Former WWE Superstar Scotty 2 Hotty is pleased to have reached a “personal career highlight” after competing this week for AEW.
Scotty, real name Scott Garland, competed in a dark match this past Wednesday at AEW Dynamite: New Year’s Smash. The match saw the former WWE Tag Team Champion team with The Acclaimed & ‘Daddy Ass’ Billy Gunn to defeat Matt Menard, Jake Hager, and The Gunns. Taking to Twitter, Scotty reflected on being able to compete at the show.
Last night I was able to do this in an arena with my kids in the audience for the first time that they are old enough to remember it. Thank you to @RealBillyGunn & @TonyKhan for making this happen. A personal career highlight for me. pic.twitter.com/9q8NndtWbD
After being released from WWE as a talent in 2007, Garland returned to the promotion in 2016 as a trainer in the Performance Center. Garland remained in the role until November 2021 when he was granted his requested release from the promotion. While he enjoyed his time with WWE, Garland was reportedly at odds with the direction of talent development following the launch of WWE NXT 2.0. He has been working backstage for AEW as a producer since having a tryout in July.
A Return to the Ring?
While this match was Garland’s AEW debut, Garland has remained semi-active in the ring outside of the All-Elite promotion. Garland’s most recent match before this week’s Dynamite was in June and saw him defeat ‘Florida Man’ at a DREAMWAVE Wrestling event. Garland has been open to the possibility of competing more for AEW and has been discussed for matches in the past. Garland was able to use his WWE ‘Too Cool’ theme as AEW acquired the license for it when obtaining the rights to use the Hardy Boyz theme.
AEW producer Scott Garland, formerly known as WWE Tag Team Champion Scotty 2 Hotty, appeared during the pre-show before AEW Dynamite on December 27th.
In a video shared by a fan, Scott Garland entered the ring as the name Scott Garland popped on the screen, and fans popped when they saw his name. AEW also gave him a song that was very similar to the classic Too Cool music.
Despite the name change, Scott Garland’s act mirrors his Too Cool presentation in WWE, complete with song and attire reminiscent of his past. He rocked a bucket hat, cargo pants, and a puffy vest just like we all remember.
Another video shows Scott Taylor performing his signature worm. He teamed up with The Acclaimed against Daddy Magic, Jake Hager, and The Gunns. Taylor also ended the whole bit by scissoring all three members of The Acclaimed after the match.
Scott Taylor, who confirmed his role as an AEW producer in October, has returned to the ring to fanfare. The company’s future plans for him remain uncertain.
Given Scott Taylor’s star power from the Attitude Era, teaming him with Billy Gunn to enhance The Acclaimed’s image could be a strategic move. It sure popped the crowd before Dynamite this week.
Scotty 2 Hotty took a lot of moves throughout his WWE career, but there’s one that he only took once, thanks to Linda McMahon.
Scotty, real-name Scott Garland, signed with WWE in 1997 and was with the company until resigning as a trainer in 2021.
The Move
Appearing this week on the Wrestling with Johnners podcast, Scotty was asked about his match with Dean Malenko at the Backlash 2000 Pay Per View.
The match for the Light Heavyweight Championship ended with Malenko countering Scotty’s attempted Superplex from the top-rope into a Cradle-DDT that spiked Scotty’s head into the mat.
The finish earned a loud response from fans, but it wasn’t Scotty’s idea, as he explained on the podcast (via Wrestling Inc.)
“It was Dean’s idea. He told me had done it with (Chris) Jericho; I recently just saw it with Jericho taking it a month ago for the first time and I was like ‘oh, that’s what I was supposed to do.’
“I was supposed to jump out further so I would land more on my stomach and I didn’t jump out. I just kind of spiked myself right into the mat from the top-rope.”
Scotty went on to say that it was “very dangerous” and he could have easily broken his neck.
Linda McMahon
The move, if done incorrectly, could have resulted in severe neck problems for Scotty, with the match taking place less than a year after Darren Drosdov had been paralysed during a match.
Speaking about the reaction backstage, Scotty recalled being confronted by then-WWE CEO Linda McMahon.
“don’t ever do that again!”
Linda McMahon’s words of warning to Scotty 2 Hotty
Scotty told Linda that she didn’t need to worry about him taking the move again, as he wasn’t planning on it.
Longtime WWE employee and former on-air talent, Scotty 2 Hotty is looking to make his exit from the company.
