part of “nWo Japan”.
Vicious & Delicious returned to target singles stars Lex Luger and Rick Steiner. Their final match as a team happened on April 22, 1998.
Steiner attempted his diving bulldog finisher on Bagwell. Something went wrong and Bagwell hit his head against Steiner’s back. His head and neck were forced backwards. Bagwell was unable to move.
Scott Steiner interfered and tried to help Bagwell pin Rick. But Bagwell was physically unable to co-operate. The referee called for a stretcher and Bagwell was taken to hospital. The announce team had not been told the finish to the match and initially thought this was part of the show.
While Bagwell didn’t know the extent of his injuries yet, he knew he was paralyzed. He tried to stay upbeat for his friends who were concerned about him.
He talked to God for the first time in years. Despite his hedonistic lifestyle, he had been raised to be a church goer.
He had recently heard a sermon that discouraged him from asking God why things happened to him. Instead, he was advised to think about what God wanted for him.
Bagwell began fantasizing about becoming a motivational speaker like Christopher Reeve. The Superman movie actor was infamously paralyzed from the neck down after a freak accident too. Bagwell couldn’t wait to begin touring and inspiring others.
He regained the ability to move within a few hours. But he had still damaged vertebrae in his neck. Bagwell underwent surgery. He returned for one night just to be kicked out of the nWo by Hollywood Hogan.
“Three hours later, doctor comes in and goes, ‘Sit up’. I’m like ‘What?’. So I start trying to move a little bit and sitting up, and I feel totally normal. I go, ‘What happened?’
He goes ‘When you bruised your spinal cord and the swelling happens, your body thinks it is paralyzed so it don’t move.
And then when the swelling goes down, you can move again.’ So I got two plates and three screws through my neck right there.”
– Bagwell on his famous neck injury.
Bagwell returned to TV a short time later. He was pushed in his wheelcheer to the interview position by Judy. He requested to have Rick Steiner come out so he could offer his forgiveness in person.
Then Scott Steiner attacked Rick from behind. Bagwell then joined in with the assault, confirming it was all a setup.
Bagwell was back in the nWo. While he was officially Scott Steiner’s new tag team partner, he was actually a cornerman. On the rare occasions when they did have a tag team match, Bagwell exerted himself as little as possible.
During one of Scott’s promos, Bagwell suddenly became overwhelmed with nervous energy. He started dancing awkwardly while Scott was speaking.
He came to his senses when he realized the crowd was reacting to him. Bagwell tried to cover up the bizarre moment by making the “Bagwell Foxtrot” he accidentally invented a regular taunt.
Things then became complicated due to injuries to other people. nWo members Scott Hall and The Giant were tag champions.
Hall was injured, and Scott Steiner served as his replacement for a title defense. The challengers were Rick Steiner and a mystery partner.
For reasons that were never explained, Bagwell was assigned as Rick’s partner. Bagwell refused to help in any way, and even abandoned the match in progress. Rick still won the match and the titles.
Management observed Bagwell’s non-participation and allowed Rick to choose a new co-champion. Bagwell insisted he had a legitimate claim to the titles.
He and Scott Steiner challenged Rick for them. Rick nominated Kenny Kaos as his new co-champion. However, Kaos would sustain an injury before the match could happen.
Rick then nominated Judy Bagwell to be his partner. Despite how fans and WWE recall the match, Judy was never officially co-champion.
Every time Buff tagged into the match, Rick would tag out to Judy. Buff refused to hit his own mother and would tag out to Scott again.
At that point, Judy always tagged Rick back in. Rick’s team won again. However, Rick suffered an injury too. He surrendered the titles voluntarily.
Scott blamed Buff for the whole debacle. He took out his anger by insulting Buff’s mother at every opportunity. Buff helped him to win the Television Championship. But he also caused Scott to lose the title to the returning Rick. The alliance ended immediately after this.
