Scotty 2 Hotty Says WWE Releases Took A "Big Toll" On Him

Scott Garland, better known as Scotty 2 Hotty in WWE, says he never officially retired from professional wrestling. He's taking bookings once again after getting his release from WWE late last year.

Garland had been working as a coach at the WWE Performance Center since 2016 and recently explained what was behind his decision to ask for his release.

"I missed the traveling," Garland told Insight with Chris Van Vliet. "NXT wasn't doing any live events. All the TV was shot in-house. I wasn't traveling and I wasn't having fun, and I saw people from AEW right down to the small independents having fun. The independents are on fire right now.

"So I started asking around things like, 'Well, what can I make?'" Garland continued "I was doing the numbers and thought to myself that I can go out there and kill it. There are very few guys from the Attitude Era that are still going. Al Snow, The Headbangers, Billy Gunn, Val Venis does a bit and The Godfather does a bit, but there are very few that are still going. I can still deliver, so I am excited."

Scott Garland's most high-profile match since he left WWE was on New Year's Day. He wrestled Joey Janela at GCW's Die 4 This show. Garland was a late substitute after Drew Parker was forced to pull out of the show due to travel restrictions.

Scott Garland's departure from WWE came just before another wave of releases by the company. They were announced earlier this week and affected mostly personnel working with the NXT brand and the Performance Center.

Garland says the threat of more releases was on his mind when he was considering his decision to ask for his release from WWE. The company cut more than 80 wrestlers last year.

"Once the pandemic happened and all the releases started happening, I think the releases took a big toll on me," Garland recalled. "When I became a coach, I had no idea how much I would love that job, and those guys are then like your children.

"You create these relationships with people, and you see them get released, and you find out with everyone else when they come up on Twitter," Garland continued. "My buddy in Nashville texted me 'Oh the releases are happening again...' So, then I jump on Twitter and I see somebody released that was in my class and I just saw 3 hours before. That's how I am finding out, and dude, this is not cool."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Insight with Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.