 Armstrong (left) in the ring withJustin Roberts | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Joseph Scott James (1961-05-04)May 4, 1961 (age 64)[3] Marietta, Georgia, U.S.[1] |
Spouse | Michelle James |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent | Bob Armstrong (father) |
| Family | Brad Armstrong (brother) Road Dogg (brother) Steve Armstrong (brother) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Dixie Dynamite[1] Scott James Scott Armstrong |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 220 lb (100 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Pensacola, Florida[2] |
| Trained by | Bob Armstrong[1][2] |
| Debut | 1983[1][2] |
| Retired | October 9, 2010 |
Joseph Scott James (born May 4, 1961) is an American wrestling refereeproducer, formerreferee and retiredprofessional wrestler better known asScott Armstrong, who is currently signed toDiamond Championship Wrestling. He worked forWWE. James is the oldest son ofBob Armstrong and has three brothers who became wrestlers,Brad,Steve andBrian.[2]
Armstrong started wrestling in 1983 as "Scott Armstrong" for his future.[2] He wrestled primarily in the Georgia and Alabama area. On January 2, 1984, he teamed with his brotherBrad Armstrong for the first time, losing toWayne Farris andBoris Zukhov in Birmingham, Alabama.[4]
Armstrong made his debut with WCW on May 27, 1990, on a house show in Los Angeles when he defeatedRick Fargo.[5] Scott started as apreliminary wrestler, teaming with and later facingBarry Horowitz.
Armstrong then joinedJim Cornette'sSmoky Mountain Wrestling, appearing on October 30 in Greensville, South Carolina, and defeatingDutch Mantell. In March 1992 he went under a mask and was redubbed "Dix i.e. Dy-no-mite". Wrestling as Dy-no-mite, he competed in a tournament for the vacant SMW title. After defeatingCarl Stiles in an opening round, wild card match he was pinned byDirty White Boy in the quarterfinals. Despite the loss Dy-no-mite was strongly pushed and won most of his matches, while registering some losses in 1992 toPaul Orndorff andJimmy Golden.[6]
On May 8, 1993, he became involved in an angle with Jim Cornette on SMW TV when the manager announced that Dixie Dy-no-mite was nothing more than Scott Armstrong in a mask, and that he wore it out of shame over his fatherBob Armstrong. Scott came to ringside and took off the mask, professing his love for his father. Shortly afterwards Armstrong left the promotion in September 1993.[7]
Armstrong made only two appearances in SMW in 1994 while also wrestling in WCW.[8] In March 1995 Armstrong returned again to SMW, this time teaming withTracey Smothers. After teaming with his brotherSteve Armstrong for two house show matches in April he left the promotion once more.[9]
Armstrong made his return to WCW on January 18, 1994, at a TV taping forMain Event where he wrestledTony Zane. On March 6 he wrestledWCW World Television ChampionLord Steven Regal on The Main Event. In August onWCW Worldwide Armstrong was defeated byDiamond Dallas Page. On the September 10th episode of Worldwide he facedRon Simmons in one of the last WCW matches for the latter. On the December 17th edition ofWCW Saturday Night Armstrong wrestledJean Paul Levesque.
Armstrong began to form teams with his brothers, which he had already done withSteve Armstrong in a one-shot appearance with Smoky Mountain in July 1994. AtStarrcade '94 on December 27, 1994, Scott teamed with his brotherBrad Armstrong and wrestled a dark match againstArn Anderson andBunkhouse Buck.[10] On the January 7th, 1995 episode of WCW Saturday Night Scott and Brad again teamed againstHarlem Heat. A week later onWCW Pro they would earn their first WCW victory when they defeatedBob Starr andRicky Santana. On January 25 in a dark match atClash of Champions XXX Brad and Scott defeatedDick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck.
The team with Brad however dissolved and Scott Armstrong began teaming with his brother Steve instead. At the July 10th taping of WCW Pro, theWorld Tag Team championsBunkhouse Buck andDick Slater defeated the duo in the debut match. A month later on the August 5th, 1995 edition they fell to Arn Anderson and Ric Flair. On August 22 they facedMen at Work but were again unsuccessful.