Bagwell then started calling out the (onscreen) management. He accused Ric Flair and Roddy Piper of holding him back and refusing to book him in matches. In reality, WCW were keeping him out of harm’s way until he was medically cleared.
He faced Piper in a boxing match. This wasn’t just an excuse to reference Piper’s contest against actor Mr. T at WWF WrestleMania 2.
Or either participants’ amateur boxing backgrounds. It was an excuse to bring in recently retired boxing referee Mils Lane.
He was famous for his “controversial” decisions to throw out high-money contests on disqualifications. Lane declared Bagwell the winner even though Bagwell had used his Blockbuster finisher.
Getting In His Own Way
He then moved onto a feud with Ernest Miller. Part of it involved him donning blackface to impersonate Miller. While it upset network executives, there was no heat between the two men over it.
The problems emerged when Nash changed the planned finish for their match at Road Wild. Nash was not booker yet, but he convinced the writers that Bagwell needed the win more.
Bagwell attempted to talk the match over with Miller. He felt like he was being disrespected. He made the foolish decision to show the three-time world karate champion the “Bagwell Slap”.
Miller quickly got the upper hand before the fight was broken up. After they talked things out with Bischoff, Miller agreed to lose that night.
“We got called into the office, which was a bus. I just remember that we all sat down. There was Eric, the booker, Miller, myself, and Buff. Eric called the meeting and asks ‘What the hell is going on?
You know there is a Turner executive there and you guys are fighting’. Buff says, ‘Hey, before we start, I just want you to know, Eric – It’s Sonny’s fault’.
I didn’t say a word or anything, he puts it on me. Eric already knew. ‘No, Buff. He didn’t say a thing. What are you talking about? I already heard this whole thing’. “
– Sonny Onoo on how Bagwell tried to get out of trouble over fight with Ernest Miller.
In October, Bagwell followed an instruction that affected the rest of his career. WCW managed to poach the WWF’s creative writing team.
Vince Russo and Ed Ferrera knew that the WWF were interested in Bagwell. But he was locked into his contract with AOL Time Warner. Armed with this information, they planned to make Bagwell a top star in WCW.
Russo assumed fans read internet dirt sheets as religiously as he did. He intentionally planted a story that he had a “Chosen One” he intended to push to the moon. Bagwell cut a promo praising them, and stated he was that Chosen One.
But his demeanor changed before his match that night. He refused to get into character, and put in minimal effort against La Parka.
After two minutes, he suddenly began posing, and instructed Parka to kick him in the back of the head. Once he was pinned, he suddenly leapt to his feet. He grabbed one of the announcer’s headsets and looked into a camera, and chastised Russo for booking him to lose to La Parka.
His outburst seemed so real that insiders still believe it was genuine over twenty-five years later. They were actually mocking Hogan’s decision to walk out after learning he would be losing to Sting at Halloween Havoc the night before.
This was meant to set up a rivalry between Bagwell and the actual “Chosen One” Jeff Jarrett. Since then, Bagwell has unfairly carried the label of being unprofessional.
The incident with Hogan left the new writers feeling bitter towards the older veterans. Most of their story lines focused on building up younger talents at the expense of the older legends.
Bagwell was one of the main faces of the youth initiative. Over the coming months, he “retired” Curt Hennig and Diamond Dallas Page.
The company underwent a disastrous reboot in April 2000. Most of the roster were bundled into an over-sized stabled named “New Blood”.
It was led by Bischoff and (mainly) Russo. They openly blamed the top stars for the company’s struggles and accused them of holding down younger talent.
They vacated all of the championships and put them on the line at Spring Stampede. New Blood won every title except the Hardcore Championship.
Bagwell and Shane Douglas beat Flair and Total Package (Luger) to become tag champions. He had now held the titles with four different partners.
On May 9, 2000, Bagwell got into an incident with a ring crew member. They were doing the usual task of taking down the set after a Thunder taping. Bagwell was blocking the doorway that they had been taking equipment through.
