Buff Bagwell

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Marcus Alexander Bagwell
Statistics
Ring name(s) Buff Bagwell
The Fabulous Fabian
The Handsome Stranger
Marcus Alexander Bagwell
Billed height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Billed weight 240 lb (109 kg)
Born January 10, 1970
Marietta, Georgia
Trained by Steve Lawler
Debut 1990

Marcus Alexander Bagwell, (born January 10, 1970) better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell, is an American professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his nine year career with World Championship Wrestling between 1992 and 2001.

Contents

[edit] Career

Bagwell was a baseball and football player in high school, and worked for his family's lumber company upon graduation. However, when the company went bankrupt, Bagwell decided to become a wrestler. He trained under Steve Lawler and debuted in 1990, working for North Georgia Wrestling as The Fabulous Fabian. In 1991 he began wrestling with the Global Wrestling Federation as The Handsome Stranger, a gimmick that saw him don a "Lone Ranger"-style eye mask.

[edit] World Championship Wrestling

In 1992 Bagwell was hired by World Championship Wrestling, where he wrestled under his full name. Bagwell was initially a tag specialist; over the next five years, he would form tag teams with Tom Zenk, 2 Cold Scorpio, The Patriot (as Stars N Stripes), and Scotty Riggs (as The American Males).

In November 1996, Bagwell joined the nWo, turning on Riggs and renaming himself Buff Bagwell - an appropriate moniker, as Bagwell possessed a handsome face and a well-developed physique. Along with Scott Norton (with whom he formed Vicious and Delicious) and legends such as Masahiro Chono and The Great Muta, he was part of nWo Japan, the New Japan Pro Wrestling version of the New World Order. When he returned to America, he feuded with Lex Luger, calling himself "The Real Total Package." Bagwell defeated Luger at StarrCade 1997.

On the April 22, 1998 edition of Thunder, Bagwell suffered damage to several vertebrae and developed spinal shock syndrome after a botched flying bulldog at the hands of the notoriously stiff Rick Steiner. As planned, however, Bagwell actually won the match with the interference of Steiner's brother, Scott, moments before being carefully placed on a stretcher. Bound to a wheel chair and neck brace, he returned months later for an interview, only to be viciously ridiculed by Hollywood Hulk Hogan and shoved to the entry way floor.

After having neck surgery, the wheelchair bound Bagwell returned to WCW on July 6 in his home state of Georgia. Bagwell seemed to have a new attitude and even called out Rick Steiner to offer him his forgiveness. However, the supposedly invalid Bagwell restrained Rick while fellow New World Order (nWo) member Scott Steiner assaulted him with a steel chair, reaffirming his loyalty to Hollywood Hogan and the nWo. Bagwell then rose from his wheelchair and helped Scott beat down the defenseless Rick. The two formed an alliance which saw shakey ground in October when Scott became angered with Bagwell's mother, Judy, who had been butting into their nWo business. For a time, Bagwell even began turning face and teamed with rival Rick Steiner. In March 1999, the nWo factions reemerged, leading Bagwell and Scott to side with nWo Wolfpac. Their alliance was finally broken at Uncensored 1999 when Bagwell accidentally hit Scott with a chair, costing him the WCW World Television Championship.

In June 1999, Bagwell engaged in a rivalry with WCW President Ric Flair and Vice-President Roddy Piper, claiming he was being held back. This led to a three round boxing match with Piper at the 1999 Bash At The Beach, in which Bagwell was triumphant. In November, he defeated veteran Curt Hennig in a retirement match. Bagwell then feuded with Diamond Dallas Page after he made allegations about Page's wife Kimberly. Having spent much of 1999 fighting older wrestlers, Bagwell was one of the first to join Eric Bischoff's New Blood faction, forming yet another tag team with Shane Douglas. Bagwell and Douglas eventually won the WCW Tag Team Championships from Ric Flair and Lex Luger, rekindling the Bagwell / Luger feud from two years earlier. Bagwell was defeated by Luger at Slamboree 2000 after giving up to the Torture Rack.

Bagwell was stripped of his half of the titles in May 2000 after punching Darrell Miller, a (non-wrestling) WCW employee, in the back of the neck and shouted racial slurs while Miller was trying to walk past him carrying a "blood" soaked canvas[1]. He was charged with battery and suspended from WCW for thirty days. When asked why he punched Miller, he replied, "He pissed me off." Douglas would get a new partner, The Wall, but lose the titles to KroniK. Upon his return, Bagwell attempted to win the Tag Titles with Douglas once more, but failed, causing the team to split. Bagwell, now with Torrie Wilson by his side, fought Douglas at Bash At The Beach 2000, but lost when Torrie distracted him, siding with Douglas.

