All language subtitles for S05E02 Dark Side of the Ring

Look at me.
You can't win, because

I'm the one that's Buff!
You are number two.

I'm the man, look at it.
Take your time.

[narrator] Marcus Bagwell
began his wrestling career

as a handsome hero...

Alright!

A fan favourite for
audiences to root for,

but given the chance
to become a villain. ..

Buff Bagwell of the NWO!

The vain and arrogant
Buff Bagwell was born.

The bigger I made it,
the more exaggerated

I made it,
the better it got.

He just turns up the volume
on his own personality.

Marcus, he's really a person
to sit down and talk to.

'Buff the Stuff' is
an arrogant asshole.

Wow, I look good.

Working out, tanning, cars.

Is this it?

Girls.

He's entertainingly
obnoxious.

[Chuckling]

I love myself more than
anybody I can think of.

After his wealthy parents
lost their fortune,

Marcus turned to wrestling
to recapture the lavish

lifestyle of his childhood,
and brought his whole family

along for the ride.

My mom and dad
worked for me.

-[Horn blaring]
-Mama's back.

-What's her first name?
-Judy.

She was like my mom,
slash, secretary.

There's probably so
many stories out there,

it's just... blow your mind.
Blow your mind.

It was dysfunctional, yes.

Jerry Springer would just
love to go to their house

and hang out.

[Gunshot]

I come into the picture,
WCW shuts down,

and he goes off
the deep end.

The combination
of injuries. ..

-Oh my goodness.
-Oh!

...and substance abuse,

sent Marcus' career
into a nosedive.

Desperate to maintain
his lifestyle,

he boldly
ventured into a

controversial
new profession.

I have heard the rumour
that Marc was a male whore.

When Gigolos happened,

that hurt me to my soul.

I was the best functioning
addict in the world,

until I wasn't.

I thought to myself, I'm not
going to be shocked when

somebody calls me and
tells me Marc has passed.

He achieved so
much so fast,

and he fell just as fast.

♪

♪

So this is my
mother's office and

it's full of
Bagwell memories.

My wrestling career,
my dad's racing.

Right here is
Rookie of the Year,

and up there is my
Tag Team of the Year.

This is just memories that
were spread out throughout

decades, and she got 'em
all into one room.

You know, she did
all of this, this is all

because of the way
Judy Bagwell was.

The organization,
the, the drive.

Wow.

Where'd it go, man?

♪

Our family, we were told
from a very young age

that we were special.

It was just known
that we were

going to be somebody.

♪

Hey, I'm Marcus
Alexander Bagwell,

a.k.a. "Buff" Bagwell.
I'm Buff and I'm the stuff.

It's a freak thing that
he got into wrestling.

Marcus was a all-county
football and baseball player.

He wrestled a little bit, he
wasn't on the wrestling team.

I'm Steve Bagwell and

I'm Marcus Bagwell's father.

We had three sons.

Marcus was the youngest.

Marcus developed
slower than they did,

where he was so scared
he wasn't gonna get big.

But I kept telling him,

"Work at it and you'll
get there." You know?

We tried to be
like our father.

You know, he was a very
successful drag racer.

Self-made millionaire.

He just had a aura about
himself of, of power.

We were always
watching sports.

We watched wrestling.

It was definitely on our TV,
but it wasn't even, like,

an inkling of doing that
for a business or a career.

Back in the day,
they were very known.

They owned
Southeastern Lumber.

Everyone wanted to get
their lumber there.

This is Mark 'Slick' Johnson

from WCW and
TNA Wrestling.

I've been friends with Marcus
Bagwell for a long time.

Probably known him
since I was...

18, 19.

I don't think there was many
people you met in Marietta

that did not know
who the Bangles were.

My name is Tonya Bagwell,

and I was Marc Bagwell's
first wife.

I was 18, he was 18...

and we just hit it off,
you know,

it just fit like a glove.

He's just a loving person.

We all wanted to go over
to Marc Bagwell's house.

The guy had a pool room,
a theatre room,

a batting cage,
a tennis court.

His dad buys him a brand
new Corvette at 15...

and is able to drive it
back and forth to school.

I wanted him to have the
things I didn't have,

and I had the money
to do it, so I did.

We were spoiled rotten,

but we were not
spoiled brats.

He didn't get
away with nothing.

He still got in trouble.

His dad wasn't
gonna raise a pussy.

If we did anything wrong,
you got your ass whipped.

My father whipped me once,

my mother whipped me
a thousand times.

And we were
scared of her.

She was fearsome,
for sure, and fearless.

If she likes you,
she likes you.

If she don't,
she don't.

There was no in
between with her.

This is a woman that ran a
215 employee lumber yard.

