.jpg) Garland in 2010 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Scott Ronald Garland[5][6] (1973-07-02)July 2, 1973 (age 52)[7][8] Westbrook, Maine, U.S.[2] |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Scott Garland Scott Taylor[1][2] Scotty 2 Hotty[2] Skippy Taylor Too Hot |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 220 lb (100 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | Westbrook, Maine[3] |
| Debut | 1989[2][4] |
Scott Ronald Garland[5][6] (born July 2, 1973) is an Americanprofessional wrestler signed toAll Elite Wrestling as a producer and coach. He is best known for his appearances with theWorld Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWE) under thering names "Too Hot"Scott Taylor (1991–1999) andScotty 2 Hotty (1999–2007).[2] During his WWE career, Garland held theWWF World Tag Team Championship,WWE Tag Team Championship andWWF Light Heavyweight Championship.
At approximately 14 or 15 years old, Garland wrote to Sue Aitchison, the Community Relations Specialist of theWorld Wrestling Federation, inquiring from whichprofessional wrestling school the company recruited the majority of their employees. Aitchison responded by telling him that they did not recruit from any particular school and wished him luck. Garland then attempted to callVince McMahon, but was unable to speak to McMahon directly.[4][9]
Garland began attending shows at theCumberland County Civic Center inPortland, Maine, helping the ring crew to construct thewrestling ring.[2][4] After anindependentpromoter saw Garland wrestling with his friends, he offered Garland a job.[4] In his first match, Garland wrestled Steve Ramsey in a Portlandarmory on November 23, 1989, the same night theSurvivor Series was taking place.[4][10][11] In the same year, Garland began wrestling for theMassachusetts-basedNew England Wrestling.
In August 1991, Garland was introduced to the WWF by fellow NEW wrestlerPhil Apollo.[4][10] Garland made his first appearance with the World Wrestling Federation in October 1991 while still ajunior inhigh school, teaming with Sonny Blaze and using the ring name "Scott Taylor".[2][4] Garland appeared sporadically with the WWF as anenhancement talent over the next six years, losing to wrestlers such asThe Berzerker,Yokozuna andThe Ringmaster.[2]
Garland continued to attendcollege throughout his early tenure, and in 1994, he supplemented his income by working as aFleet Bankbank teller and as the assistant manager of aSpencer's Gifts outlet.[11]
Garland made two appearances forExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in February 1997, losing both matches toTaz.
In 1997, Garland, now working forinsurance companyUnum,[11] planned to wrestle tryout matches forExtreme Championship Wrestling. Upon hearing of his plans, President of the WWF Talent RelationsBruce Prichard signed him to a contract.[4] Garland began wrestling in the Light Heavyweight division as Scott Taylor. In late 1997, he took part in an eight-man tournament for the vacantWWF Light Heavyweight Championship, but was eliminated in the second round after beingchokeslammed byKane.[2][4]
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On March 29, 1998 atWrestleMania XIV, Taylor and"Too Sexy" Brian Christopher teamed together for the first time, taking part in atag teambattle royal.[12] Following WrestleMania XIV, Taylor and Christopher continued to team together on the WWF'ssyndicated Saturday wrestling shows, with Taylor playing thestraight man to Christopher's over-the-top, egotistical antics. Soon, Taylor adopted Christopher's flamboyant actions and in-ring mannerisms and became known as Scott "Too Hot" Taylor, with the duo dubbed "Too Much".[6][2] In June 1999, they were renamed "Too Cool" and given the characteristics of hip hop aficionados.
Shortly after debuting their newgimmicks, the team was temporarily separated after Christopher tore hisanterior cruciate ligament and was sidelined for five months. During this time, Taylor began incorporatingbreakdancing moves into his matches.[2] In late 1999, Taylor was renamed Scotty 2 Hotty and Christopher was renamed Grandmaster Sexay. They aligned themselves withRikishi Fatu (whom they quickly renamed Rikishi), forming afaction.[6] Following their matches, they would dance in the center of the ring.[4]
In early 2000, the group began feuding withThe Radicalz, culminating with Too Cool teaming withChyna to defeatEddie Guerrero,Perry Saturn andDean Malenko atWrestleMania 2000. After Grandmaster re-injured his leg, Scotty briefly returned to the Light Heavyweight division, and on April 17, 2000, he defeated Radicalz member Dean Malenko to win the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship. He held the title for only 10 days beforedropping it back to Malenko on April 27, 2000.[2][13] Scotty challenged Malenko for the title once more atBacklash, but was defeated.[14] Grandmaster returned in mid-2000, and on May 29, Too Cool defeatedEdge and Christian for theWWF Tag Team Championship with the assistance of rapperJoe C. They held the title untilKing of the Ring, when Edge and Christian regained the title.[15]
Too Cool and Rikishi separated in late 2000 after Rikishi was revealed to haverun overStone Cold Steve Austin. Rikishi subsequentlyeasily defeated his former allies in ahandicap match. In March 2001, theintervertebral disc between Scotty's C5, and C6, C7vertebra bulged, and he was forced to take time off and do physical therapy 5 days a week.[6][4] His absence was explained that he suffered a (kayfabe) broken ankle at the hands ofKurt Angle on the March 5, 2001 episode of Raw. While Scotty was recuperating, Grandmaster was released from the company forillegally conveying drugs across theCanada–United States border.[16]
Scotty returned to the ring in June 2001, taking part in the rivalry between Team WWF andThe Alliance. During this time, he formed a tag team withAlbert, who subsequently adopted the nickname "The Hip Hop Hippo", and they collectively became known as the "Zoo Crew". The team competed in the tag team division until April 2002, when Albert betrayed Scotty by attacking him. Soon thereafter, Scotty began experiencing pains in his previously injured neck, and on May 7, 2002, Dr. Lloyd Youngblood performed neck surgery (cervical fusion) on him.
