Scott,
A random question while I prepare my dry cleaning: in Summer '99 I distinctly recall Buff Bagwell going over Flair in a big time Nitro eight man tag main event. This was notable for a few reasons: (i) beating Flair clean as a sheet at that time was still a pretty big deal in bringing a guy to the main event level; (ii) the other participants in that main event were Malenko, Benoit, Saturn, Piper, Kanyon, and DDP - Bagwell could easily have gone over Kanyon to hedge the bet, but instead he went clean over Flair with the Blockbuster; (iii) Bagwell had been getting a pretty heavy push up the card and was undefeated for a few months, during which he was getting great crowd reaction and during a period when the nWo focus was much reduced; and (iv) Bagwell was straight up over - he got a massive pop in the main event.
So, the question: what the hell happened? A month later Bagwell was putting over David Flair - was Bagwell planned for the main event, was there no plan at all or was this standard WCW crapping the bed (per usual)? FWIW, I always thought Bagwell was tremendously entertaining from his first switch to "Buff" (his tag team with Norton was another wasted opportunity) as the cocky prettyboy heel a la Shawn Michaels. Once he crapped out and they stuck him with Luger he was annoying, but he had a pretty great two-three year run and I still see him as a missed opportunity as a WWF version Rick Rude, albeit never someone who could hold the world title.
I always liked Bagwell, especially during the period with the fake babyface turn after the neck injury, but he was his own worst enemy 99% of the time. I honestly don't remember most of 99 as far as WCW goes, but they were changing creative teams during the summer and it could be something as simple as Nash liking Bagwell and giving him a push and then the stopgap team before Russo not liking him. I know Russo loved him and wanted to push the shit out of him, but that never really happened either, outside of the weird Bagwell-Douglas tag champion run. Really, it was WCW, guys got pushed and then forgotten about the next week all the time. Forget it, Jake, it's WCW-town.
A random question while I prepare my dry cleaning: in Summer '99 I distinctly recall Buff Bagwell going over Flair in a big time Nitro eight man tag main event. This was notable for a few reasons: (i) beating Flair clean as a sheet at that time was still a pretty big deal in bringing a guy to the main event level; (ii) the other participants in that main event were Malenko, Benoit, Saturn, Piper, Kanyon, and DDP - Bagwell could easily have gone over Kanyon to hedge the bet, but instead he went clean over Flair with the Blockbuster; (iii) Bagwell had been getting a pretty heavy push up the card and was undefeated for a few months, during which he was getting great crowd reaction and during a period when the nWo focus was much reduced; and (iv) Bagwell was straight up over - he got a massive pop in the main event.
So, the question: what the hell happened? A month later Bagwell was putting over David Flair - was Bagwell planned for the main event, was there no plan at all or was this standard WCW crapping the bed (per usual)? FWIW, I always thought Bagwell was tremendously entertaining from his first switch to "Buff" (his tag team with Norton was another wasted opportunity) as the cocky prettyboy heel a la Shawn Michaels. Once he crapped out and they stuck him with Luger he was annoying, but he had a pretty great two-three year run and I still see him as a missed opportunity as a WWF version Rick Rude, albeit never someone who could hold the world title.
I always liked Bagwell, especially during the period with the fake babyface turn after the neck injury, but he was his own worst enemy 99% of the time. I honestly don't remember most of 99 as far as WCW goes, but they were changing creative teams during the summer and it could be something as simple as Nash liking Bagwell and giving him a push and then the stopgap team before Russo not liking him. I know Russo loved him and wanted to push the shit out of him, but that never really happened either, outside of the weird Bagwell-Douglas tag champion run. Really, it was WCW, guys got pushed and then forgotten about the next week all the time. Forget it, Jake, it's WCW-town.
I remember the crowd giving a monster pop when Bagwell's music hit for that match. The easy answer for what happened: "WCW ruins everything."
ReplyDeleteI demand satisfaction via YouTube to see this monster pop. I find it hard to believe yet I've read that several times. I was actually watching WCW around this time, too.
ReplyDeleteIt's all Buff's fault. Plain and simple. He was one of several WCW guys that the WWE picked up after the acquisition in March 2001.
ReplyDeleteWhen you only last 1 week with the WWE in 2001 - one match on Raw and an appearance on Smackdown - and then you get fired, it's your fault.
Buff has no one to blame but himself.
He was getting great pops. But mostly from female fans.
ReplyDeleteBuff was always over. No surprise he got a great pop there.
ReplyDeleteI was a big supporter of his, because of his charisma and all the little heelish things he did. I couldn't get into him as a face, though.
What could be more over than Judy Bagwell on Pole match?
ReplyDeleteI myself was never the biggest fan of Bagwell growing up. He never really bothered me, but I just thought there were better guys available at WCW and he didn't deserve to be a World Champion. By the time he and Luger were tagging he (and Luger as well) were just plain awful. They were able to be both obnoxious and boring at the same time. Plus, Lex cutting his hair at the time had a very Samson-like effect on whatever was left of his career. Probably even worse than his LexExpress 'do
I'm still shocked that the Handsome Stranger from Global ended up the way he did.
ReplyDeleteI think lance storm said he kept getting into shit due to him letting his mum be his manager making him seem like a bit of a joke to the office and the locker room.
ReplyDeleteI forget where I heard it from, but one of my favorite backstage stories is DDP and Buff putting on a worked "fight" backstage to try and get the office to put them in a program together.
ReplyDeleteIf it's the 70s or 80s, Buff is a world champion. His good reactions were purely from having a great look and those little glimpses of charisma and attitude that are stereotypical pro wrestling.
ReplyDeleteIn this world, where you need to be able to wrestle a bit and talk a bit, he was pretty useless. That Booker T match on Raw is legendary for all the wrong reasons. The look in his eyes when he slaps on another chinlock is pure 'rabbit in the headlights'. He panicked, contributed to a shit match and his backstage attitude wasn't going to convince anyone to give him another shot.
When your mum rings up Jim Ross, the head of the talent roster, to call in sick, you're not going to last long...
ReplyDeleteI'll throw my name onto the list of people that liked Buff - he was never a great wrestler to begin with (and just got progressively worse/lazier), but he had a great heel character that he played exceptionally well.
ReplyDelete"Egotistical pretty-boy" is pretty generic, but he was one of the best at it.
I liked Buff too. His plucky babyface rookie routine worked fine in 1991 when he was a fresh faced kid, although it was pretty much insufferable by the American Males era. The heel turn was a fresh start and he was a whole lot of fun as an obnoxious pretty boy southern heel, which he was pretty much born to play anyway. I'd say that most of his lowlights were by way of bad booking choices, not really missteps he made himself.
ReplyDeleteHe was never great in the ring, but I don't get why people crap all over him like he's the worst thing since 1991 JYD -- he was perfectly capable. He could talk and had a good look too. Who cares what he was like backstage?