page_title: Buff Bagwell
section_title: The New World Order (1996–1999)
hierarchical_section_title: Buff Bagwell / Professional wrestling career / World Championship Wrestling (1991-2001) / The New World Order (1996–1999)
caption_attribution_description: English: Buff Bagwell posing during a taping of WCW Monday Nitro from Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1998.
context_page_description: Marcus Alexander Bagwell is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling from 1991 to 2001, where he was a five-time World Tag Team Champion.
context_section_description: On November 25, 1996, Bagwell joined the New World Order (nWo) after turning on his partner Scotty Riggs. He soon renamed himself to Buff Bagwell and formed a tag team with Scott Norton called Vicious and Delicious. To go along with his name change he developed the habits of flexing his muscles and would talk to the camera insulting his opponents while complementing himself. While with the nWo, he also competed for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a part of nWo Japan, the NJPW version of the nWo. When he returned to America, he began a feud with Lex Luger, which later saw Bagwell defeat him at Starrcade.
  On the April 22, 1998 edition of Thunder, Bagwell wrestled a tag team match with Scott Norton (representing the nWo) against Rick Steiner and Lex Luger which they won when Scott Steiner interfered on his behalf. Just before that, however, Rick attempted his diving bulldog finishing move, which was not executed correctly and resulted in Bagwell's head striking Steiner's back, jamming his neck and severely injuring him. Bagwell was diagnosed with several damaged vertebrae and developed spinal shock, leading him to use a wheelchair and neck brace for some time. He returned months later for an interview only to be viciously ridiculed by Hollywood Hogan and shoved to the entryway floor. On July 6, after recently having neck surgery, the wheelchair-ridden Bagwell returned to WCW in his home state of Georgia. Bagwell seemed to have a new attitude and even called out Rick Steiner to offer him his forgiveness. However, Bagwell restrained Rick while fellow nWo member Scott Steiner assaulted him with a steel chair, reaffirming his loyalty to Hogan and the nWo. Bagwell then rose from his wheelchair and helped Scott beat down Rick. In January 1999, the nWo factions reunited, leading Bagwell and Steiner to side with the nWo Wolfpac. Their alliance ended at Uncensored when Bagwell accidentally hit Steiner with a chair, costing him the World Television Championship.
caption: Bagwell posing during a taping of Nitro in 1998
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