10 Wrestlers Who Piggybacked Their Way To Success

4. Buff Bagwell

Nikki Cross Becky Lynch
WWE

Buff did indeed seem to possess the 'Stuff' in the early 1990s, as a somewhat charismatic babyface prospect, but he happened to have 2 Cold Scorpio as a tag team partner. This helped him enormously, because 2 Cold Scorpio was an incredible, innovative performer who masked Bagwell's inconsistencies.

To make a modern comparison, think of Bagwell as the proto-Enzo Amore: a hyper-arrogant performer who, if you were to remove the wrestling component, actually got over as a result of his giddy d*ckhead charisma. Delightfully abrasive at even the faintest of probing questions, and a man who cackled maniacally at his own schtick with his head thrown backwards in a narcissistic frenzy, Bagwell was some promo - so much so that he fooled the wrestling public into labelling him a future megastar.

He wasn't.

A choice, snivelling foil to Scott Steiner's über-badass he might have been, but once removed from that act, Bagwell looked very much to be the IRL douchebag he actually was. If WCW resembled diet WWF, Bagwell resembled the diet Rock: an empty catchphrase generator radiating only a fraction of the charisma.

Bagwell was a good sidekick and little else - so trust Vince 'Backwards' Russo to once label him more charismatic than the Rock.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!