Former WWE star Scotty 2 Hotty is very happy to be seen as a nostalgia act in the pro wrestling world.
At 53 years old, former WWE star Scotty 2 Hotty is still wrestling on the independent circuit and hitting the Worm for fans who grew up watching him in the Attitude Era. Rather than reinventing himself, Garland has continued to embrace the character that made him famous in WWE. As a result, he is often viewed as a nostalgia act whenever he appears on independent shows.
Rather than viewing nostalgia as a negative, Scotty 2 Hotty sees it as a unique connection with fans who watched him during one of WWE’s most popular eras. More than two decades later, fans are still delighted to see the former Tag Team Champion in action, especially when he hits his signature move.
“I Embrace It”: Scotty 2 Hotty On Being A Nostalgia Act
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Garland explained that he has learned to embrace being a nostalgia act, particularly after seeing the reaction from fans who grew up watching him in WWE:
“Dude, I embrace it. I’m a total nostalgia act, and I embrace it. When I came back to the independents this time, I wasn’t sure how to present myself. Do I go back to the classic look? Do I try to portray as I would look all these years later? I didn’t know what people would want. I would do photo ops on the shows with these grown men, and I could feel them shaking, or you get a couple guys who almost start to cry. Yeah, this is crazy, man. Nostalgia is unbelievable. So I’ve learned to embrace it, and it’s cool because Too Cool Rikishi was 2000, so I’m getting guys that were 15 years old in 2000.”
Garland was best known for his time in the Too Cool faction alongside Rikishi and Grand Master Sexay [Brian Christopher]. Known for their endless charisma and signature dances, the trio became one of the most entertaining acts in the Attitude Era. When asked what his career would look like without Too Cool, Garland admitted that his career wouldn’t have been the same:
“Oh man, I don’t know what my career looks like if I didn’t have that moment in Boston with Vince McMahon, where I pitched the Too Hot thing. Talk about timing is everything, right? If I didn’t have that moment where I cross paths with him and was able to pitch that to him, I don’t think I would have ever gone to his office. I wouldn’t have had the guts to go in and pitch it to him. So it just happened that I had that moment with him. I talk about that a lot where it’s like timing is everything. And we cross paths right there. If I didn’t have that moment, Too Tuch would have never been, and then Too Cool would have never been.”
Featured image: WWE