He got into a heated argument with one of the crew members. He reportedly shouted racial slurs and punched the man. Bagwell was charged with battery, and WCW suspended him for 30 days. Bagwell also went through his second divorce.
The Wall replaced Bagwell in a title defense, and they dropped the titles to Kronik (Brian Adams & Bryan Clark). You would be forgiven for thinking his story lines after his returns were punishments.
After failing to regain the titles, Bagwell and Douglas had the obligatory breakup feud. Douglas won after Bagwell was betrayed by his onscreen girlfriend Torrie Wilson.
Then Bagwell feuded with Positively Kanyon. It culminated in the infamous “Judy Bagwell on a Pole” match. They literally intended to suspend Judy from a pole somehow.
When they realized there was no safe way to do this, they handcuffed her to a forklift and raised it up as high as it would go.
Bagwell was then involved with a bizarre storyline where he was accused of being the father of Stacy Kiebler’s unborn baby. David Flair beat him in a First Blood match.
The stipulation decreed that because Flair won, Bagwell must allow blood from the open wound to be used for a DNA test. This proved to be pointless as Kiebler later admitted she was never pregnant.
His biggest acting role outside of wrestling was for an episode of ‘Charmed’. The show centered around three sisters who were witches.
In the episode ‘Wrestling With Demons’, Bagwell, Scott Steiner, and Booker T played fictional versions of their WCW personas. Condemned people had to beat them in a wrestling match to regain their souls, or be sent to eternal damnation.
Bagwell then formed his final WCW tag team. He assisted Total Package in his feud against Goldberg. They called their team “Totally Buff”.
Goldberg was involved with a story line where he had to earn 174 consecutive wins in order to get another World title match. If he lost before he completed the task, he would be fired. Bagwell pinned Goldberg, and Goldberg was never seen in WCW again.
Totally Buff then became the top contenders to the tag titles. They challenged reigning champions Chuck Palumbo and Sean O’Haire for the tag titles at WCW’s final PPV, Greed. They were squashed within a minute by the youngsters.
WCW was sold off to Vince McMahon in March 2001. The WWF took over the final Nitro. Totally Buff were among the advertised talents to be dropped from the show on the day.
McMahon disagreed with agents who urged him to hire Bagwell. He still believed his earlier outburst was genuine.
When McMahon asked the fans at Raw who they wanted to see in the WWF, he was genuinely trying to gauge their feelings.
The surprise he felt when the crowd cheered for Bagwell was also genuine. He reportedly wanted to bring Totally Buff in as a tag team, but Luger refused to return.
One returning talent leaked in a radio interview that the WWF had bought out numerous contracts. Not only did he list the names of the new recruits, but he also revealed that they were meant to debut during a match at WrestleMania X7 that weekend.
The new talents arrived at the arena to learn the plan had to be scrapped. Bagwell sat with the others in a Skybox. They remained stoic when Shane McMahon called out to them.
The new signees began making their debuts that Summer. They would interfere in matches. WCW World and US Champion Booker T made his first appearance during the main-event of the King of the Ring.
The WCW stars would be set up to fail. For the first week in July, the last quarter of WWF events was dedicated to “WCW” content.
This involved changing the ring aprons, logos, and announcers. It is not known if there was a serious plan to launch a WCW brand, or if it was just to generate heel heat for the new stars. But after years of being conditioned to see WCW as rivals, the fans loudly rejected the unadvertised segments.
Bagwell worked his first ever WWF match at a house show on July 1, 2001. He then turned up to a training session before Raw.
Shane Helms made a blunt remark about Bagwell being late. The confrontation became heated quickly, with Bagwell serving another “Bagwell Slap”. Helms then struck Bagwell in the back of the head with an object. He had to get stapled before making his WWF television debut.
Bagwell and Booker were not used to the larger WWF rings. Their timings were off. And Bagwell was working with a concussion.
