Tag: scotty 2 hotty

AEW coach Scotty 2 Hotty announces engagement

Posted on by Joseph Currier

AEW coach Scott Garland — the former Scotty 2 Hotty — shared some big news this week, revealing that he is now engaged.

Garland and his partner Eva got engaged at the Disney Family Farm in Marceline, Missouri, where the Walt Disney Hometown Museum is located. Garland is a long-time Disney fan and theme park visitor.

The 52-year-old Garland has been married once before and has two adult children — a daughter named Taylor and son named Keagan.

Back in August, Garland and his son shared a special moment when they teamed together in a dark match at an AEW event. Keagan wrestles on the indies and graduated Ace Steel’s Foundation of Wrestling school this summer after starting the program as a beginner.

Garland is best known for his time competing in WWE as a member of Too Cool during the 1990s and 2000s. He still wrestles in the ring on the indies but is mostly focused on his work behind the scenes as a coach and producer for AEW. Garland started in that role on a trial basis in 2023 and then joined AEW full-time at the start of 2024. He has past experience coaching for WWE in NXT.

Scotty 2 Hotty on competing with son at AEW taping: That was ‘special’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Scott Garland — the former Scotty 2 Hotty — had a special experience this week competing alongside his son at an AEW taping.

At Wednesday’s Dynamite in Scotland, Garland teamed up with his son Keagan on the ROH TV taping portion of the show. They took on Jon Cruz & Bret Levi in a tag team match.

In a tweet, Garland thanked everyone at AEW who made this moment possible for him.

“Last night was special!,” he wrote on Thursday. “My son, @KeaganGarland and I were able to team up in a match before the cameras started rolling for AEW Dynamite at the OVO Hydro arena in Glasgow, Scotland. Thank you to @AEW and everyone that played a part in making this moment happen for us.”

Garland started working as a coach and producer for AEW on a tryout basis in 2023 after previously working behind the scenes in WWE. He then took on the role full-time at the beginning of 2024.

This was Garland’s second time ever competing at an AEW event. The former WWE Tag Team and Light Heavyweight Champion first wrestled for AEW in a dark match in December 2023.

Keagan Garland is an indie wrestler who recently became the first graduate of Ace Steel’s Foundation of Wrestling school after starting in the program as a beginner.

ROH spoilers from Glasgow: Scotty 2 Hotty & son in tag team action

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: Limitless Wrestling

Former WWE star and current AEW producer Scotty 2 Hotty made his return to Ring of Honor for the first time in 15 years on Wednesday, teaming with his son for the first time in the promotion.

S2H and the debuting Keagan Garland were part of the ROH tapings prior to the Dynamite taping at the OVO Hydro in Glasglow, Scotland. The two defeated Jon Cruz & Bret Levi which is expected to air on a future ROH TV broadcast.

Garland, trained by Ace Steel, has teamed with his father several times in his very young career including two appearances for Maine’s Limitless Wrestling. S2H is a native of the state.

S2H’s only ROH match before Wednesday was a two-minute defeat to Larry Zbyszko at SoCal Showdown in January 2010.

Here’s the full results from the ROH taping:

  • Trish Adora defeated Alexxis Falcon
  • Scotty 2 Hotty & Keagan Garland defeated Jon Cruz & Bret Levi
  • Lance Archer (w/ Rocky Romero) defeated two local wrestlers. Grado appeared afterward and brawled with Archer, getting a low bridge on him before exchanging blows with Rocky Romero.

Scotty 2 Hotty makes AEW in-ring debut in Dynamite dark match

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Scott Garland, formerly known as Scotty 2 Hotty in WWE, made his in-ring debut for AEW in a dark match at Wednesday’s Dynamite taping.

Announced as Scott Taylor, Scotty 2 Hotty teamed with The Acclaimed & “Daddy Ass” Billy Gunn in the dark match, defeating The Gunns, Jake Hager, & Matt Menard in an eight-man tag team bout. 

Scotty 2 Hotty entered to Too Cool’s WWF music for the bout. 