I've seen a hundred truck
drivers walk in and think,

"This lady's the boss?"

And within about
2 minutes, you know,

they knew who the boss was,
and they were shutting up.

Well,
let me say this...

you don't ----
with Judy Bagwell.

She'll give you the
shirt off her back,

but she'll knock you
down with the other hand.

Steve's the same way.
Steve's more calm,

except when he
loses a poker bet.

Yeah, he had poker over
there all the time.

One time we're all
up in Marc's room,

and we just hear,
"Goddamnit"!

He lost, like,
the main card bet.

Goes and grabs
the machine gun,

and the front of his house,
they have two doors.

He kicks those
two doors open,

and there's geese out in
the lake and finally

he just unloads on 'em.

[Gunshots]

I hear- [Fluttering]-
a machine gun going off.

And so I'm thinking,
"Oh my God,

somebody's robbing us."
Got my 45, I bridge it,

put one in it, and by the
time I get to the front door

with my gun, it's my
father is like Scarface.

[Gunshots]

Feathers are
going everywhere.

[Rolling tongue]

♪

So he emptied the clip,
and I'm going, "Dad?"

That's a true story.

[Laughing]

I just remember being
in Marc's room and

his dad would
come up and he's like,

"Alright, where
are y'all going"?

I said, "We're going to club,
and we want to go,

we're going here and
we're going there."

And he'd reach in
his pocket,

break out about five or
six bags of cocaine.

He said,
"Here you go, boys.

Y'all have fun tonight.
Stay out of trouble."

[Laughing]

He just was scared
we were gonna get hurt,

and he knew where he was
getting his from and

felt better
about helping us.

That was crazy.

Good times though,
good times.

♪

As the Bagwell's
business struggles,

Judy reveals to her husband
that the family's finances

are in serious trouble.

She'd gone out and got
three or four loans,

250 grand a piece.

She convinced the bankers
that she could pay this back

and it'll all be okay.
Well, it all went kaboom.

I had enough money,
I thought,

to live the rest of my life,
you know, and comfortably.

I never would
have dreamed it.

You know,
that it could happen.

My father made it very clear
that we were going broke,

and the brothers were at
their houses at this stage.

So it was just me, my mom,
and my dad at the house.

But it was hard,
hard times.

I mean, they were fighting
all the time, and...

it was just, things were,
things were,

things were getting
ready to explode.

You could just feel it.

Basically, the arguments
just got worse and worse.

My wife, Judy,
went out the door,

got in one of our vehicles
and fixin' to leave, and

I followed her out and I said,
"Where are you going"?

She said, "I'm leaving."
I said,

"Not in my car you're not."
And I said,

"If you try to,
I'll shoot the tire."

I'm upstairs and I
hear my mom.

"Marc! Marc!
Help me! Help me"!

You know? And I go running
downstairs, you know.

We've been going through
shit, now he's beating up mom,

and I'm trying to
solve that problem,

and I'm just flipped
as well, you know?

And Marc said, "Dad,
back off of Mom."

And I saw a gun
in his hand.

I said, "What are you
doing with a gun"?

He said, "I just want you
to back off Mom." You know?

And I said,
"You'd shoot me"?

He said, "No, sir,
unless I have to."

And I always
kept a handgun

on top of the refrigerator.

He- [exhaling]-
he bolted.

Right for the refrigerator.

So, as soon as
he got there,

we followed him
into the kitchen.

Now he's got
a gun on me.

He's like, "Come on,
big man. Come on."

I go, "Put the gun down,
man." I said,

"You're just gonna end up
killing one of us and

going to prison, bro.

This ain't gonna do
nothing." You know?

Of course I was mad
at that time and...

I just kept on and on.

First thing I knew,
he was popping caps at me.

[Gunshots]

My plan was to
kill my father.

The first shot probably
would have killed me,

because it would
have hit right there.

But as I could see him
fixin' to shoot,

I put my hand right there.

♪

And it took an inch and a
half of this little bone

right here, seeing
two scars there?

And then he shot
four more times.

I could hear the bullets
zinging by my head.

it was something that I
just couldn't believe

was happening,
you know?

[Gunshots]

'Cause Marc and I had been
so close all our lives

since he was born.

[Gunshot]

But he was tight with
his mom, too. You know?

Oh yeah, yeah.

They had to take a, a bone
graft off my hip and

put it in my, in here to
fill this hand.

And, and they got,
I got a silver plate there

that holds it all together.

My mom's like,
"Please call your dad.

Please call your dad."
And I'm like,

"Mom, I'm not calling him.
You know, I don't feel bad.

I'm not wrong. I don't, I got
no re- no remorse at all."

