When you hear the catch phrase "I'm buff and I'm the Stuff.", you know who's saying it and that he means it. Marcus "Buff" Bagwell had a long run in WCW to its end in 2001. He was known to be a great tag team partner and wrestler, but behind the scenes he was described as being difficult and was suspended from WCW on several occasions for his "temper" or for not doing what he was told. He also had a one time stint in WWF but got fired because of his 1 match feedback with Booker T as being a bad match, and that during his promo he was told not to wear his trademark top hat and wore it anyway. Let's take a look at this superstar's past and his present.

He may have gotten his cocky attitude from being a model, exotic dancer, and acting in a few soft porn flicks, but no matter where he got it he will always be remembered for it. He held 5 multiple World Tag Team Titles in WCW during his run but ran into some problems during the process. He didn't start out in WCW with his "cocky" gimmick; it was more patriotic than anything else. Yes, he was part of the tag team Stars and Stripes when won his first WCW Tag Title, but had to take time off to get his calf implants taken out because they were leaking and the gimmick was dropped.

Next was his "model" gimmick, where he won his second WCW Tag Title. He teamed with Scotty Riggs as the "American Males." This one was also short-lived as he not long after his title run he turned on his partner to join the heel group "New World Order". This is pretty much where his career went up and down at the same time. Let me explain.

He got over with the crowd as cocky with this new gimmick and the fans ate it up. He enjoyed a lot of wins including defeating the four horsemen at War Games. This included a short feud with Scott Steiner that ended badly for Marcus Bagwell because during this match something happened that could have ended the career of Buff. When Steiner executed a bulldog, Bagwell's head was jammed against Steiner's back causing damaged vertebrae. Thankfully his surgery was a success and he went back to work within a year or so.

His return from the neck injury was also short. He had a feud with "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and even defeated him in a boxing match. He also enjoyed another run at the Tag Titles when he won a 1 night tournament with Shane Douglas to receive the vacant belts. He was then taken off of WCW television, but once again only to return to form another tag team with Lex Luger.

Totally Buff was what they deemed themselves, forming a tag team that lasted a very short while before WWF bought out WCW. Although they did have a claim to fame as they forced Goldberg to retire by facing Goldberg and The Sarge (Also know as Buddy Lee Parker).

Buff then headed to the WWF. Supposedly he was told not to wear his gimmick top hat but did it anyways, and when he showed up for Smackdown! someone had punched a hole through it. He had only one match in the WWF and it was against Booker T, which got bad reviews. He was then released from the WWF. In a recent interview with wrestlingweekly.com, Buff said he was never told not to wear his hat and he was given no reason of why he was fired but he was just told to leave.

During the interview he talked about a fight backstage that happened in the WWF. The fight happened between him and Gregory Helms. Buff recalls it as a little scuffle but feels this had nothing to do with why he was let go. Apparently Buff slapped Helms and Helms retaliated by hitting Bagwell with a bottle.

Buff also talked about another fight but this time in WCW and it was over a different issue. There was a time in WCW when he was doing a mimicking gimmick. He would copy other people. When he copied Ernest "The Cat" Miller he wore dark makeup to resemble Miller because he was black. Miller then in turn accused Bagwell of being racist. According to the interview, they also had a scuffle because of a finish of a match where Bagwell had put over Miller. Buff explained that he really didn't see an issue with either of these things and that both issues were "Okayed" by Miller.

Since his days in WCW he has won the NWA Mid Atlantic title, the NWA Blueridge Television title, CAPW Unified Heavyweight title, and the Live Action Wrestling title. As you can tell he has been busy throughout the years but, whether he has been good or he has been bad, I know that we will always love him for being Buff!

by Sara Anders