WCW Legend Buff Bagwell Has Leg Amputated
Buff Bagwell underwent a major operation to have his leg amputated.
The 1990s era of WCW featured some wrestlers who were loyal to the company and remained there for several years as homegrown talent. Marcus “Buff” Bagwell was a fresh-faced tag team wrestler early on, before morphing into a muscular, cocky wrestler who was part of the NWO and also against the NWO.
During his WCW career, Buff Bagwell was a five-time WCW Tag Team Champion with four different tag team partners. Even though he didn’t hold a singles title in WCW, he challenged for several of them and main evented some television shows as well.
Sadly, Buff has been battling health issues in recent years after a serious car accident in 2020. In a post on Facebook, Buff’s friend Steve Stasiak shared a photo of Buff after his leg was amputated and also wrote a thoughtful message.
Yesterday morning, Marcus Bagwell—Buff Bagwell—had his leg amputated above the knee.
I’ve known Buff a long time. I’ve seen him in the spotlight, I’ve seen him behind the scenes, and I’ve seen him fight through things most people never even hear about. This one… this is hard. For him. For everyone who knows and loves him.
The injuries from his 2020 accident never fully healed. He gave it everything he had to avoid this outcome—but that fight led him here. And now begins a whole new kind of battle.
Buff was one of the brightest stars of a wild era in wrestling. He made you look. He made you care. But it’s who he is as a person—past the lights, past the persona—that I hope people think about today.
If you’re reading this, I just ask that you send a little love out into the world for Buff. No grand gestures. Just something real. A thought, a prayer, a moment.
“This Is Going To Give Me A Second Chance At Life” – Buff Bagwell
In a video posted on YouTube, Buff Bagwell appeared with his fiancée, Stacey, as they discussed his health issues over the last five years.
Buff Bagwell said that the car accident he had in August 2020 caved in his right patellar tendon, which led to nearly 40 surgeries over five years. That led to staph infections and lengthy hospital stays. Bagwell explained that it led to depression.
“That led me into the deepest, darkest addiction I’ve ever been in. Drinking was really never my drug of choice, but it became drinking… I was constantly drinking. It was crazy.”
After realizing he couldn’t fix his leg, he fixed his life by getting sober.
“When I couldn’t fix it, instead of continuing to go into my addiction and drinking, I got sober.”
The good news is that Bagwell has been sober since August 27th, 2022, so he’s been sober for nearly three years.
“When I look down and see that I’m getting ready to amputate my leg, no more do I start getting like depressed about it. Instantly I get overwhelmed with joy because of the last three years of my life… what cost me my leg got me sobriety. All of a sudden, there was something I couldn’t fix. So I fixed it by fixing my life.”
Buff Bagwell went on to explain that there was only a 20% chance of saving his leg after three more surgeries, so that’s why he chose the amputation option.
“I’ve learned that this is going to give me a second chance at life. If just 5% of what I’m seeing is real, I will be the best shape of in a long time. I’ll be in the best shape in 20 years… I’ll be able to eat at restaurants with my leg under the table. I’ll be able to go to church and movies without my leg being out in the aisle.”
“I really do think this is the right call, and I’m really thinking I’m going to have a better quality of life.”
Everybody here at TJRWrestling wishes Marcus “Buff” Bagwell good health in the future.