It was a little
while before we did.

Probably three
or four months.

He called me up.
Dad calls me,

and he goes,
"Just want you to know,

you're 100% right
on what you did.

You did nothing wrong.

You're protecting your mom
and your, and yourself."

I told him it was all my
fault, 100%.

If I'd have backed off
the whole thing

wouldn't have happened,
you know?

We had a rough
couple years,

but we've been best
friends ever since.

♪

With his parents no longer
able to support him,

Marcus moves out
of the family home,

marries his high school
sweetheart, Tonya,

and finds a whole new
way to make a living.

Marc was a male stripper
right after high school.

I wasn't ashamed
of it all.

I was, I was very happy to
show my body off and

make money with
showing my body.

We had just moved into
Poplar Place Apartments

and that's how
he met Missy.

I was looking for an
apartment north of Atlanta,

and we pull up and there's
this hot guy in these, like,

short shorts and
a little tank top.

And I was like,
"Wherever he lives,

I want to live by him."

I'm Missy Hyatt, the
First Lady of wrestling,

and I discovered
Buff Bagwell.

I was in WCW.

I was a manager for
the Steiner brothers,

'Hot Stuff' Eddie Gilbert,
and then the Nasty Boys.

But my main part was
I was the first female

to be an announcer.

This is Missy Hyatt's
second attempt to

get a locker room
interview.

Marcus came up to me
one day and he's like,

"Hey Missy, my brother
wants to be a wrestler."

And I'm like,
"Your brother"?

I've never seen
his brother.

And I'm like, "Why don't
you become a wrestler"?

And I go, "Those guys
don't make no money."

And she goes, "Our lowest
paid guy makes

$100,000 a year."
And I was like, "What"?

So she found a guy named
Steve 'The Brawler' Lawler,

and he trained me.

I was working at a club as
a dancer, which I hated,

but he couldn't work
and still train and

do all that in wrestling.

So the deal was, if you work
this short period of time,

get me through, you know,
this wrestling school

when I get my
first contract,

you'll never have
to work again.

She supported me to get
me into the business,

and the catch was then
I would take care of her

from that point on.

Cried every night
coming home from work.

I hated it, I hated it.

I was going to do
anything it took.

And I dove into that and
dedicated my life toward it,

and it paid off.

Training to become a
professional wrestler,

Marcus Bagwell
dedicates himself

to becoming a superstar.

[Cheering]

He started working
on the indie circuit.

I'm joined by The
Handsome Stranger.

And one day he
was like, "Missy,

you gotta see one
of my matches."

And, I watched his match, and
I'm sitting there thinking,

I'm like, "Oh my God,
he is really good."

This has only been
like three months.

And I'm like, "He's got
timing, he looks great,

he's got charisma." I mean,
I was really impressed.

Well, the women
indeed love him.

So I go to Mr. Jimsy
Barnett, and I said,

"Here's a tape." And I sat
there, made him watch it.

And he's like, "Oh, Missy,
you should be a scout.

This boy is fabboo."

And I want to introduce to
everyone out there

the newest rookie
sensation in WCW.

Alright!

With a successful two year
run as a singles competitor,

Marcus proves his talent to
WCW and is put into

a tag team with
2 Cold Scorpio.

And me being more of a
highflier with pretty boy...

didn't really know how that
was gonna work,

you know, how it was
gonna turn out.

This is Charles Scaggs.

Y'all all know me
as 2 Cold Scorpio.

I was very surprised how he
was able to step up his game

and keep up with me,
so, you know.

They put us together and we
were Tag Team of the Year

and World Champs
that same year.

For the Tag Team
Champions of the World!

And the fans loved him.

You know,
the women loved him.

I was madly in
love with Tonya.

She was a great woman,
and we had a great plan.

The only thing we weren't
quite ready for was for

a 21 year old man to be,
you know,

women throwing theirself at
him, I wasn't really ready...

I thought I was ready
for that, but I was not.

And so,
I cheated on Tonya.

♪

Doing all of that I did to
just help him get in the

business, and then things
were supposed to be

better after this, and
now this happens.

You know, I was hurt,
extremely hurt.

And, you know,
it just...

I just couldn't forgive him.

♪

As his marriage
to Tonya ends,

Marcus is slotted into
a new tag team,

Stars and Stripes.

First, the challengers
from Marietta, Georgia.

Determined to reach
the top at WCW,

he's convinced that the key
is to create the perfect body.

We were living
together at the time.

And he said, "Man,
I, I work my calves,

I work my calves and
they just will not grow."

I said, "Well what are you
gonna do about it"?

He said, "I'm getting
calf implants."

I says, "I'm sorry, what"?

