Judy Bagwell Dies Aged 78

In some tragic news, Judy Bagwell has passed away.

by Andrew Pollard
Judy Bagwell Buff Bagwell
WWE

In some sad news, Judy Bagwell has passed away at 78 years of age.

The Rebuilding Buff podcast revealed this news earlier today, stating how Judy's passing occurred this past Friday. As per the pod's Twitter account, she had been battling dementia in recent years.

The son of Buff Bagwell, Judy Bagwell is famous amongst wrestling fans for her appearances on WCW television in the late '90s. Not just was Judy a presence on WCW TV, though, for she is also recognised as a former WCW Tag Team Champion.

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At Halloween Havoc 1998, Rick Steiner and Buff Bagwell were scheduled to challenge for the WCW Tag Titles held by Scott Hall and The Giant. The Giant would be replaced by Scott Steiner for that bout, and Rick would be left to fight it out alone after Buff turned on him during the match. Still, Rick Steiner is Rick Steiner, and he ended up winning the belts on his own. With Rick later in need of a tag partner for a Nitro match against Buff and Scotty, he brought Judy Bagwell to the ring with him as the other half of the WCW Tag Team Champions.

Jumping ahead to 2000's New Blood Rising PPV, Judy would famously take centre-stage again as Buff defeated Chris Kanyon in a Judy Bagwell on a Forklift match.

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Her time in the wrestling business may have been fleeting, but wrestling fans forever remember Judy Bagwell.

The thoughts of all of us here at WhatCulture Wrestling go out to Buff and the family, friends and fans of Judy at this time.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.