Scotty debuted for WWE all the way back in 1997. He had his greatest run when he was a member of Too Cool along with Rikishi and Grandmaster Sexay.
Scotty 2 Hotty Says Goodbye To WWE
(via WWE)
Unless WWE sees value in Scotty enough to deny his release request, it looks like the former Too Cool member is on his way out the door. He expressed gratitude to the company and his fans.
“Today, I have asked for my release from World Wrestling Entertainment. 30 years ago I stepped into a WWE ring for the very first time.
“I have lived my dream 100 times over. Some of my most special memories will always be from the last five years working with NXT.
“The black and gold brand was something special and I am proud to have been a small part of that. I always promised myself that I would never be part of something solely for the paycheck and that was where I was at.
“I told myself that I would walk away if I ever got to that point, so that is what I have chosen to do. Coaching and producing the stars of NXT will always be a highlight of my life. I love you all more than you will ever know.”
Wrestling World Reacts
Scotty 2 Hotty has received a slew of support from the wrestling community. He has been showered with kind words from notable names.
Thank you for everything you’ve done for my career and everyone else @TheScotty2Hotty! You provided a completely unique perspective to training everyday that made everyone better for it!
Scotty’s first run with WWE ended with his release back in May 2007. He never truly left the company, however, as he made sporadic appearances in the months and years that followed.
Former WWE Star Scotty 2 Hotty, real name Scott Garland joined WWE performance center as a coach in 2016 and since then he has helped train a number of NXT Stars.
During a recent appearance on E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness,
the former Tag Team Champion talked about his experience of training stars and
more.
While talking about one of the hottest NXT Stars in the
current roster, Velveteen Dream, Scotty praised the Dream saying that he ‘gets
it’.
He explained his comments by saying that at only 23 years
old, Velveteen has got everything. You can see in his work that he is a fan and
he loves wrestling.
Continuing on the topic, Scott also praised the NXT star’s Work Ethics and said that he sees shades of legends like Randy Savage and Rick Rude in him.
Though Dream is not the only star the former Champion has worked with and he has also trained some current main roster stars like Elias and Lacey Evans in their early days too.
Talking about them, Hotty said that he has got the coolest job on the planet and it’s cool to see these stars going from zero to becoming main event talents in top WWE shows. You can check out Scotty 2 Hotty’s interview at this link.
– Former WWE Hardcore Champion Terri Runnels was at WWE HQ last week to film material for future WWE Network programming.
– In the video below, WWE Strength & Conditioning Coach Sean Hayes taking us inside the recent WWE Performance Center Combine:
– Speaking of the WWE Performance Center, WWE confirmed that Scotty 2 Hotty has been hired as a full-time coach. They announced the following:
Scotty 2 Hotty joins WWE Performance Center as a coach
The WWE Performance Center coaching staff has added another former champion to the team.
Attitude Era favorite Scotty 2 Hotty — aka, Scott Taylor— began coaching NXT recruits full-time this week in Orlando, Florida. A former WWE Tag Team and Light Heavyweight Champion, Taylor visited the Performance Center as a guest coach in June, and has competed in WWE and NXT as recently as 2014.
Famous for his outstretched hair and crowd-pleasing “Worm” taunt, Taylor became one of the most popular WWE Superstars of The Attitude Era, teaming regularly with Too Cool partner Grandmaster Sexay and WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi.
He joins another former teammate at the Performance Center in the form of Head Coach Matt Bloom. Bloom and Taylor partnered in 2001-2002, while Bloom competed under the moniker of the “Hip Hop Hippo” Albert.
Another Attitude Era star is returning to WWE in a behind-the-scenes role. Former WWE Tag Champion Scotty 2 Hotty, real name Scott Garland, has officially signed on to coach trainees at the WWE Performance Center. Garland first began working at the Performance Center on a part-time basis as a guest coach, and has now graduated to a full-time position.
He made several one-off returns in the last 10 years for WWE, including on 2014’s Old School RAW and again that year on NXT Arrival. Garland stayed in shape and worked as a firefighter during his time away from WWE.
– Part one of Jim Ross’ in-depth interview with TNA announcer Mike Tenay is available on the latest edition of his “Ross Report” podcast, which you can download at PodcastOne.com.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Bret Hart celebrates his 58th birthday today. “The Hitman” was born on July 2, 1957. Other wrestling birthdays today include former Attitude Era star Scotty 2 Hotty (45) and referee Charles Robinson (51).