He got 'em put in and
they look fantastic.

I mean, awesome.

And then his leg
started hurting.

Every time he wanted
to poop or piss,

I had to take him to
the bathroom on my back.

'Cause he couldn't
move his legs.

And I'd have to
put him on my back,

I had to go down and sit him
on the toilet and let him do

his business, and then
he'd wipe his ass,

and then I'd go back,
pick him back up,

take him into
the living room,

back in his
favourite chair.

[Clapping]

This went on for weeks
'cause he couldn't walk.

Sure enough, his body's
not accepting them.

He had a fever, I knew
we had a problem.

I load him in the car
and rushed him

straight to the hospital.

The doctor that came
in to see him, said,

"We've got less than
45 minutes to

get those calves out."

I asked him, "Is there
any way I can keep 'em"?

And, and he went, "Yeah, we
can keep 'em if you want to

cut your legs off."

And I remember
thinking, "Hm...

cut my legs off or
keep 'em."

I swear I remember thinking,

"How can I fix it
where I can keep 'em"?

So he has to have
them taken out.

So he still has them
at home in the box.

Without exaggerating
or sound corny,

it almost cost me my life.

[Cheering]

Even without his
dream calf implants,

Marcus' popularity with the
female audience lands him in

a new tag team that fully
utilizes his good looks and

muscular physique.

It was not easy
being that cheesy.

I'm Scotty Riggs,
WCW,

ECW,
professional wrestler.

One half of the
American Males.

And we've got American
Males taking it to.

It doesn't get any better
than the American Males.

♪

American Males,
American Males.

♪ AMERICAN MALES,
AMERICAN MALES, ♪

♪ AMERICAN MALES,
AMERICAN MALES. ♪

[Singing]
American Males!

American Males!

♪ AMERICAN MALES. ♪

♪

I'm pissed off that you even
brought up American Males

'cause now that song is
gonna be in my head

'til tomorrow morning.

I'm Eric Bischoff,
former president of

World Championship
Wrestling.

No I'm the highest
ranking executive in WCW.

The look is very, very
important and probably

even more so back
in the, in the 90s

when Marcus broke in.

You know, Scotty Riggs,
another young,

very athletic, attractive,
much like Marcus...

we were appealing
to a female demo.

We were looking to shore up
what was otherwise an

almost completely male
dominated audience.

Girls loved it.

[Cheering &
screaming]

The guys hated it, which
made it even better for us.

That was Erica.
It didn't last very long.

Then he had a third wife,
that was Judy,

another Judy Bagwell.

I call them Judy Bagwell,
the wife,

and Judy Bagwell,
the mother.

And at the beginning,
it was,

it was, it was awesome.

I'm Judy Bagwell, and I'm
Marcus Bagwell's third wife.

I was the top, I mean,
he put me on top, right?

Of course, Marc always
comes first.

[Laughing]

Tag Team Champions!

Having won multiple
Tag Team Championships,

Marcus takes the leap
to join one of WCW's

most legendary factions.

Here's the NWO.

Ready or not,
here we come!

NWO was already pretty hot.

You know, we created
this heel group,

but the heel group was so
freaking cool that

people were actually
cheering them.

Nash came to me and
said, "Look, do you,

do you want to
be in the NWO"?

And it wasn't like I had to
have a meeting with

Scotty Riggs over this.

I mean, of course I want
to be in the NWO.

What is this all about?

I don't know what Bagwell
and Riggs is thinking about.

I didn't want to be a dick
and go, "Man, this sucks.

I want to go the NWO."
You know, that type thing,

and so I just kinda went,
"Alright, it's cool.

Let's make it work for you,
brother." And we did.

-Hey!
-Attacked by Bagwell!

I'm in the ring with
all of the superstars.

I mean, it does not get
any better than this.

I mean, it's just...

I have made it, man.
This is it, man, this is it.

Changed my whole career,
money, life, everything.

When he became
Buff the Stuff, it's like,

"Who the ---- this
mother----er think he is now"?

Buff was Marcus
times a million.

He the type of mother----er
that I want to fight.

That's the type of
mother----er I want to fight,

I want to whoop his ass.

So I think that kind
of gave him more heat,

but he pulled it off.

I had always thought that
Marc and I would

eventually get
back together.

And when I saw the NWO
I remember

saying to myself,
"Now we're over."

That's what that, that is
what that says to me.

Now we're over, because I
could see him living out

that character and
it engulfed him.

It wasn't an every
now and then thing.

He was living it out.

My mom came up with the
idea, just open up an

incorporation, so we
called it 'The Real Buff Inc.'

I hired the whole family
and I paid them a salary.

And so out of that,
it was, you know,

from taking me
to the airport,

to making sure my
house was clean,

to paying my bills.

