Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Sept 11, 2013 3:22:50 GMT -5
I think it could have potentially worked at a point, but his immaturity, not to mention that his heel schtick would have got really old as a face yet was the only way he really got over, held him back. He came as far as he could with that.
That, and I don't think we are ready for a champion with calf implants.
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Post by jimmyjames on Sept 11, 2013 3:50:21 GMT -5
I'm going to go against the grain here and say, maybe. Stupid top hats and cheesy softcore porn movies aside, he was crazy over, first as a member of Stars 'n' Stripes, then as a singles performer, first as Marcus Bagwell then as roid head Buff Bagwell. I didn't understand it at the time and still don't, but for a long time, fans loved him, especially the women. HE came up gradually, like Booker T, from tag team, to singles.
The problem of course, and the reason I think WCW never pushed him as #1, was because of his attitude. WE all know the stories, so no need to rehash them, but in the end, Buff Bagwell killed any chance Buff Bagwell had at being main event level.
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BigBadZ
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Post by BigBadZ on Sept 11, 2013 5:02:36 GMT -5
Back in the late 90's, I knew a girl who was obsessed with Buff and Triple H. When she got pregnant, she was always trying to decide which one to name the baby after... She ended up naming him Hunter. I think she chose wisely...
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Post by The Dark Order Inferno on Sept 11, 2013 5:04:20 GMT -5
No. He had an ego like Shawn Michaels with half the in ring ability. There was a point where he looked like he would become the next big thing, he was improving by leaps and bounds and then it just stopped, as though he decided that since WCW was hyping him as a future main eventer, it was a sure thing and he didn't need to get any better... And then the attitude problems arose, the making excuses for missing matches where he'd have to lose, hiding behind his mother, picking fights with smaller guys backstage, getting suspended for abusing members of the backstage crew, ignoring requests from management in a new company and so on.
It's pretty telling that during the period WCW were desperately trying to make new stars, he was not one of the guys they strapped a rocket to, Booker T, Scott Steiner, Kanyon, Jeff Jarrett, Benoit (he won the world title before he quit), Adams and Clarke and so on were all pushed ahead of him.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2013 7:45:31 GMT -5
short answer: no
Long answer: Of course not, he sucked!
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Post by Dave the Dave on Sept 11, 2013 9:32:38 GMT -5
I don't think all main eventers had to serious...but Buff was too much of a cartoon character to be there.
Also in WCW new main event people were few and far between.
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Post by EvenBaldobombHasAJob on Sept 11, 2013 10:01:44 GMT -5
guy always came off as Midcard for life to me. and that's without taking his mommy into account.
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Post by EvenBaldobombHasAJob on Sept 11, 2013 10:06:13 GMT -5
this thread makes me bring up an amusing anecdote. during the Invasion, DDP and Big Show decided to mess with Buff. they did it by ordering a Limo using their own money to go to a show. they show up in the Limo and tell Buff that Vince paid for it. they think "there's no way he's stupid enough to fall for this". well, the schmuck got really mad and got his mommy to call JR and bitch about how Vince was giving DDP and Show all these nice things and her little boy wasn't getting the same treatment.
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Futureraven: Beelzebruv
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Post by Futureraven: Beelzebruv on Sept 12, 2013 4:50:33 GMT -5
He was WCW's Billy Gunn. He had the look, was decent in the ring, pretty good charisma, but just ended up always a midcarder.
If he'd gone to the WWF in 1993/4 and developed there, not had the chance to get the big ego that probably derailed him getting a big push, he could have done well. Though saying that, he'd probably have ended up with the clique... Oh dear god, he'd have taken Hunter's place!
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Post by Bootista on Sept 12, 2013 8:15:25 GMT -5
He was too much of a douche.
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Post by Threadkiller [Classic] on Sept 12, 2013 9:40:48 GMT -5
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Post by Kevin Hamilton on Sept 12, 2013 11:37:06 GMT -5
Good lord no. Dude had the look, but that's it.