Garland has been working with AEW as a producer and coach since receiving a tryout in that role in July. In an October interview, Garland said that if all went well he was expecting to join the company in a full-time producer’s role beginning in 2024. 

Prior to joining AEW, Garland was a WWE Performance Center coach from 2016 until requesting his release from the company in 2021. 

Since leaving WWE, Garland has worked a regular independent wrestling schedule as a performer, including a recent tour of European indie promotions in November and earlier this month.

Serpentico defeated Tony Nese in the other dark match held prior to Dynamite on Wednesday night in Orlando, Florida.

Scotty 2 Hotty gives update on behind-the-scenes role with AEW

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Scott Garland (former WWE wrestler Scotty 2 Hotty) has given an update on his AEW status.

While speaking with Wrestling With Johners, Garland confirmed that he’s been working for AEW as a coach and a producer. Garland said that, if everything works out the way he hopes it does, he’ll have the opportunity to do more behind-the-scenes work with AEW on a regular basis starting at the beginning of 2024.

Garland said:

I don’t think it’s a huge secret, I’ve been working for AEW as a producer behind the scenes. As a coach and producer there. And I have the opportunity to do more with them on a regular basis. So it looks like probably at the beginning of the year, I’ll be going pretty hard with them. If everything works out the way I hope it does.

PWInsider reported this July that Garland had been given a tryout with AEW as a producer/agent. Garland previously worked as a coach for WWE NXT from 2016 until requesting his release from the company in 2021.

Garland has competed on the indies since departing his NXT job. This November and December, Garland is doing a five-week tour of European indies. Garland told Wrestling With Johners that he likely won’t be able to do these kinds of long-term European tours once he starts working for AEW on a regular basis.

During his time wrestling for WWE, Garland was a two-time Tag Team Champion and also held the Light Heavyweight title once. He was best known as a member of Too Cool with Brian Christopher and Rikishi.

Report: AEW gives Scotty 2 Hotty producer tryout, Chris Hero hired full time

Posted on by Ian Carey

A new name was reportedly working backstage in a trial role at AEW Dynamite last night. 

According to a report from PWInsider, the former Scotty 2 Hotty (Scott Garland) has been given a tryout as a producer/agent for the company. He worked last night’s AEW Dynamite in the role. 

PWInsider is also reporting that Chris Hero, who began working backstage for AEW on a trial basis last month, has been hired full-time. He is said to have received high marks for his work. Hero’s first day backstage with AEW was at the debut edition of AEW Collision in Chicago on June 17. 

Garland was a member of the NXT coaching staff from 2016 until he requested his release from the company in late 2021. Following his departure, he returned to the ring for the first time in over five years at a GCW show on New Year’s Day 2022. He has kept an active schedule wrestling for promotions such as Smash, ICW, WrestlePro, and OVW since. 

Garland spoke to our own Antonio Thomas about his WWE departure in February 2022. 

Left My Wallet: Scotty 2 Hotty on leaving WWE, why he wanted to get back out on the indies

Posted on by Antonio Thomas

Left My Wallet is back with former WWE superstar and NXT coach and trainer Scotty 2 Hotty.

Scott Garland is a fellow New Englander and we talk about our love for our Boston Red Sox growing up, the heartache we went through as fans before 2004, meeting Bill Buckner, and becoming spoiled with four World Series wins.

We then talk about his time coming up through the New England independent scene and some of the workers who helped him throughout his early career. We go into his first match, setting up the ring at WWF house shows in Maine, starting as a “backyarder” and how he was pretty much trained during matches.

We then talk about his philosophy about getting back out on the indies, why he chose to do so, marketing himself, what he will and won’t do, and finding a new love for wrestling.

We then finish up with some talk about the in-ring working aspects of the business (including some long-lost keys) and who the greatest worker he ever stepped in the ring with was. 

The former Too Cool member is the definition of fun and to no surprise, this was a very fun episode! Whether you know him as Scotty 2 Hotty, S2H, Scott Taylor, Scott Garland or just Scotty, hear his takes on feeling reinvigorated and the exciting things he has coming up.

