Former WCW Tag Team Champion Buff Bagwell recently opened up about his life-changing decision to amputate his leg and the choice to document the process publicly. Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Bagwell explained why he allowed fellow wrestler Maven to film the procedure for YouTube.
When asked what went into the decision to film the amputation, Bagwell gave a candid response regarding the business side of the choice. “Great question, just to be honest with you, ratings,” Bagwell said. “I felt like it would be the best way to let people know, and we could get a rub off of the YouTube channel.”
Bagwell noted that his own producer had suggested documenting the journey, but he was initially skeptical about the financial viability. However, after seeing Maven’s success on the platform, his perspective changed. “I reached out to Maven and said… ‘Hey, brother, what do you think about you being the person that breaks the news on me losing my leg and me getting a little rub from you? You help us along the way, build my channel?’ And he goes, ‘Absolutely, let’s do it.’ And that’s what we did.”
Beyond the video, Bagwell discussed the physical reality of living with a prosthetic limb. He demonstrated the difference between a natural knee and his new mechanical one, emphasizing the functionality he lost. “The human knee is magic. It’s magic, brother… That’s a magical movement that’ll never bend. There’s no ends, but not like that. It just bends when I can kick it out and it comes back down. That’s a $135,000 leg, and it doesn’t do this.”
Bagwell also shared frustration when people compare his situation to amputees with below-the-knee amputations. He highlighted the distinct challenges of his specific surgery. “I’ve been getting this some lately where somebody will tell me a really successful amputation story, and I realize that it’s below the knee… I don’t want to belittle their story, but they kind of dog me out… People just don’t realize how magical that movement you just did with your leg is.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Insight with Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
