Wrestling figures who have the most heat backstage was the topic on the most recent episode of my favorite wrestling show, Legends of Wrestling on WWE 24/7 On Demand. I could relate to a few of the stories told by the panel – which again consisted of Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Hayes, Mick Foley and Eric Bischoff – because I dealt with some of the individuals they mentioned when I was the editor of WCW Magazine in 2000-01.

When I first started working for WCW, some people in the office smartened me up as to who among the talent would be difficult to work with. I think Lex Luger was at the top of everyone’s list. We didn’t do much with him in the magazine for that very reason, and I didn’t try to interact with him because he always seemed so aloof. There were plans to do a photo spread of Luger going through his workout regimen that he said he was interested in, but we were never able to get him to commit to a firm date.

After I had been with the company about eight months or so, Luger approached me one day at catering before a show. I can’t remember exactly whom I was sitting with at the time, but several of the boys were there.

“Are you the new magazine editor?” Luger asked me. He caught me by surprise because those were the first words he had ever spoken to me. “Well, no, not exactly. I am the editor, but I’ve been here for eight months,” I said.

“Hi, I’m Lex Luger,” he said, extending his hand. “I just wanted to introduce myself. Judging by how much of a presence I have in the magazine, I figured you must not know who I am.” And then he walked away. It was my first and only “conversation” with Luger.

Buff Bagwell also wasn’t too pleased with me on a couple occasions. He felt as if I had wronged him in regard to two of our magazine covers.

The “New Blood” story line began right after I started at WCW, so we decided to put some key members of the group on the cover of the first issue I was involved with. Our art director said we could put up to six people on the cover, but any more than that would make it look too crowded.

Bischoff and Vince Russo, as the leaders of the faction, were a given. Jeff Jarrett was eliminated from consideration because he had been on the cover a couple times right before that. We came up with five other names – Vampiro, Scott Steiner, Billy Kidman, Shane Douglas and Bagwell. There was one too many, so after some discussion among the magazine staff, it came down to Douglas or Bagwell. Ultimately, we chose Douglas because his angle with Ric Flair seemed like a bigger deal than Bagwell’s with Luger.

Right after the magazine came out, Bagwell called me at the office to tell me how upset he was that he wasn’t on the cover. I tried to explain how we arrived at the decision and I also apologized profusely if he felt slighted. Bagwell continued to vent, saying he has always been kept down in WCW and this was just another slap in the face. It was one of the most uncomfortable conversations I have ever had.

Fast-forward to a little less than a year later. Bagwell and Luger had formed a tag team called Totally Buff and we did a cover story on them. Surprisingly, everything seemed to go smoothly with the story and at the photo shoot, and Bagwell and Luger were pleased with the pictures. Then the magazine came out and an upset Bagwell called me again. He took issue with the headline on the cover, which said “Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell: Bodies of Work.”

“You know, it’s so simple and sometimes you guys make it so hard,” Bagwell said. “Our tag team is called Totally Buff, not Bodies of Work. It doesn’t say Totally Buff anywhere on the cover.” The funny thing is that I had decided to put their individual names on the cover rather than the name of the team because I thought they would feel disrespected if their names didn’t appear.

I explained that “Bodies of Work” was sort of a play on words, referring to their physiques (they were flexing shirtless on the cover) as well as their impressive resumes in WCW (which was what the story was about). Bagwell didn’t seem to follow my logic, and just kept saying that the team is called Totally Buff not Bodies of Work. In retrospect, the headline should have read: “Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell: Two Pieces of Work.”

A few other WCW performers that I crossed paths with – Russo, Bill Goldberg and Kevin Nash – also were discussed on Legends of Wrestling. I’ll write about my experiences with them later this week.