– WWE taped the following matches for tonight’s SmackDown:
* Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose
* Adam Rose vs. R-Truth
* Mark Henry vs. Ryback
* Brie Bella vs. Naomi
* The Prime Time Players vs. The Ascension
* Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns
For complete SmackDown spoilers for tonight, click here.
Former WWE Superstar Scotty 2 Hotty recently spoke with The Portland Press Herald about a number of topics. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On hw he got his nickname: “I had changed my name to Scott Taylor for wrestling. I was going to use “TNT” for my middle name but someone was already using that. In 1998 I became a tag team partner with “Too Sexy” Brian Christopher. I soon became known as Scott “Too Hot” Taylor. We became known as “Too Much” as a tag team. We were both renamed a year later. Christopher became known as “Grandmaster Sexay” and I became “Scotty 2 Hotty,” and it stuck.
“For the first six years I was in WWF, I was just another wrestler and got beat most of the time. I worked my way up and got an identity. Once you find a character that works, you stick with it. I would say I’ve been a good guy more than I’ve been a villain. I won three titles with WWF – two tag team titles and one light heavyweight title.”
On how many organizations he’s worked for: “Hundreds. I’m not working for any particular group right now. Basically I’m an independent contractor and hire myself out to wrestling companies. In the past year I’ve wrestled on both coasts, the United Kingdom, Australia, and last December I was in Japan. Every wrestler’s goal should be to make it to the WWE.
“Because I wrestled in the WWF, I’m able to do what I do now. Wrestling fans know me all over the world. At this point in my career, this is right for me. I’m having a blast 220 days a year. A lot of times I get to a location early and do some sightseeing. I wasn’t able to do that when I was with WWF. I wrestled in Fall River, Massachusetts, recently in the same building I started my career in 25 years ago.”
His current physical condition: “I feel I’m close to the best shape of my career. My weight is 190 pounds. The heaviest I’ve been in my career was around 205. I take better care of myself now, I eat better and I’m home more often. I’ve had neck and back surgerie the past. You kind of learn to work smarter, not harder.”
Former WWE Superstar Scotty 2 Hotty was not the only person who was upset about Rikishi’s WWE Hall of Fame induction.
There was also some drama over the fact that Rikishi’s cousin and former Head Shrinkers tag team partner Samu was also not invited to the show. Samu’s father Afa and Roman Reigns’ father Sika were said to be unhappy about the Samu’s omission.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that WWE did eventually invite Samu to ease the tensions amongst the Anoia family, but the damage was already done – and this was before they got even more upset about Reigns not winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31.
The following are highlights of a new Wrestling 101 interview with the former three-man tag-team, “Too Cool,” which consisted of Rikishi, Brian “Grandmaster Sexay” Christopher and Scotty 2 Hotty:
Brian Christopher on The Rock: “He would pick my brain because he was getting a lot more TV time than I was, so he would ask me how I thought his interview went and I would tell him he need to work on this or you need to pause a little bit longer before you say this…we then worked on his moves together and came up with things like ‘The Peoples Elbow.'”
Brian Christopher on defeating the Legion of Doom: “I’ll never forget that because the Road Warriors at the time couldn’t believe that they were about to lay down to a couple of 215lbs guys because their egos were as big as you could get and their muscles were as big as the steroids would get them.”
Scotty 2 Hotty on wrestling whilst still in school: “That was awesome, I was still in high school at the time which is just crazy for me to think about now. I was with the WWF when I was in high school, I was in a locker room at a WWF event with Hulk Hogan, Sid Vicious, The Undertaker, and Bret Hart then two days later I’m sitting back in class. I was getting to wrestle some of the biggest names in the world, it was an amazing experience.”
Rikishi on the Rusev/Rock segment: “Oh my god, we were all happy, anytime you work with The Rock that’s a treat because Rusev’s not the champ. It was a good deal, Rock knew Rusev came from our school and he didn’t have to do that but he did, family looking out for family. That segment with The Rock just took Rusev to another level, and I was very excited.”
Rikishi on Vince McMahon: “He is the type of person that likes it when you go over and talk to him and ask him questions they may have about their character. Nine times out of ten when they’ve finished talking to him he hasn’t really answered their question but at the same time they’re not.”
Check out the complete interview at Wrestling101.com.