Chris Kanyon began stalking Bagwell, even harassing Bagwell's mother Judy as a psychological attack. Bagwell eventually defeated Kanyon in a match where Judy Bagwell was suspended from a forklift, rescuing his mother, despite the surprise interference of actor David Arquette.

In August 2000, Miss Hancock, the girlfriend of David Flair, mysteriously became pregnant, and Flair was quick to accuse the womanizing Bagwell. This led to a First Blood match at Halloween Havoc 2000, with Flair hoping to obtain a sample of Bagwell's blood to prove he was the father of Miss Hancock's child. Bagwell was victorious, but Flair got his blood sample when Bagwell's nemesis Lex Luger attacked him after the match, leaving him hurt and bleeding (Buff was not the father, and the entire pregnancy was eventually found to have been a lie).

At StarrCade 2000, Bagwell betrayed Goldberg by trying to cost him his match with Lex Luger. Bagwell's efforts were unsuccessful, but he managed to hit Goldberg with a steel chair after he had pinned Luger. Bagwell and Luger then formed a tag team known as Totally Buff. Totally Buff would go on to defeat Goldberg at Sin after a "fan" maced Goldberg, allowing Bagwell to floor him with the Blockbuster and Luger to pin Goldberg. As Goldberg had been warned by Vince Russo that he would be automatically fired if he was defeated, Totally Buff had ended Goldberg's WCW career. Totally Buff joined Ric Flair's Magnificent Seven stable in early 2001.

[edit] World Wrestling Federation

WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation in March 2001, and Bagwell's contract was purchased by the WWF. On July 1, 2001 Bagwell faced Booker T at a house show, and he appeared on the July 2 episode of RAW is WAR, fighting Booker T for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. The match went to a no-contest after interference from Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kurt Angle. Bagwell was released from the WWF on July 9 following complaints about his attitude and an altercation with fellow WCW alumnus Gregory Helms.

[edit] X Wrestling Federation

Following his WWF release, Bagwell was featured as a main eventer in Jimmy Hart's XWF which taped television matches at Universal Studios Florida on November 12 and 13, 2001. Of note is the use of Soundstage 21 by the XWF, as that facility would be home to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling for years to come and known as the TNA iMPACT! Zone. The original plan was to bring him in as a babyface to square off against Bobby Heenan and Curt Hennig, but plans were changed when the fans in attendance unexpectedly turned on him. In this match, he faced Big Vito formerly of WCW. When Bagwell was introduced, he was catering to the fans and acting as a face would. There were chants of "Buff got fired!" and "Where's your mommy?" references to his release from the World Wrestling Federation in July 2001 and the angles that Judy Bagwell participated in with her son in World Championship Wrestling, respectively. Realizing the fans were turning on him, Bagwell immediately went into full heel mode, berating and taunting the fans after his victory. Due to this unexpected turn, the storyline which saw Bagwell team with Vampiro to take on Heenan, Henning and Jimmy Hart's heel stable was changed to feature Bagwell turning on Vampiro and feuding with him.

[edit] Independent Circuit

After the XWF, in December of 2001 to be exact, Bagwell toured Europe with the World Wrestling All-Stars. He made several appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2002 and 2003, and continues to work for various independent promotions, including re-matches against the aforementioned Rick Steiner in Live Action Wrestling. Late in 2005, he expressed an interest in returning to TNA.


[edit] Return to TNA

Bagwell appeared on the April 27, 2006 episode of TNA iMPACT! as the first of Sting's possible tag team partners for TNA Sacrifice 2006 on May 14, 2006. Bagwell also appeared on the September 28, 2006 episode of iMPACT! in several segments, including a press conference, a video package, and a live segment where he brawled briefly with Jeff Jarrett.

[edit] Personal Life

In April 1990 Bagwell had a son, named Alexander Henry Bagwell. At the age of 16, Alexander attends Harrow School and is a senior member of the wrestling team, alongside Captain Conor McKinney.

[edit] Wrestling facts

  • Finishing and signature moves
  • Managers

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

[edit] Filmography

[edit] External links

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