On June 20, 1995, Armstrong wrestledRic Flair at a WCW Pro taping in Gainesville, Georgia. On September 16Disco Inferno would make his successful debut on WCW Saturday Night by pinning Armstrong. He made his first ever WCW PPV appearance atWCW World War III on November 26, 1995, when he competed in the three ring battle royal. After being eliminated he was placed on a stretcher and put in a neck brace.[11]
While wrestling singles matches with Konnan in the first half of 1996 under his Scott Armstrong name, Scott and Steve began competing under their real surnames as the James Brothers from time to time. On the February 17th edition of WCW Saturday Night they again fell to Men At Work. In June 1996 they were defeated byPublic Enemy, and on the July 1st edition they were defeated again by Arn Anderson and Ric Flair. On the July 28, 1996, edition of WCW Worldwide they fell to Lord Steven Regal and SquireDave Taylor.[12] On the August 22, 1996, taping of WCW Pro The James Brothers would finally gain their first WCW victory when they defeatedBill Payne andRick Thames. They would go on to faceThe Amazing French Canadians andThe Faces of Fear during the remainder of 1996.[12]
The James Brothers would continue teaming in 1997 and faced The Amazing French Canadians andThe Steiner Brothers. On the April 13th, 1997 edition of WCW Worldwide they defeatedThe Southern Posse. After this they moved on to a brief series of matches with Harlem Heat, and in May 1997 defeated the new duo ofJim Powers andBobby Walker, the latter put together byTeddy Long. After this they were winless for the rest of 1997 in matches withMortis and Wrath, as well as The Public Enemy.[13] Their pairing continued into 1998 but again saw little success. They were winless againstHigh Voltage in multiple encounters. On the September 13th PPVFall Brawl '98 they were involved in an angle when WCW Worldwide announcerMike Tenay attempted to interview them, only to be interrupted byErnest Miller who then attacked both brothers. Thirteen days later they would defeatThe Power Company on WCW Saturday Night. On November 30, 1998, the duo enjoyed the biggest victory of their WCW tenure when they upsetRaven andKanyon onWCW Monday Nitro.[14]
Success continued for The James Brothers in 1999. On January 6, 1999, they upset Alex Wright and Disco Inferno in Mobile, Alabama. On the January, 1999, edition of WCW Saturday Night they defeatedNick Dinsmore andMike Sullivan. The winning streak was stop in April on WCW Saturday Night when they were defeated byDisorderly Conduct. On April 27, 1999, at a television taping in Bismarck, North Dakota, they faced theNWO for the first time and defeated Vincent andStevie Ray. On April 29, 1999, on WCW Monday Nitro the team faced Raven in a handicap match and were victorious.[15] Scott's teaming with Steve finally came to an end on March 1, 2000, when The James Brothers faced WCW World Tag-Team ChampionsBig Vito andJohnny The Bull at a WCW Saturday Night taping. Shortly thereafter Steve Armstrong left the promotion, while Scott became a referee.[16][2]
Armstrong joinedTNA in 2002 as a referee forTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling. On January 29, 2005, he made a return to the ring atWrestleReunion in Tampa, Florida. Armstrong participated in a 17-man battle royal along with his brother Brad and father Bob.[17]
Armstrong appeared on the July 28, 2006, episode ofWorld Wrestling Entertainment'sSmackDown! refereeing theWWE United States Championship match betweenFinlay andWilliam Regal. In August 2006, Armstrong was hired as a full-time WWE referee, in WWE'sECW brand.
He became ECW's senior referee in February 2007 afterMickie Henson was moved to SmackDown!.
He was also the only WWE referee for the ECW brand atWrestleMania XXIV. At WWE'sSummerSlam pay-per-view event on August 17, 2008, Armstrong refereed theHell in a Cell match betweenEdge andThe Undertaker. He then moved to theSmackDown brand, becoming its senior official. In November 2008 referees were made no longer exclusive to certain brands.
AtWrestleMania 25 on April 5, 2009, Armstrong refereed the main event WWE Championship match between Triple H and Randy Orton. On September 13, 2009, atBreaking Point inMontreal, Armstrong was involved in a storyline in which he made a controversial call on the main event match betweenWorld Heavyweight ChampionCM Punk and The Undertaker. Armstrong called for the bell and declared Punk the winner, even though The Undertaker never actually submitted defeat, thus making a reference to theMontreal Screwjob (which was held inthe same venue in 1997).[18] On October 30, 2009, Armstrong faced CM Punk onSmackDown, but lost in asquash match.[19] The next week, Armstrong fast-counted forR-Truth in his match with Punk, costing Punk the match.
On February 26, 2010, Armstrong was initially released from his WWE contract.[20] However a year later, Armstrong reappeared on WWE programming on February 20, 2011, as the referee for the main event during theElimination Chamber pay-per-view. He officiatedThe Undertaker vs.Triple H match atWrestleMania XXVII as well as the match betweenJohn Cena andCM Punk match for theWWE Championship atMoney in the Bank. He returned toSmackDown on August 5, 2011, refereeing the match betweenThe Great Khali andSheamus. On September 18, 2011, atNight of Champions, Armstrong officiated the main event between Triple H and CM Punk. During a run-in,The Miz andR-Truth verbally abused him, to which Armstrong retaliated by punching The Miz in the face before being beaten down by the two. AtTLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, Armstrong wasDaniel Bryan's referee when he cashed-in hisMoney in the Bank briefcase and counted the pinfall for Bryan'sWorld Heavyweight Championship victory overBig Show.
In early 2012, Armstrong became aproducer for the company. Scott Armstrong also officiated the match between CM Punk and Chris Jericho for the WWE Championship atWrestleMania XXVIII.[21]
On August 19, 2012, atSummerSlam, Armstrong officiated the match between Triple H andBrock Lesnar in which Triple H told him not to stop the match. AtSurvivor Series, he was accidentallyBrogue kicked bySheamus when he was used as a human shield forWorld Heavyweight Champion Big Show, causing Big Show to lose via disqualification.
AtNight of Champions, Armstrong officiated theWWE Championship match betweenDaniel Bryan and Randy Orton, and made a fast 3-count in favor of Bryan to allow him to win the championship. He waskayfabe fired the next night for his actions. This was later revealed as a ploy to keep Bryan away from the title. Armstrong made another appearance atBattleground, being the second referee of the Bryan-Orton match after the first referee was knocked out, before himself being knocked out by Big Show. Armstrong returned at the main event ofWrestleMania XXX, where he was recruited byThe Authority to screw Bryan out of the championship, but was kicked out of the ring by Bryan. AtSurvivor Series, he was sent by Triple H to replace the knocked out referee, but was struck down by the debutingSting. Afterwards, he didn't appear on WWE programming until the January 4, 2016, edition ofRaw, where he tried to help Sheamus win theWWE World Heavyweight Championship againstRoman Reigns while the guest referee, Vince McMahon, was knocked out.
On April 15, 2020, Armstrong was furloughed from the WWE along with several other producers due to the COVID-19 cutbacks, but he returned on October 4.[22][23] Armstrong was officially released from the WWE on January 5, 2022, ending his 15-year tenure with the company.[24]
James is married to Michelle and has two children.[2] In 2008, he helped raise money for The Zoo Northwest Florida (nowGulf Breeze Zoo) after it suffered damage fromHurricane Ivan.[25]