Fans booed them until Austin and Kurt Angle interfered. Bagwell helped them throw Booker out of the building. Then they turned on Bagwell and threw him out too. Just minutes after WWF fans saw Bagwell for the first time, they had already seen him for the last.
There are conflicting stories about what happened next. Bagwell maintains that Head of Talent Relations Jim Ross took responsibility for the poor quality of their match.
He suggested Bagwell take the rest of the week off. Then he received word that he had been released for no-showing events.
Others who worked with him, including Ross, allege he was fired for his unprofessional behavior. Both sides dispute a rumor that his mother had phoned in sick for him.
“How can you be a human being and enjoy telling people that they’re done? I’m not that person.
I felt bad for him, and I feel bad for him. It didn’t have a lot to do with Judy. But that’s good dirt. That’s really good dirt. Judy had little to do with that.
Marc’s own personal habits, and the way that he conducted himself, was what let the air out of the sails.
If he had a better attitude, then at that young age at that point in time – we’re talking over twenty years ago – he would have had a shot to get plenty of time.
He wasn’t given that opportunity. It seemed like partying was more important to him than being a professional.”
– Jim Ross on the reasons why Bagwell was released from WWF.
Bagwell had taken a significant pay cut to work for WWF. He had already sold his luxury car and moved out of his mansion.
With no other major promotions to work for, Bagwell joined the other talents who didn’t have a WWF deal on the indie circuit. He took all the bookings he could get.
His most important indie dates were with World Wrestling All-Stars. It was through this tour that he picked up contacts with multiple new start-up promotions.
The Jarretts launched NWA: Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in June 2002. They managed to get unto television right away by going straight to PPV.
A lot of the performers had worked with Jeff Jarrett elsewhere. Bagwell appeared on a few weekly PPVs before “quitting” live on air.
In reality, he had previous bookings he intended to honor. He made a few more appearances in 2003 and 2006. Bagwell never signed a formal contract, but wishes he did because TNA reminded him of WCW.
Bagwell took on a much lighter schedule over the next decade. He saw his greatest success with Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.
He won their Heavyweight and Tag Team Championships three times each. One of these tag title reigns were with Dusty Rhodes.
From Buff To Bust
On April 23, 2012, Bagwell was seriously injured in a car crash. The police report stated that Bagwell had phoned his wife to say he was about to have a seizure while driving.
He suffered extensive injuries, including broken bones in his neck, jaw, and face. The incident created fresh fan support for Bagwell to get better. He made a triumphant return at American Premier Wrestling and won their Heavyweight Championship.
In 2014, Bagwell made headlines when it was revealed he was on a male escort site. Bagwell had been approached to appear in an episode of ‘Gigolos’.
The program claimed to be a reality show that followed male escorts who engaged in legal prostitution. The episode depicted Bagwell as wanting to join the agency despite being in his mid-40s.
He took part in a softcore porn scene where he and three other men took it in turns to imitate full sex with an actress.
Bagwell had told a sanitized version of the story for ten years. The reality was he and his partner were drowning in medical debt when the show approached him.
He had signed up without fully understanding what was expected of him. He stated that he only pretended to have sex with the actress because he was unable to become aroused on camera. He wasn’t told until afterwards that he was not supposed to do it for real.
He received a major pay off for the night. He convinced his wife that he should continue working as an escort until their debts were paid off. But it wound up costing more than they expected.
Bagwell wound up having a genuine affair with his first client. Bagwell had his third divorce. This marriage had lasted twenty-five years. Journalists discovered his secret just in time for his episode of Gigolos airing.
Fans then became concerned for his well-being in 2020. A customer had purchased a personalized video message from him for a loved one.
Bagwell took off his trademark sunglasses to reveal he had a black eye. He noted that he was specifically requested to give the recipient a message of hope because they were struggling with being in lock down.
He informed the viewer that he was struggling too. He admitted that he had considered choking the life out of his girlfriend, who was recording the video at the time of the message. The footage surfaced online, and dozens of fans called the police.
