 Riggs in 2014 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Scott Antol (1967-03-01)March 1, 1967 (age 58) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Kendo the Samurai[1][2] Riggs[1][2] Scott Studd[1][2][3] Scotty Anton[4] Scotty Riggs[1][2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 251 lb (114 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Atlanta,Georgia[4] |
| Trained by | Ted Allen |
| Debut | 1992[2] |
| Retired | 2009 |
Scott Antol[2] (born March 1, 1967) is a retired Americanprofessional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure withWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1993 to 1999 under thering namesScotty Riggs andRiggs. Antol is also known for his appearances withExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) asScotty Anton.[1] He currently works forAll Elite Wrestling (AEW) in a backstage role.[6]
Antol debuted on June 2, 1992 using thering name Scott Studd after being trained by Ted "The Nightmare" Allen. Allen trained Studd by teaching while wrestling in front of live crowds. In the early 1990s, he worked for variousindependentpromotions, including the North Georgia Wrestling Association (NGWA), Peach State Championship Wrestling (PSCW),Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW), and theUnited States Wrestling Association (USWA).
Antol made his WCW debut in 1993 as Scott Studd, working as a jobber.[1]
Antol signed a contract withWorld Championship Wrestling in 1995 and was renamed Scotty Riggs, with his last name taken from Mel Gibson's character, Martin Riggs, from theLethal Weapon films. He was immediately placed in to atag team withMarcus Alexander Bagwell and they became known as theAmerican Males.[1] Together, they captured their first and onlyWorld Tag Team Championship, but only held it for eight days before losing it back toHarlem Heat, the team they won it from in the first place.[7][8] The team competed on a tour of Germany for WCW at this time.
The American Males broke up in November 1996 after Bagwellturnedheel on Riggs and joined theNew World Order.[9] Following the split, Riggs began competing as a singles competitor.[10][11] He immediately entered a feud with Bagwell, which resulted in a match atnWo Souled Out which he lost and a rematch atUncensored in a strap match where Riggs was choked out by Bagwell with the strap while hanging from the ropes.
After performing in the mid-card for most of 1997,Raven took an interest in him and during aNo Disqualification match on the October 27 edition ofNitro, Raven caught Riggs in adrop toe-hold, sending him face-first into a steel chair and injuring his eye in the process.[12] Riggs then began wearing aneye patch and, to this day, claims that the eye injury waslegitimate.[13] At first, Riggs resisted joiningRaven's Flock,[14] but eventually joined after they kidnapped him following his loss to Raven at theWorld War 3pay-per-view.[15][16] Raven explained that Riggs's "ocular disability" had alienated him fromsociety and that he was seeking acceptance within The Flock. Riggs remained within The Flock untilSaturn defeated Raven atFall Brawl: War Games in a match that forced The Flock to disband.
Following The Flock's disbanding, Riggs remained aheel and adopted a narcissisticgimmick.[17] However, the gimmick was unsuccessful, and Riggs remained on the undercard before being released from WCW in 1999.
In 2000, Antol debuted inExtreme Championship Wrestling as Scotty Anton, aligning with hisreal-life friendRob Van Dam.[1] AtHardcore Heaven, Antonbetrayed Van Dam, knocking him off the top rope to the floor, allowingJerry Lynn topin him and thus end Van Dam's two-year undefeated streak. From there, he joinedThe Network as a "hired gun". Van Dam gained revenge atHeat Wave, where he defeated Anton by using his newVan Terminator finisher.[4][18]
After leaving ECW, Antol returned to theindependent circuit, where he found his greatest success inTurnbuckle Championship Wrestling (TCW). While competing for TCW, he became a three timeHeavyweight Champion and a one timeTCW Tag Team Champion withErik Watts.[19] Following TCW's closure in 2003, Antol took time away from professional wrestling to deal with personal issues ofdivorce and his father developinglung cancer. His father died from the illness in 2004. Following this, Antol moved toHilton Head Island, South Carolina to work as abouncer and manager at alounge.[2]
Upon getting his life together, Antol resumed his wrestling career under his Scotty Riggs ring name, where he wrestled several matches for AWA World-1 Championship Wrestling in 2007[20] before retiring in 2009 due to injuries.
In 2024, he returned to wrestling, working forMajor League Wrestling and independents.
On March 3, 2024, Antol was shown in the crowd during Sting's retirement match atAEW'sRevolution alongsideNikita Koloff.[21] In December 2024, it was reported that Antol was working for AEW in a backstage capacity by helping provide logistical support, including driving talent to and from venues. This was confirmed by AEW commentatorTony Schiavone one month later.[6]
