WWE Rejected Buff Bagwell’s Request For Rehab

Buff Bagwell is most remembered by pro wrestling fans from his time in WCW. To say he had the greatest of careers would be a stretch, but he definitely left his imprint on the industry, and at such a pivotal time in pro wrestling…during the Monday Night Wars. When WWE purchased WCW in 2001, he was one of the wrestlers that made the jump, yet he didn’t last long in WWE.

He appeared recently on the Who The Fook Are These Guys Podcast to discuss just went down during his brief stint with the company. He also details the time that WWE shut him down and refused to send him to rehab when his substance abuse issues took a turn for the worse.

“I got turned down to go to rehab by the WWF (WWE). Think about that bro. I mean, that’s not just crazy, that’s humiliation. It is, flat out. Any way you want to put it. I’m the only wrestler in the history of time for two things, to main event the first week and then the next week your fired, and I’m the only person in the history of time to be turned down to go around for rehab.

So many good friends of mine went several times and it helped them. And to be honest with you, I’m not bad. I’m not. But it’s kind of like the little boy who cried wolf a little bit. My friends think that I’m worse than I am. And I’m really not. But still, at the same time, I want them to feel good, and I want the fans to see that I’m going to put 60 day in.

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And they fired me in a f***ing week. In Atlanta. He’s a piece of s–t dude. Don’t get me wrong; Vince McMahon is one of the best promoters, for a long time. But in my situation, giving him $80 grand to say ‘hey, I’m giving you my heart and soul to show you on the team.’ And for him to use me as a sacrificial name to get the locker room to get together, and I lose $80 grand.

I got fired and I go ‘can I get my $80 grand back?’ I f*cking asked. I was like ‘f*ck, that was part of the deal. That $80 grand, that deal was for you to take me in and for us to be cool. Now I’ve lost $80 thousand over a deal I thought was smart.’ I didn’t get my $80 grand back, and had to sue him to get my f*cking top hat back.”

He didn’t at all resonate well with the WWE audience once he made the jump. Truthfully, many of the mid-carders from WCW had the same trouble unfortunately. Fans had expected the bigger names to make an appearance, although they eventually did…Flair, Hogan, Nash, Hall, etc..

H/T Wrestling Inc.