One time I come home, and
I see Marc's mom's car

is there, and I
walk in his room,

and he's got a big old
bathroom and

he's in a big garden tub
butt naked,

and his mom is behind him
with the skin of his dick

pulled up behind his balls
and she's shaving

his balls for him. He's on
all fours and goes,

"Oh, hey, bud,
what's up"?

Even Judy, as she's shaving
his balls she goes,

"Hey, Marc,
how you been doing?

Is everything okay"?

I'm like, "No."
And I'm going,

Now I've seen it all.
You people are sick."

Then I walked right,
right out of the room.

[Laughing]
They don't care.

She's gonna help Marc out
in any way she can.

If she needs to
shave his balls,

then she's
shaving his balls.

Using his newfound stardom
to pursue other avenues

in entertainment, Marcus
takes leading roles in a

number of straight to
video action movies.

[Gunshots]

[Grunting]

I was familiar with at least
one of Marcus' movies.

Marcus needed some time off
to, to, to, to do that movie,

and I had to approve that.

[Indistinct shouting]

Ragh!

No, I just, I never
did see that movie.

I don't know
why I missed it.

[Laughing]

He said you had a certain
flair for the absurd.

Bless his heart.

He tried.

NWO,
here they come.

Still riding high as a
member of the NWO,

in April of 1998,
a routine match

on WCW Thunder goes
dangerously wrong.

The finish of the
match was, you know,

Rick was gonna hit me with
a Bulldog, go for the cover,

but when he does,
he misses me.

And when he misses
me with the Bulldog,

I hit him in his back and
my neck goes that way.

And when your neck goes that
way, it can't go very far.

So wham, it hit.

-Oh my goodness.
-Oh!

And when it did, it bruised
my spinal cord and

caused me to
be paralyzed.

Buff Bagwell apparently
is severely hurt here.

Everything I'd
worked for, it's over.

♪

At the peak of his
wrestling career,

Buff Bagwell suffers
an in-ring accident

that leaves him with
a broken neck and

an uncertain future.

That, that, that's, that's,
that's a horrible scene.

I was at a friend's house,
and we were watching

the show, and I saw
that happen,

and we all were like,

"Wait, was that
part of that act"?

I thought, "Oh my God,
something's not right."

I mean, it was yeah,
it was brutal.

So the next three and a
half hours is CAT scans,

MRI's and all that.

Three hours later, the
doctor comes in and goes,

"Sit up."
I'm like, "What"?

And so I start trying to move
a little bit and sitting up,

and I feel totally normal.

I go, "What happened"?

He goes, "When you bruised
your spinal cord and the

swelling happens,
your body thinks

it's paralyzed,
so it don't move.

And then when the
swelling goes down,

you can move again."
So I got two plates and

eight screws in my neck
through here.

Broke my neck.

His mother, I swear,
she cried until I didn't think

she could cry
anymore, you know?

I went to see him
in the hospital.

He looked terrible.

I didn't think that he'd come
back from that, honestly.

But he did.

-Oh look at this!
-[Shouting]

-Yeah!
-It's Buff Bagwell!

It was crazy.
And actually,

I was back on TV from
breaking my neck

in three months.

To know that these
people love me

just as much
as I love them.

And God knows I love each
and every fan out there.

-[Cheering]
-Listen to that.

So for that three month mark
to the ten month mark,

I got back into great
shape and was

Scott Steiner's manager.

Returning to the spotlight,

Buff turns to drugs
to endure the pain

that comes with
the wrestling lifestyle.

You take, you know,
two Vicodins, two Somas,

and then you come down and
drink some beer and then

you take two more kinds of
pills that get you up,

to go wrestle.

And then you, you'll take
another little combo

to come back down.

Muscle relaxers
is what it is.

It relaxes your muscles.

You take too many and
you cannot control

walking, talking, nothing.

I didn't like to be
around Marc, because

he kinda was not the Marc
I grew up with, you know?

I was out partying with
all the other wrestlers.

He was in the room with his
pills having a good time.

I remember being on a plane,
me and Marc flying to Europe

or whatever, and him being,
laying beside me and

sleeping, but then
he'd start doing

his twitches and all that.

And I remember one time
this stewardess says,

"Is he okay?
Is he okay"?

I said, "Yes. It's just
his medicine.

It's just his medicine."

Ugh... and I almost tried to
make it sound like,

"Oh, he was
really injured."

And you try to
make up excuses,

that's all I ever did,
I tried to

make up excuses
for him to cover.

It was,
it was just...

I didn't like seeing him
like that,

'cause that's
not Marc, right?

Yeah...

It was tough.