A short time later, Bagwell was in another car crash. He had been driving under the influence of prescription drugs.
He suffered broken ribs, a broken eye socket bone, and a torn groin muscle. Then in May 2021, he was arrested on multiple charges relating to vehicular incidents. They included speeding, hit and run, and giving false information to police.
“I was going to be one of the biggest names in pro wrestling. Ever. And instead I was just ‘I had a good run’. That’s all.
That’s hard to deal with when you’re 31 years old. So I dealt with it with pills and alcohol.
So what was already getting really bad, it just go real bad. I had nobody to answer to no more. And I’m now depressed.”
– Bagwell on his escalating addictions.
Becoming Better
His loved ones then gave him an ultimatum. He had to get his life in order, or he would lose them all. As much as their words hurt, the words they didn’t say were just as bad.
When Bagwell started making good money, he employed both of his parents. They must have been aware of the toll his addictions had been taking when he was young.
He theorized that they couldn’t say anything because they depended on him for money. Now he didn’t have a financial hold over them, they were free to speak out.
The warning helped him to realize he was struggling to overcome numerous losses in his life. Including the loss of his beloved mother.
The final point that convinced him was learning DDP had offered to help. He had been skeptical because his previous attempts at rehabilitation had failed.
But he had seen the success DDP had with Jake Roberts, Scott Hall, and others. He genuinely believed DDP could do the same for him if he got serious about his recovery.
DDP normally required his clients to have a level of public accountability. Bagwell took this a lot further than he was asked to.
He heavily documented his road to recovery. His primary goal was to inspire others to seek the help they need. It also added the extra incentive that if he fell off the right path, then the public would know all about it.
He occasionally attended church with his current girlfriend Stacey. Seeing her faith and hearing the lessons from DDP made him realize that his relationship with God was non-existent.
He now fully dedicates himself to his faith and his recovery. Part of this involved seeking reconciliation with his ex-wives, even becoming friends with them.
He leaned even heavier into his support systems after his father passed away. He credits God and the people around him for not relapsing.
A documentary crew reached out to him about covering his story. After accepting the deal, he enquired who else they planned to contact.
One of the named was Riggs. He decided to reach out to his former partner himself. He learned that Riggs was living in his car, dealing with suicidal depression since his own mother passed away.
Bagwell practically bullied Riggs into returning to Atlanta, and seeking help from DDP. He credits Bagwell with saving his life.
Bagwell accepted the Men’s Wrestling Award from the Cauliflower Alley Club in 2024. He holds the world in equal esteem with getting married for the third time.
He continued to accept booking and indie shows around the country. He then stopped taking bookings for medical reasons.
On one such occasion, he persuaded them to book Riggs as his replacement, and he would still appear in his corner.
Fans that were worried that he was relapsing were shocked to discover he was dealing with a new pain. A doctor had advised him that all efforts to elevate the chronic pain in his leg had failed. The only thing they had not tried was the extreme measure of amputation.
When he committed to the decision, he reached out to Maven Huffman. Huffman had near overnight success as a social media content creator. He asked Maven to document the surgery and his recovery.
There was a time when he considered amputation out of vanity. There was another time where he hoped to be paralyzed so he could use this to inspire others.
Now he was in a situation where he still had to amputate one leg. He realized his life was nearly much worse. And now he had something he could use to inspire others.
Bagwell continues to make appearances with and without his prosthetic leg. He is currently using his social media platforms and various interviews to spread his Christian faith and messages of encouragement for people in recovery, whether it is from addiction or recovery.
He had set the goal of having at least one more tag team match with Riggs as his partner. On March 26, 2026, he made a surprise appearance on TNA iMPACT to declare he still intended to have his final retirement match. He is still in training at the time of writing. No details have been decided for Bagwell’s final match as yet.
Buff Bagwell is a guy who got everything he ever wanted, and it all came at a cost. It wasn’t until he realized he was about to lose everything that he discovered the stuff that is trying worth having.
