Exposing The Myth: Vince McMahon Buried WCW Talent
6. Buff Bagwell, Main Eventer
Buff is the stuff, right? Good lord, no.
Regardless of how bland a character Buff Bagwell was, and regardless of how 'meh' Buff Daddy was between the ropes, WWE still afforded Bagwell the opportunity to put WCW on the map after Vince McMahon's company had purchased WCW in 2001.
The plan back then was for the WWE-owned WCW to become its own brand and have its own show. As such, the call was made for Bagwell to go up against Booker T as the main event of Monday Night Raw on July 2, 2001.
Bagwell was afforded the chance to wow WWE higher-ups and the watching audience, yet the former WCW Tag Team Champion completely and utterly sh*t the bed with that opportunity. Throw in reported attitude problems, a backstage altercation with Shane Helms, and the slightly bonkers story of his mother Judy calling in to complain to management about her son's travel schedule, and it came as no surprise to see Bagwell's WWE tenure come to an abrupt end.
As a result of the response to that particular Raw outing, plans for a separate WCW show were completely scrapped. And considering that Booker T went on to flourish in WWE for years to come, it's fair to say that Buff Daddy was the main problem here. Still, Bagwell was given the chance to impress WWE - and no blame can be placed on WWE for Buff falling flat on his face.