With the success of
Buff's return to WCW...

We understand that
is his mother

pushing Buff Bagwell in.

...a new angle is born,
as Marcus' mother Judy

becomes a part
of the storyline.

Judy Bagwell.
We made her a star.

A lot of the stuff that
we did with Judy and Marc,

I thought it was pretty
good creative, actually.

She loved to perform, too.

I could see where
Marcus got it.

Rick Steiner and my
mom loved each other.

They were great friends.

And he called me up
one day and he goes,

"Look, man,
I got this idea.

You being a bad guy and we're
gonna bring your mom in

and do the, "What are
you doing, Son?

Why are you being a bad guy
to all these fans?"

Your typical mother.

And I said, "I love it.
Let's do it."

You come to me,
and you said,

"Mother, don't you
ever slap me again"!

And I believed
what you said.

[Cheering]

I enjoyed working with
my mom tremendously.

But you know,
you're...

your mom is your
mom still, so,

working with your
family is kind of,

it's kind of
hard sometimes.

She's trying to...

she's throwing everything
she can to get away from

Positively Kanyon.

No, I don't regret
Judy getting involved.

Unfortunately, we leaned on
it a little bit too much and

it went a little farther
and a little longer than

it should've, but I think
initially the things that

we did with Judy
were really good.

I couldn't find the pole
that would

hold that big
fat battle axe.

After Judy's run
comes to an end,

WCW is bought by
their competition,

the World Wrestling
Federation.

As Vince McMahon
only brings some

WCW wrestlers on
to his roster...

-Buff Bagwell up?
-[Cheering]

Buff Bagwell
makes the cut.

Before making his debut,

Marcus attends a
training session

with fellow wrestler,
Shane Helms,

which erupts into a
heated confrontation.

Shane says something
to me like,

"Yeah, Bagwell happened
to be on time today."

Or something,
and I go, "Wow."

I go, "You had a
great day today, brother."

He goes, "Well, I'm hurt."
I go, "Oh, I know, yeah."

I said, "You're always hurt."
Or something.

He goes, "Well at least
I'm not a drug addict."

And I said,
"Look, bro,

we got two ways
to go here.

We can just drop this and
let it go." I said, "Or,

I can just slap your teeth
down your ----ing throat."

♪

Following an
exchange of insults,

Marcus Bagwell threatens
fellow wrestler

Shane Helms with
physical violence.

He goes,
"Take your best shot."

And he didn't get
it shot out of his mouth,

and here come the
Bagwell Slap.

Whap!

The Bagwell slap is something
my father taught us.

It's just a way to
show instant dominance.

You're able to, you know,
slap somebody and

just get a hold of the
situation and let everybody

know what's going on
and who's in control.

And it rolled him
into the corner.

So I go to walk off...

well, I didn't know it, but
he had an ice bottle

under his shirt. A brick-
a frozen brick-

and goes, wham!

[Bang!]

On the back of my head,

me walking away
from behind.

I mean, it was like
a sledgehammer.

And, all of a sudden
I look and

there's just blood
all around me.

I don't tell nobody about it,
I go to my own doctor,

I get my own
doctor to fix it.

No time off.

I wrestled that night with
Booker with

25 staples in my
head that night.

Had to get a black Sharpie
and cover the

staples in that match.

And that night I was main
event with Booker T and

had a decent match,
I thought.

[Indistinct commentary]

We're instantly starting
to get hit with

how bad our match was.

And I go, "What? What?
What happened?

What do you mean,
bad match?"

It wasn't a barn burner,
but there was no mistakes.

But they really just
kept hammering

how bad the match was.

So they called me that week
and they're like, "Hey, man.

We got big plans for you
on, on Monday.

Rest up." You know,
"You're good to go."

And I was fired
the next week.

I went from main event
one week and

was fired in seven days.

Well, the match
wasn't great.

The fact is the
crowd can't help you.

What if I had a
horrible match?

So what?

I'm Buff Bagwell, man.

I gave 11 years to WCW.

Five-time World
Tag Team Champion,

Rookie of the Year.

I'm 31 with that,
with 20 years

coming at me of
wonderful wrestling.

Why would you get
fired over a bad match?

I think it was just,

they were just trying
to get rid of me.

But see, Marc, Marc
slapped him first.

So, if Shane would
have hit him,

Shane would've
probably been gone.

The famous Bagwell Slap,
cost him a...

hundreds of
thousands of dollars.

I was gonna be one of
the biggest names

in pro wrestling,
man, ever.

And instead I was just,
I had a good run,

you know?
That's all.

And that's, that's
hard to deal with, man.

When, when you're
31 years old.

So I dealt with it with,
with pills and alcohol.

