54-year-old star says he contacted WWE after being released - "They acted like they didn't know who I was"
A wrestling veteran has revealed how he once contacted WWE after being suddenly released from the company only to be met with a cold reception. Buff Bagwell went into detail about being let go from the Stamford-based promotion in 2001.
Bagwell was a part of WCW from 1991 until it folded in 2001 and became part of WWE. However, his tenure in the company didn't extend beyond mere months. The 54-year-old veteran was released from the promotion after a match with Booker T for the WCW World Championship was received poorly backstage.
The former tag team champion hasn't been back in the company since his exit in 2001 but still occasionally wrestles on the independent circuit.
In a recent interview with The Wrestling Chatter, Buff Bagwell revealed that after being shown the door from WWE, the company told him he could be hired back down the line. Bagwell added that when he reached out to the Stamford-based promotion a few months later, he was given a cold shoulder.
"You put Booker T and Buff Bagwell in Atlanta, Georgia (...) and it's going to be a totally different outcome, brother," the veteran opined. "I was told I was released and, 'We would bring you back in three months' and I believed them, and in three months when I called back, they acted like they didn't know who I was," said Buff Bagwell. (H/T: WrestlingInc.)
Buff Bagwell wants a WWE Hall of Fame induction
In an exclusive chat with Mac Davis of Sportskeeda Wrestling last year, Buff Bagwell confessed that he wanted to have a place in the coveted WWE Hall of Fame. Bagwell said he was aware that the goal was a "very hard" one but that he had a deep desire to achieve it and be back under the company's umbrella.
"My long-term goal is, of course, to be in the Hall of Fame. I want to be in the WWE Hall of Fame. I think it's a logical, reachable, attainable goal but a very hard goal but still very attainable. But I really want to work again, man. I want to get back in the ring and show people I can still do the Buff Bagwell strut and execute the Blockbuster from the second rope. I want to be Buff Bagwell in the ring," said Buff Bagwell.
Considering veterans like Ken Shamrock, Diamond Dallas Page, and more were signed to a Legends contract recently, it remains to be seen whether Buff Bagwell could also be brought back under a similar deal.