Former WCW-WWE Star Buff Bagwell Details Decision To Have Leg Amputated

Last week, former WCW star Buff Bagwell revealed that he had his leg amputated following years of complications due to an automobile crash. The wrestler appeared on "Busted Open Radio" yesterday to discuss his health, and in the process, Bagwell went into detail on how he came to the decision to have the leg amputated.

When Bagwell first suffered the injuries in the auto accident, he underwent a procedure called a flap surgery, where he says doctors removed a section of his calf and attached it to his knee. In hindsight, he believes the surgery was a mistake and his condition only worsened.

"When I came out of rehab, I had four open wounds on the leg that had been there for two years," Bagwell stated. "That surgery there caused me to stay drunk for two years. Four open wounds. It wouldn't close. We couldn't make sense out of it. I couldn't do anything with it. I was on walkers and crutches for two years."

After "Diamond" Dallas Page helped Bagwell get sober in 2022, someone suggested that Bagwell should see an infectious disease doctor for his leg wounds. That doctor told him there was a 75% chance that his leg would have to be amputated, though they did everything they could to save it over the last three years.

"The very first medicine they gave us, we realized how bad and wrong we'd been doing it the whole time," Bagwell said. "I'd been putting Neosporin and a big Band-Aid on it for two years, and it was just the wrong thing to do."

According to Bagwell, the 2020 accident destroyed his patella tendon. After five years and dozens of surgeries, it became clear there was no saving his knee, and his leg had to be removed to preserve as much quality of life as possible.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.