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Wrestling Weekly: Well-dressed trainers, who’s staying in WWE, NXT & Dynamite rundowns

Posted on by Victor Sosa

Among the items up for discussion on today’s Wrestling Weekly are mandatory wardrobe upgrades for coaches in WWE NXT, Sami Zayn staying in WWE while Mustafa Ali wishes he could leave, WALTER/Gunther, and some observations from this week’s episodes of NXT and AEW Dynamite.

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!

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Scotty 2 Hotty: Vince McMahon wanted WWE NXT coaches to ‘look younger’ by dying beards, cutting hair

Posted on by Josh Nason

In his first interview since asking for his release from WWE NXT, Scotty 2 Hotty talked to Chris Jericho about why he wanted out and his final days with the brand, including an edict Vince McMahon laid down about how the coaches should look.

Scotty 2 Hotty (Scott Garland) said that among the changes backstage, like requiring trainers to dress in business casual attire after years of wearing branded track suits, McMahon decreed that the trainers should “look younger” by dying their beards and cutting their hair even though they weren’t on camera.

Garland, who had been a trainer for four years in NXT, said he lost sleep over the new rules, thinking if that was a new requirement, what else could be coming next?

He said his first four years in NXT “was a dream job” and that it was the hottest brand in wrestling for a long time. He understands why all the changes happened, but that the end of the Paul Levesque era “pisses you off, but it’s also sad. We lost this thing…it’s like dealing with a death.”

Garland said that Levesque used to say they could make millions off bottling up the NXT culture, but to Garland, that culture has been lost to a degree with the changes.

“It was the coolest environment I’ve been around in 30 years of pro wrestling,” he said.

He requested his release because he wasn’t having any fun and it was time to move on. He felt the same as when he re-signed a three-year deal in 2006 and was cut a year later. He vowed then to never keep working somewhere if he wasn’t happy, leading to his decision.

He said he looked around at people like Jericho, Matt Hardy, Matt Cardona and others around his age having fun in AEW and the indies and that if he was ever going to get back in the ring, the time was now to do that.

After making his in-ring debut against Joey Janela, Garland said his goal is to have fun. He is unsure what name he is going to use, but already has dates booked overseas and is excited about what is to come.

The hour-long interview saw Garland talk about how he first got into the then-WWF, the evolution of his team with Brian Christopher and Rikishi, how his Worm finisher came about and more.

Scotty 2 Hotty to face Joey Janela at GCW Die 4 This

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A match between Joey Janela and Scotty 2 Hotty has been made for GCW’s Die 4 This on New Year’s Day.

The match was made after Scotty called out Janela on Twitter, who was disappointed his original match with Drew Parker was called off due to changes with Japanese travel restrictions.

“I heard it’s a little cold for baseball in Atlantic City this time of year, but I’m down to take a little batting practice anyways…What do ya think, Bad Boy?” he wrote. GCW then confirmed the match a few hours later.

“Welcome back @TheScotty2Hotty,” Janela replied. “First match in 6 years! Time to burn it down with The Bad Boy in Atlantic City!”

Scotty announced in November that he had requested and was granted a release from WWE, where he had been working as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center since 2016.

Also set for Die 4 This at the Showboat in Atlantic City, New Jersey is Alex Colon vs. John Wayne Murdoch and Calvin Tankman vs. Tracy Williams. Homicide is also slated to be on the show.

NXT producer Scotty 2 Hotty requests release from WWE

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: WWE

NXT coach and producer Scott Garland (formerly known as Scotty 2 Hotty) is departing WWE.

Garland posted a statement on Tuesday announcing that he’s requested his release from WWE. He had worked in his role in NXT since joining the coaching staff in 2016.

Garland noted that he’s always promised himself that he would never be part of something solely for the paycheck, and that was where he was currently at.

“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,” Garland wrote.

“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.”

During his in-ring career with WWE, Garland was a two-time Tag Team Champion and a one-time Light Heavyweight Champion. He was part of Too Cool during the Attitude Era alongside Grandmaster Sexay/Brian Christopher and Rikishi.