On an episode of the podcast, “The Snake Pit” with Jake Roberts, WWE Hall of Famer Buff Bagwell shared candid details regarding the final stages of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and beyond.
Highlights from the podcast include:
During a discussion about Vince Russo’s initial attempt to mend WCW, Bagwell stated, “Strategies implemented were way over my pay scale. Though I’d often mingle with higher-paid colleagues, I certainly was never privy to the decisions being made. It was a time of turmoil for everyone. Imagine the situation this way – imagine it was your first day at the company, Vince Russo walks in and introduces you as one of the leading talents. He then proceeds to explain that the WCW’s biggest issue was that those in charge always desired to be TV stars and brought in their favoured individuals. Russo guaranteed he would never put himself on TV. But as we know, that didn’t last.”
When asked about Russo’s role in WCW’s downfall, Bagwell said, “Surely Vince played a role in it, but it’s not fair to place all blame on him. There were too many factors involved. But it contributed.”
Regarding the unpredictable nature of WCW bookings, Bagwell revealed, “There were so many instances when things just didn’t make sense for me. I remember once clearly telling my mum, ‘Whatever they offer, I’ll go along with it.’ An example of this was when I was told that Big Vito was going to win an upcoming match against me – just one week before a significant Pay-Per-View match. Later, I confronted Vince Russo and Johnny Ace about this peculiar decision. Interestingly, Russo justified it in a way Johnny failed to. Such strange events were common back then. Thinking that I was going through such ordeals yet I wasn’t even a main character really makes one wonder about the level of chaos amongst main characters.”
Embedded below is the complete episode of “The Snake Pit” podcast featuring Buff Bagwell.