Former WWE Attitude Era Star Says He's Working For AEW As A Producer & Coach
Former WWE superstar Scotty 2 Hotty — real name Scott Garland — confirmed that he's working as an AEW producer and coach to the "Wrestling With Johners Podcast." Back in July, reports indicated that Garland had been brought in for a several weeks long tryout with Tony Khan's promotion. Following the trial run, he was hired for the backstage role.
"I don't think it's a huge secret that I've been working for AEW as a producer behind the scenes — as a coach and producer there," Garland said. "I have an opportunity to do more with them on a regular basis. So it looks like at the beginning of the year, I'll be going pretty hard with them if everything works out the way I hope it does. It's exciting. It's bittersweet because I enjoy doing these tours more than anything."
Garland previously worked as a producer and trainer for the "WWE NXT" brand between 2016 and 2021, helping developmental talents hone their craft at the WWE Performance Center. After being granted his release in 2021, Garland announced his return to in-ring competition, wrestling matches for GCW, OVW, and several other independent promotions in the U.K. and Canada. He wrapped up his 18-month tour of the indie scene in DREAMWAVE in June, shortly before joining AEW.
A number of former wrestlers now work as road agents for AEW, including Dean Malenko, Jerry Lynn, Pat Buck, BJ Whitmer, Chris Hero, Ari Daivari, and Sonjay Dutt, among others. Per recent reports, AEW has been looking to expand its team of producers to replicate WWE's model of each agent working only one match per show as opposed to multiple matches across three weekly shows.