'RIGHT DECISION': Former pro wrestler Buff Bagwell happy after leg amputated

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Marcus Bagwell was riding a high as one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling back in the 1990s.

Known as Buff Bagwell in the squared circle, the grappler was a five-time tag team champion in World Championship Wrestling.

Fast forward to August 2020. Bagwell was involved in a car crash that left him with broken ribs, a broken right hip, a broken left socket bone, a broken nose, a torn right groin muscle and a busted right kneecap — which he said “exploded” on impact.

While Bagwell’s other injuries eventually healed, his right leg was a mess.

“I was faced with something that I had never faced before, which was that I couldn’t fix this injury,” Bagwell told People. “Amputation was on the table, I think, instantly, but we tried to save the leg.”

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The 55-year-old required dozens of surgeries since the crash, which left him unable to bend his knee. He walked with a stiff leg and the aid of a cane.

“When you can’t bend your leg, it’s devastating,” he said. “I was very depressed about how it looked. I would always wear pants. Here’s Buff Bagwell, ashamed to wear shorts. I would not be in public with it.”

After living what he calls a “miserable” life since the crash, Bagwell was given the option by doctors to have three surgeries over the next year, skin grafts and a metal rod inserted that would keep his leg straight for the rest of his life.

After being told that there was a 20% chance of working, he finally decided to get his leg amputated.

On July 10, Bagwell had his right leg removed above the knee during a five-hour surgery.

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“There’s no preparing you for waking up,” he said. “When I first woke up, I looked down and I went, ‘Oh my God.’ And it took my breath. I went, ‘Why has my leg gone?’ And your brain’s trying to kick out of the fog of anesthesia and everything. So I’m trying to kick out, and at the same time having an anxiety attack over looking at my leg. It seemed like a couple of minutes, but it was probably 10 seconds long, and at the end of that 10 seconds, I was like, ‘Do you remember how your leg looked, buddy?’ After those 10 seconds, I knew I had made the right decision. There was no doubt in my mind.”

Bagwell said he will be fitted with a prosthetic leg by the end of the month.

“I’m about to cry, because I’m thinking I’m losing a leg. At the end of this thing, I have gained a leg. I will have a leg now. And when you can’t bend that leg, you can’t do anything with the other leg … I have really gained two legs back by getting this amputation, and that’s the first time I’ve said that, but it’s the truth. I went from not being able to exercise my left leg to exercising my left leg, and I’ll have a prosthetic. I have gained two legs out of this. I feel great now.”

Following the surgery, Bagwell said he now has a new lease on life after years of struggle.

“I have a completely new mindset,” he said. “I’m super excited about the future. I’m overwhelmed with joy that the ugliness is cut off. I was very ashamed of it.”