As we noted earlier, former WCW star Marcus “Buff” Bagwell underwent a planned above-the-knee leg amputation on Friday, July 18. In a deeply personal and emotional video posted to his YouTube channel, recorded just 12 hours before the procedure, Bagwell, alongside his fiancée Stacy, detailed the grueling five-year journey of pain, addiction, and eventual sobriety that led to this life-altering decision.
“Today, we are 12 hours away from being at the hospital,” Bagwell began in the pre-recorded video. “We gotta be at the hospital at 7:45 tomorrow morning to do an AKA, which is above the knee amputation. This has been a five-year-long journey of trying to save my leg.”
A Five-Year Journey of Pain
Bagwell recounted the severe car accident in August 2020 that started the ordeal, a wreck where he drove through a brick building. The crash “caved in my right patellar tendon,” he explained, an injury that would lead to nearly 40 surgeries over five years. An initial “flap surgery,” where the calf muscle is moved to the knee, led to staph infections and a seven-week hospital stay that included 21 separate surgeries.
“That led me into the deepest, darkest addiction I’ve ever been in,” Bagwell confessed. “Drinking was really never my drug of choice, but it became drinking… I was constantly drinking. It was crazy.” He described how the physical pain and his inability to heal led to depression and isolation.
Rock Bottom and the Road to Sobriety
Bagwell explained that when he realized he could not “fix” the problem with his leg, he made a life-changing choice. “When I couldn’t fix it, instead of continuing to go into my addiction and drinking, I got sober,” he said. He credited Diamond Dallas Page for intervening and setting him on the path to recovery. Bagwell proudly stated that on August 27, 2025, he will be three years sober.
This journey to sobriety has completely changed his perspective on losing his leg. “When I look down and see that I’m getting ready to amputate my leg, no more do I start getting like depressed about it,” he shared. “Instantly I get overwhelmed with joy because of the last three years of my life… what cost me my leg got me sobriety.” He added, “All of a sudden, there was something I couldn’t fix. So I fixed it by fixing my life.”
A “Second Chance at Life”
Bagwell detailed the daily “torture” he has endured for years, which made the amputation the right choice for his quality of life. He revealed that for the past two years, his fiancée Stacy has had to put his socks and shoes on for him every day. “If it’s just an overnight stay, I sleep with my shoe on because I can’t put my shoe on. I can’t take it off to put it on again,” he said, admitting it was the first time he’d ever said that out loud.
He made the final decision after doctors gave him only a 20% chance of saving the leg after three more major surgeries. Now, he is looking forward to a future with a prosthetic and a renewed sense of freedom. “I’ve learned that this is going to give me a second chance at life,” Bagwell stated optimistically. “If just 5% of what I’m seeing is real, I will be the best shape of in a long time. I’ll be in the best shape in 20 years… I’ll be able to eat at restaurants with my leg under the table. I’ll be able to go to church and movies without my leg being out in the aisle.”
Though nervous, Bagwell was resolute in his decision, viewing the amputation as the end of a long fight. “I fought the fight. I looked down and I can say, I tried. Hey buddy, I tried. It’s time to go,” he concluded. “I really do think this is the right call, and I’m really thinking I’m going to have a better quality of life.”
Marcus “Buff” Bagwell has remained a popular figure in the wrestling world, making appearances at conventions and signings. His journey with sobriety, often in partnership with Diamond Dallas Page and his DDP Yoga program, has been a central part of his public life in recent years.