The following are highlights of a recent Rodolfo Roman interview with Jerry Lawler:
On his son Brian Christopher returning to NXT with Scotty 2 Hotty: “I was really happy for him. Brian and Scotty are doing quite a few appearance across the county. There’s so much wrestling going on all over the place, independent shows around the country. Scotty, Brian and Rikishi, they are busy every single week doing something. He’s not on WWE TV but he’s available all the time. They might bring him back. Who knows? He’s staying real busy which is good.”
On bringing his Memphis Wrestling library to the WWE Network: “We’re in negotiations. They’re sending a crew down next week to Memphis to evaluate the tapes, see what they want and what is still useable. We produced a 90 minute wrestling show every Saturday morning live for 21 straight years so there’s a lot of footage, a lot of tape out there. Hopefully one of these days we will have it on the WWE Network. So many of the stars you’ve seen in WWE over the years either started or came through Memphis Wrestling at one point.”
The following are highlights of a new Orlando Sentinel interview with Scotty 2 Hotty:
On getting back into wrestling after his “Old School RAW” appearance: “I realized last year I went to fire school and EMT school and graduated both of those, finished up and started looking for a job and I thought I was out of wrestling, and then I got the call to go to ‘Old School’ Raw and doing that and being there for the day I realized I know I can still go, I don’t want to be that guy embarrassing himself, I know I can still go. I’m in better shape now then the last time I was there full-time. And you just know there’s probably only a few more years where I can do this and the level I want to do it. I started taking a little bit more (bookings). I’ve said for the last few years I’m just using this as a vehicle to take me to different places I’ve never been anyways. I just went to Ecuador for the first time, South America for the first time ever, stuff like that. I tell my kids find a job that’s going to pay you to travel the world on someone else’s dime and that’s basically what I use it for now.”
On working with WWE again: “You know what’s so cool wrestling for them now? When you’re there as a full-time guy and you’re wrestling four nights a week, you kind of take it for granted. Everything is going 100 miles an hour. Whereas now, like when I went back for ‘Old School’ Raw, you go this could be the last time. And you kind of appreciate it more. You take it all in. And then same thing for NXT. This could be the last time I’m in a WWE ring. Hopefully it’s not and chances are it’s not going to be because I’m still in decent shape and relatively young. I’m sure there’ll be more coming down the road but you say that to yourself and appreciate it.”
– Former WWE Superstar Scotty 2 Hotty has just recently finished up a two-week run as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Scotty had been working in the ring with many of the current NXT talents and helping the guys with a number of things.
– The official WWE website has recently published a list of the top ten greatest Elimination Chamber matches in history. The top five is as follows:
1. Triple H vs. Booker T vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kane vs. Shawn Michaels (Survivor Series 2002)
2. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton vs. Goldberg vs. Kevin Nash (SummerSlam 2003)
3. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle vs. Carlito vs. Chris Masters vs. Kane (New Year’s Revolution 2006)
4. John Cena vs. Edge vs. Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Kane vs. Mike Knox (No Way Out 2009)
5. Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho vs. JBL vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H vs. Umaga (No Way Out 2008)
– WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee attended the Wizard World Ohio Comic Con late last year (along with Sheamus) and revealed that she actually turned down an offer to be part of the Total Divas reality show.
– Attitude Era star Scotty 2 Hotty, who returned as part of the Too Cool act at Old School RAW a couple of weeks ago, attended the WWE NXT event in Daytona, Florida. Scotty tweeted the following photo from the show:
-WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley will be doing a stand-up show on Wednesday, October 30th at the Orlando Improv. Former WWE Superstars Nick “Eugene” Dinsmore and Scotty 2 Hotty will be appearing with him for a Q&A segment during the show. For more information, visit RealMickFoley.com.
-WWE has added a profile page for former AWA World Heavyweight Champion Stan Hansen on their Alumni section.
-The following is a new Diabolique Magazine interview with WWE Superstar Kane:
– After taking a break for Christmas, WWE is back on the road tonight with the first WWE Holiday Tour shows. RAW is in Detroit, Michigan while SmackDown is in Chicago, IL. Top matches on the RAW card include John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler, Antonio Cesaro vs. The Miz, The Shield vs. Ryback & Team Hell No and more. SmackDown will be headlined by Sheamus vs. Big Show.
Former WWE tag team champions the New Age Outlaws return to action tonight in Detroit, wrestling Team Rhodes Scholars. “Road Dogg” BG James wrote this on Twitter about the Outlaws riding again tonight:
Tonight, in Detroit rock city, the Outlaws ride again! Team Rhodes Scholars will be educated; Old School Education. #NAO#DGenerationX
