Buff Bagwell Explains His Decision to Retire

– Buff Bagwell recently spoke with WZ Daily about his decision to retire and more. Here are the highlights…

On an early warning he got about his ring name “Buff Bagwell” : I remember thinking of the name Buff Bagwell and saying, “Oh man! That’s great! It’s perfect!” Then Arn Anderson walked up to me and I remember him saying, “You’re gonna regret that someday.” I really didn’t know what he meant at 25 years old. I asked, “What do you mean?” He said, “Just trust me.” Then he walked off and I really didn’t know what he meant. Fast forward 15-16 years it dogged back to me what he said that day. It was true. I realized what he meant. I was “Buff” Bagwell forever. Kind of like what your finishing move is. Scott Steiner at 280 lbs did the Frankensteiner. He literally and physically crippled himself doing that move but that’s your finisher and people want to see you do it every single night. That’s what my physique is.

On why he is choosing to retire early next year from professional wrestling: It’s really more of the fact that I don’t want to come out and not look like Buff. I don’t know how much longer I can do that. I really don’t. I am never going to come out and have people say, “You know that Buff guy that used to look like this? Well now he looks like this…”

On the one piece of advice that he gives to independent wrestlers most often: Get out of this business now. That’s the honest to God truth. I do it much nicer than that. There are some guys I push that really have the “it” factor.