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Former WWE star Buff Bagwell shared details about the time Shane McMahon threatened to fire him.
Bagwell was one of the first wrestlers to jump ship to WWF after the Stamford-based promotion purchased WCW. He made his televised WWF debut on the July 2, 2001, edition of RAW, where he challenged Booker T for the WCW Championship.
Speaking to Chris Van Vilet about the bout, Buff disclosed that Shane McMahon came to him before his entrance and allegedly threatened to fire him if he dared to look into any of the television cameras:
"My pyro was off the charts, here was what I was told ten seconds before I came through the curtain. Out of nowhere, like a ghost, Shane McMahon appears. He says, ‘Mark, you can’t look in the cameras?’ I go, ‘What?’ He goes, ‘You can’t look in the cameras.’ I go, ‘Shane, that’s all I do. I look in the cameras, I pose and wear the top hat, that is my whole gig, bro.’ He says, ‘You can’t do it or you’re fired.’" [H/T- Inside the Ropes]
Buff Bagwell says Shane McMahons' demand for his WWE debut hurt his presentation
The former WCW star's match against Booker T on Monday Night RAW was his only televised match for the company. The bout went to a no-contest after interference from Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kurt Angle.
Bagwell was soon released from WWE following concerns about his attitude and a confrontation with fellow WCW alumnus Shane Helms.
During the same interview, Buff stated that Shane's demand for not looking in the camera completely altered his presentation.
"I want you to watch a Buff Bagwell match anytime the year before, and then watch that match. I don’t look anywhere near that camera the whole time in three years. That takes me completely out of my world. I come out, do the pyro, do the posing, but then it is like where is the camera? I see it and I start talking to someone over here, I was out of my game right there. They took my leg off right there. I was told not to look in the camera or I was fired," said Bagwell. [H/T- Inside the Ropes]
After leaving WWE in 2001, Bagwell made several appearances with NWA: Total Nonstop Action (now IMPACT Wrestling). He has remained a regular on the North American Indie circuit, competing as recently as October 2022.
