Shane McMahon played WCW's fictional owner when his father Vince McMahon bought WWE's rivals in 2001. Buff Bagwell, a WCW veteran with 10 years in the company when he joined WWE, recently recalled how Shane McMahon threatened to say goodbye to real life.
On July 2, 2001, Bagwell lost a fight for the WCW heavyweight World Championship against Booker T in his RAW debut. Many fans were not satisfied with the starting combat after WWE turned their flagship program into a WCW show for the star event.
Bagwell commented on his YouTube channel that he was not allowed to play his WCW character during combat. He also revealed details about his conversation with Shane McMahon before the show:
“Shane McMahon told me: 'Don't look at the camera', and I said: 'Shane, that's what I do, man. That's what I do. I look at the camera, I pose and fight the best fight I can,” Bagwell said. “And he replied: 'If you look at the camera, you're fired.' (4:34 – 4:58)
A week later, Bagwell cried and hugged Chris Benoit after the then executive of talent relations, Jim Ross, informed him about his dismissal.
Confusion after reasons at WWE before Booker T vs. Buff Bagwell
The infamous combat ended after Kurt Angle and Stone Cold Steve Austin attack Booker T, causing disqualification.
Austin spoke with Booker T and Buff Bagwell before the event to explain how the fight would end. However, the two fighters did not receive guidance from their superiors due to a lack of communication between producers John laurinaitis and Pat Patterson:
“Pat Patterson manages the star events for WWF (WWE), so Pat thought Johnny Ace (John laurinaitis) had come to us to review the fight,” Bagwell said. “Johnny Ace thought that Pat Patterson came to us to review the fight. Neither Johnny nor Pat came to us to explain the fight. Stone Cold told us what he would do, so no boss supervised my fight with Booker and told us what they wanted.” (7:41 – 8:15)
Bagwell never returned to work for WWE after leaving the company in 2001. The 54 -year -old fighter recently returned to the ring at an independent event.