Scotty spent 18 months recuperating, returning to the ring on television in October 2003. Wrestling on theSmackDown!brand, Scotty formed a tag team with his former ally Rikishi.[6] Together, they competed in the tag team division and ultimately defeated theBasham Brothers to win theWWE Tag Team Championship on February 5, 2004.[17] Scotty and Rikishi successfully defended their titles in a four-way tag team match atWrestleMania XX.[18] Their reign ended on April 22, 2004 when they were defeated byCharlie Haas andRico.[17] AtJudgment Day, Scotty lost toMordecai in Mordecai's in ring debut. On July 16, 2004, WWE released Rikishi, leaving Scotty on his own.
After Rikishi's release, Scotty wrestled mainly onVelocity and indark matches until early 2007. He also teamed withFunaki from 2005 to 2006. In late 2004, Scotty had a scare oftesticular cancer, but he quickly recovered and was back wrestling within a couple of months. In February 2007 he returned briefly to theRaw roster, competing in a handful of matches onWWE Heat. He was released from the company on May 18, 2007.[19]
Seven months after his release, on the December 10, 200715-Year Anniversary special episode ofRaw, Scotty would take part in a "15-Year FlashbackBattle Royal", lasting to the final four before being eliminated bySkinner.[20] On the August 15, 2012 episode ofNXT, Scotty would make a surprise appearance, defeatingHeath Slater.[21] On the January 6, 2014 episode ofRaw, Scotty would reunite with Grand Master Sexay and Rikishi, defeating 3MB (Heath Slater,Drew McIntyre andJinder Mahal) in a six-man tag team match. On February 24, atNXT Arrival, Scotty would team with Sexay, challengingThe Ascension for theNXT Tag Team Championship in a losing effort.
On September 7, 2016, Garland made his return to WWE as a trainer at theWWE Performance Center. According toPro Wrestling Torch in 2017, Garland taught the middle class at the WWE Performance Center, the second of four levels of classes.[22] He would stay with WWE until November 23, 2021, when Garland reportedly asked for his release from the company.[23]
After leaving WWE, Garland worked two shows for Puerto Rico'sInternational Wrestling Association (IWA) in mid-June 2007.[24] He then wrestled on the independent circuit, working for at least 31 promotions in 11 countries as Scotty 2 Hotty and Scotty the Hotty.[25] In 2014 and 2015 Garland continued teaming with Grand Master Sexay in the independents, England and Germany. On December 6, 2014, Garland, as Scotty 2 Hotty, made his debut for the JapanesePro Wrestling Noah promotion, teaming withFunaki andSuper Crazy in a six-man tag team match, where they defeated Pesadilla,Yoshinari Ogawa andZack Sabre Jr., with Scotty pinning Pesadilla for the win.[26] He would retire from wrestling in 2016, when he was hired by WWE as a coach for their development territory NXT.
On New Year’s Day 2022, he made his return to independent wrestling for the first time since 2016 for Game Changer Wrestling’s Die For This pay-per-view where he lost toJoey Janela.[27] Recently he has trained wrestlers and wrestled matches in theUnited Kingdom,Ireland andNorway.
Garland made hisAll Elite Wrestling debut competing in a dark match on the December 27, 2023 episodeDynamite, teaming withBilly Gunn andThe Acclaimed in an 8-man tag team match, defeatingJake Hager,Matt Menard andThe Gunns.[28] On January 11, 2024, Garland revealed on theAEW Unrestricted podcast that he was signed to the company as a producer and coach.[29]
In February 2013, Garland began training as a firefighter.[2] In June 2013, he graduated from the Lake Tech Fire Academy inFlorida. He subsequently began training as anemergency medical technician.[30]
Garland lives in theOrlando, Florida area with his two children. Garland is a fan ofDisney (Mick Foley has called him a "Disney psychotic"), and has been toDisneyland andWalt Disney World many times. He bought aDumbo Halloween costume, among much other merchandise, for his daughter, Taylor before she was even born.[31]
Garland appeared in-character, alongsideKid Kash in the December 2009 video for the Irish bandFight Like Apes' single "Do You Karate".[32] In 2010, he completed filming a movie calledUltimate Death Match 3, which also featured other wrestlers.[1] In 2017, the American music groupMigos paid homage to Garland'sWWE character with their song titled "Too Hotty".[33]
,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database