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Post by The Dark Order Inferno on Sept 12, 2013 11:57:14 GMT -5
It's funny how Bagwell hate seems to be one of the few things that can unify wrestling fans, his being a colossal douche is the one thing we all seem to agree on.
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Post by "Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay on Sept 12, 2013 12:37:57 GMT -5
As a heel, Buff could've gone anywhere and done anything. As a babyface when he was back from injury, he could've been hugely over. You don't need to be a nice guy or a good wrestler to get over. Unfortunately, Buff wasn't in the WWE where being an asshole doesn't matter as much since Vince is in charge.
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hassanchop
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Post by hassanchop on Sept 13, 2013 0:05:15 GMT -5
Palumbo was the Main Event, but Bagwell made some sense, he always said he was the Real Total Package, the same thing Palumbo was pulling off. Oh you mean main event scene. Well, I'm gonna go with most that his attitude got in the way. The other problem was the way things were handled that time, management and writing team did things terribly and Buff was kind of a casualty among others. this thread makes me bring up an amusing anecdote. during the Invasion, DDP and Big Show decided to mess with Buff. they did it by ordering a Limo using their own money to go to a show. they show up in the Limo and tell Buff that Vince paid for it. they think "there's no way he's stupid enough to fall for this". well, the schmuck got really mad and got his mommy to call JR and bitch about how Vince was giving DDP and Show all these nice things and her little boy wasn't getting the same treatment. Actually the story goes was that it was some of the WCW guys and not Show and Page that pulled it off. Not sure who, probably Kanyon and Stasiak, the thing is that Buff and the others saw Show and Page coming in a limo from a hotel since, according to Lance Storm, Show knew how frustrating it was to park in a big area so he arranged a limo to send him to the arena from the hotel he was in, and since he and Page were buds, he invited Page over to talk about stuff. Buff looked on with eyes wide open wondering how they got a limo, then the rest of the WCW midcarders remarked "Oh this is WWF, they do things differently."
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Welfare Willis
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Post by Welfare Willis on Sept 13, 2013 0:07:42 GMT -5
Back in the late 90's, I knew a girl who was obsessed with Buff and Triple H. When she got pregnant, she was always trying to decide which one to name the baby after... She ended up naming him Hunter. I think she chose wisely... Good thing, Buff Johnson has a horrible ring to it.
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Post by DrBackflipsHoffman on Sept 13, 2013 0:49:40 GMT -5
No, he looked like a goddamn sex clown.
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Post by Joe Neglia on Sept 13, 2013 0:57:09 GMT -5
He very much could have. Ability-wise, dude was getting pretty good right before the NWO turn. Unfortunately, the creation of "Buff" seemed to let the real Bagwell out and it wasn't a gimmick. If he had kept on improving as he had and utilized the Buff persona in a positive (for him) way instead of ticking so many people off, he very well could have been one of the top guys towards the end there, and he could have transitioned into WWF/E better.
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y4j1981
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Post by y4j1981 on Sept 13, 2013 1:29:52 GMT -5
damn, I wish the Youtube video was still up, cannot find a copy of it: link
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Post by Crusty Ruffles on Sept 13, 2013 5:00:00 GMT -5
There were several chances for it to happen. Overall, I think he definitely had the talent to be in that position and there were a few moments it could've happened. It would've worked either back from his neck injury (which writes itself everywhere except WCW) or as a tweaked version of the Buff character with less slapstick and a more serious side. He was good enough in the ring to get by and have the occasional good to very good match. His mic work was decent enough, especially as a douchey heel.
What gets overlooked a lot is the actual talent the man had. The problem was, from everything you hear, him actually believing his own shit as Buff Bagwell. If his head was out of his ass and he didn't just mail it in, the talent was still there.
A bigger hurdle was the character. Buff Bagwell could've been a main eventer as a douche heel, but the character would've needed a major overhaul. It had no depth to it. It would've been a fine line to give him enough screen time to get that depth and a decent build, but not turn everyone off to him since a little douche goes a long way. I don't think WCW could've ever pulled that off.
The big face push back from the neck injury would've been the best, easiest way to rocket him up the card. It was such a wasted opportunity.
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