IRISH FANS OF the WWE’s Attitude Era are in for a treat.
One of the most memorable characters from that period, Scotty 2 Hotty (real name: Scott Garland), is coming to Dublin for a show next week.
Along with his tag team partner, Brian ‘Grandmaster Sexay’ Christopher, the duo are set to feature at an Over the Top Wrestling event in the Tivoli Theatre on 30 August.
Garland is a former WWF tag team (with Christopher) and lightheavyweight champion, in addition to being a WWE tag champion with Rikishi.
From a young age, Garland was determined to become a wrestler and even had the confidence and audacity to (unsuccessfully) attempt to ring Vince McMahon in order to persuade the WWE owner sign him up while still in his early teens.
The Maine native began wrestling as a jobber in the WWF as an 18-year-old while still in high school in the early 90s, however it was in 1999 when stardom truly arrived.
Along with Christopher, he adopted the ‘Too Cool’ moniker. It was around the onset of the Attitude Era — WWF’s shift to more adult-oriented programming content — a move that saw the company by-pass and eventually defeat rival company WCW in the Monday night ratings wars.
One of the most influential figures in the Attitude Era, the then-head writer of the WWF, Vince Russo, helped come up with the idea of Too Cool. The duo played to the more comedic elements of wrestling, parodying aspects of hip-hop culture and frequently incorporating raps into their interviews.
“I just talked to Vince Russo the other day for the first time since he pitched the idea to me back in 1999,” Garland tells The42. “The basic idea was that we were going to be hip-hop wannabes. We were going to be cool. We dressed like we were, and we weren’t cool… We were just over-the-top white-boy wannabes and I think it evolved from there.
“I don’t think that’s me now. It’s more of a fun character who really doesn’t care about winning or losing. It’s more about just having a good time.”
Garland also created an iconic ring move during that time — ‘The Worm’ — which wrestling aficionados still recall fondly to this day.
The move was essentially a chop drop to the opponent’s throat, but also encompassed plenty of theatrics beforehand (see below), and proved popular with fans, who were soon chanting ‘W-O-R-M’ to boot.
“The Worm was never really an idea,” he explains. “It was just something I did messing around. I got an awesome crowd reaction from it and different stages of it came in over time.
“One night on Raw, [co-commentator] Jerry Lawler said ‘W-O-R-M’ as I was hopping around to the other side and I asked him to keep doing that. Sure enough, after about a month of him doing it, the crowd was chanting along with it. So I was very lucky to get something like that.”
Despite their popularity, injuries to both Garland and Christopher halted Too Cool’s progress, and Christopher was ultimately released from the company in 2001.
Garland continued with the company thereafter, forming a successful alliance with Rikishi and winning the tag team title in 2004.
Nevertheless, following Rikishi’s release later that year, Garland mainly wrestled on Velocity and in dark matches before leaving the company himself in 2007.
Since his departure from WWE, Garland has returned sporadically, featuring in an episode of ‘Old School’ Raw in 2014 and also working on NXT shows. He says he never contemplated quitting wrestling definitively, despite the occasional bad injury, insisting: “I worked too hard to get to where I was to quit”.
Moreover, in between training as a firefighter, starring in a Fight Like Apes music video (see below) and working the independent circuit, Garland started to work in real estate.
Of last year’s Raw reunion, he says: “It felt great. Physically, I’m in better shape at 42 years old than I was when I left there. I had a back injury and that forced me to start training in the gym, so I feel 100 times better. When you do this, and you get out in front of the crowd, the adrenaline just kind of takes over anyway. But it was a blast to go back, and I’d love to do more shows down the road.
“I don’t think I’ve left it behind but I’m pretty honest with myself. I don’t think there’s another full-time run in me. I have a great relationship with them — I still work with the NXT guys here and there at the training centre in Orlando. But I’m also now in Realtor in Florida, so I concentrate more on that.
Garland always preferred tag team to singles matches, explaining that “I work better with having someone to play off,” and says the common criticism that the business favours bigger wrestlers over smaller, more technically accomplished ones is not necessarily fair.
“I don’t think Eddie Guerrero or Rey Mysterio were very big,” he says. “They were both world champions. At one point, it was a freak show and there were a lot of big guys, and it evolved from there. But it really comes down to entertainment ability and how the crowd reacts to you.”
The WWE is now considerably more family friendly since the Attitude Era ended, and Garland acknowledges that the business has changed.
“It’s still good,” he says. “I’m not exactly the demographic that it’s geared towards now, so it’s hard for me to say. But my 10-year-old son is a huge fan, so it’s just a different game now.”
The 42-year-old star’s long-time friend, Christopher, has similarly worked the independent circuit in between brief returns to the WWE.
In 2009, however, Christopher’s life took a dark turn. He was arrested twice for disorderly conduct and public intoxication, and spent 30 days in jail after failing to check into a rehab clinic as part of his plea agreement.
Nevertheless, Garland says that his long-term tag partner is in a much better place now.
“I’m actually going to see him in about five minutes. It’s our first show in a couple of months together. We do quite a bit now, but it’s going to be our first time together in Ireland.
“[Christopher's] doing good. He’s got a great girl and he’s got his stuff together. We’re actually on the best terms we’ve ever been on, so it’s really cool.”
Furthermore, next week will be far from the first time that Garland has wrestled in Ireland.
“I worked in Ireland quite a bit since leaving WWE actually. There’s a lot of people involved with this group that were involved with the previous [Irish wrestling organisation].
“I’ve been trying to come back for the past couple of years and haven’t been able to make it work, so I’m looking forward to it. The shows are great and the fans are great so it’s going to be fun to be back.”
And does he see many differences between wrestling in Ireland compared with the US?
“The Irish can drink a whole lot more,” he laughs. “I love the guys over there. I think Irish people tend to appreciate it a little bit more, especially when the Americans come over, because they don’t get to see us every day. It seems kind of like people get burnt out [in the US], as there are so many different shows going on.
“It’s definitely more rowdy — especially this one, which will be an adults-only show. So it’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like this and I’ve been doing this for almost 26 years.
“Being part of the Attitude Era definitely fits in with the adult crowd. Even though the Scotty 2 Hotty character is more kids-based, I definitely have stuff that I only break out when it’s an adult show.”
The upcoming Over the Top Wrestling event takes place on Sunday 30 August at 7:30 pm at the Tivoli Theatre, Francis Street Dublin 8. More info here.