So, what was already
getting really bad,

it just-[Whistling]
It got real bad.

I had no, like I said,
I had no,

nobody to answer
to no more.

And I, and I was
depressed now.

Buff Bagwell!

Fired from the
WWF in 2001,

Marcus spends
the next 11 years

wrestling in
independent promotions.

And there it is!
The Block Buster.

Battling his addictions,
Marcus makes

multiple attempts
to get clean.

But in 2012, while
driving home from rehab,

he passes out
at the wheel.

And next thing I know,

I wake up and I'm
driving my car.

I crank my Jeep.

[Screeching tires]

And roll it four times.

So, I almost killed
myself with that,

knocked my teeth
out, and...

but they call that a
withdrawal seizure.

From being clean,
I had a seizure.

They had to put him in
a medically induced coma

because his neck
was swelling.

And they said had he not
had that plate that he had,

from his original broken
neck, he would've,

he would've been dead.

When I saw him
in the hospital,

I couldn't believe
how he looked.

His entire face
was swollen.

And of course, when his
brothers went there

to see him, they were
devastated because,

I mean, you would not have
recognized him.

His face was so bad.

He should not be alive.

I'm telling you, he should
not be alive right now.

He crawled back up
pretty quickly.

My teeth are knocked
out of my head,

I have lost 50 pounds,

and there's bills
that still are coming in

and I don't
know what to do.

We needed money,
and so...

we made it make sense
that I was going to be on

this show called 'Gigolos'
and I was getting paid

$25,000 to do it.

Being a gigolo
isn't always easy.

I do. I was like,
"What the ----?

Get the ---- out of here.

How to ---- he gon' get
onto 'Gigolos' and

he got a dick
about this big"?

-Hey, guys.
-Sup, man.

I don't even have
to say his name?

-Buff Bagwell.
-Buff, man!

They told him he was
gonna make an appearance,

and sort of be a
"mentor" to the guys.

So, we didn't know what
I was doing quite yet.

But I get all the way out
there and all of a sudden

I see what I gotta do,
and I'm like,

"Wait a second, what?
Are you shittin' me"?

Desperate for money,
Marcus Bagwell agrees to

appear on the reality
TV show 'Gigolos.'

Come on In.

But once on set, it becomes
clear that the show

expects more from Marcus
than he anticipated.

-Hi, I'm Bradly.
-Hi Bradly.

He calls me the next day,
and he said,

"I kinda got some...
bad news?"

I go,
"What do you mean"?

He goes, "Well,
it wasn't what I,

what they told me
it was gonna be.

I did more than an
appearance."

And I said, "What are
you talking about"?

I couldn't choose just one.
[Laughing]

-Or two or three.
-Exactly. [Laughing]

He said, "Well..."
[Sighing]

"It's almost
like soft porn."

And I was about to die
when he told me that.

And when he told me
what he had to do,

it broke my heart,
it really did.

'Cause I was like,
"This is, this is bad."

In my scene,
I do remember,

I had zero blood in my,
in my penis.

Zero blood. So I'm like,
"What do I do"?

So I got real close
up to her and

act like we
were having sex.

Well, when the whole
thing got done shooting,

I'm down at the bar in Vegas
with the guy that's paying us

and I said, "Bro."
I go, "I'm so sorry.

I couldn't, I couldn't have
sex with the lady." He goes,

"You're not supposed to."
And I go, "What"?

I go, "Well nobody
told me, bro."

It's sad what a
human will do when

you're in such a situation
of losing your house,

not having food
to go in your mouth.

And we were,
we were broke, man.

But this was a show.

I didn't know it was
gonna be real later.

Cowboys For Angels.
It was a website, um...

that you could hire a
gigolo for a date,

for a weekend,
for a week.

And it was like 10, 15,
$20,000 to,

to do this.

We're trying to pay the
bills and the same time,

keep a marriage.

And it sounds ludicrous
saying it now,

but when you're in it,
it all happens so fast.

[Sighing] I hate talking
about this 'cause

it's just weird, but...

whenever he did get
called to go on a "date",

it turned out that this
woman actually

fell in love with Marc.

Very first one out of the
gate fell in love, and...

it was crazy, and I would
live there for a week,

paying our bills,

and I'd come
home for a week.

He ended up seeing her

without my knowledge.

Judy had a job.

She's got a great job
she really likes.

And at this time it was,
I mean,

she was always gone.

And then I was gone
on the weekend,

so we never
saw each other.

So the transition
from Judy to

this person
that had money,

it was,
it seemed more logical.

And...

they, he called me
at work one day.

This is a really
bad time, and said,

"I think I have fallen in love
and I'm going to leave."

♪

Yeah.

No.

Absolutely I would've
stayed with Judy

if I had to do it over,
but I don't.

And, and things happened,
and it went on.

Dealing with relationship
and financial problems,

Marcus' drug use
spirals out of control,

resulting in
multiple DUIs and

eventually
another car wreck.

And this last one
was devastating.

This last one was, you know,
August of 2020.

I, you know, I went through
the back of a building

behind Cumberland Mall.

♪

And just, you know,
I wasn't there.

I just completely
blacked out.

Went through a bus
station bathroom.

And how I got out and not
killing somebody on

this one, man,
is just...

I got no idea.

I mean, but I'm very
lucky that I'm not dead.

And, and really honest
to God I mean this,

more that somebody
else ain't dead.

After these wrecks
you're just like,

when's it gonna stop?
You know, when's it...

it's, it's, it's
just never ending.

Already at rock bottom
with his addiction,

Marcus receives life
shattering news

about his mother,
Judy.

She was suffering
for a while, man.

She, um...

she had got dementia and
just, was just horribly bad.

I saw the most powerful
woman in the world

really going down
in flames, bro.

I mean, like, like bad.

♪

Marcus Bagwell and his
family now face their

biggest challenge yet,
as his mother, Judy,

is diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease.

She was at a
rehabilitation place.

She had kind of slipped
into a situation

where she
couldn't wake up.

And I had hurt myself,
and I was in the hospital,

and they called me to see
if could get her woke up.

And for over an hour, I,
you know, I kept digging,

trying to get her woke up,
begging her to

open her eyes and,
and talk to us.

Didn't work out at all.

And at some point I
got a call and said,

"Hate to tell you,
Mr. Bagwell,

but your wife died."

One of the greatest
women I ever knew

or anybody
else ever knew.

I mean, everybody says
their mom's the best,

but my mom was the best.

It was a lot of dysfunction.

But they loved their kids,
they really did.

I think it woke him up
more than anything.

His niece came into the
picture because

Marc needed a
place to live.

And so she said,
"You can stay here,

but you're gonna
have to get clean."

Then they said, "Look, if
you don't get sober today,

you don't go today, we're,
we're out of your life."

And I said,
"Let's do it."

And then we brought
Dallas Page in,

and that's how
it all started.

Yeah, absolutely.

I do believe it.

I've talked to him
several times.

It's just like the old Marc.

I can barely see hardly any,
you know, Buff in there.

It was a lot of Marc, now.

So, I do believe him.
I do.

Yeah, I can.

'Dark Side of the Ring'
called me, and they said,

"Hey man, we're gonna,
we're gonna do your story."

And they told me some people
they were gonna reach out to.

And one of them was,
was Scotty Riggs.

And I said, "Cool, great."
I thought,

"You know,
I owe him a call anyway.

I'm gonna call and just touch
base with him."

And he texted me
back and said,

"I'm living in my car the
last six or eight weeks."

My mom got ill and
passed away in 2020,

and went through a

couple years there
paying the bills,

everything else, trying
to keep the house,

the whole nine yards...

ended up losing the
house that I was living in,

and was sleeping
in my car.

And I was in a really
depressed place,

dark state, and was
pretty much...

maybe a half a day away of
putting a gun to my chest

and taking my life.

And Marcus called me up
and just basically

browbeat me to
come to Atlanta.

And he's like, "Dude,
I'm at Diamond Dallas' house.

Get up here." I said,
"Man I, I'm...

content with not being
here anymore."

And he did not give up.

"I love you man, get up
here, get up here."

And that next morning
I drove up here.

And if it wasn't for him,

I probably wouldn't
be here today.

I do. I'll always love,
I'll always love Marc.

I think he's just really,
genuinely this good guy.

And for so long,
people have,

you know, misjudged him.

I think that he has some
good people supporting him,

and he has a wonderful
girl in his life now.

I hope that
works out for him.

I want him to be happy.

I truly want him to be happy.

Marcus Bagwell
is a lovable guy.

It's why his ex-wives
still love him.

It's why friends
still love him.

It's why I still love him.

Despite his faults
and his flaws.

But at Marc's core,
he's a very giving,

generous,
loving person.

I think the same drive that
made him a superstar in

a year, the fortitude,
the gumption,

the want, you know,
the smartness.

He's done a lot of things
in his life that

I was very,
very proud of.

But I think getting sober
and staying sober

is above all of 'em.

The future for me is
sobriety and my recovery.

And no doubt about it,

I wanna be back
in the business.

I wanna be back
in the ring.

Look, if anybody can pull
it off, Marcus Bagwell can.

I'm rootin' for you, baby.

I'm rootin' for ya.
[Laughing]