Scott Antol
(born March 1, 1971) is an American former
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
. He is best known for his tenure with
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...
(WCW) from 1993 to 1999 under the
ring name
A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
s Scotty Riggs and Riggs. Antol is also known for his appearances with
Extreme Championship Wrestling
HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
(ECW) as Scotty Anton.
Professional wrestling career
Early years (1992–1995)
Antol debuted on June 2, 1992 using the
ring name
A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
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 various
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
promotions, including the North Georgia Wrestling Association (NGWA), Peach State Championship Wrestling (PSCW),
Smoky Mountain Wrestling
Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, wit ...
(SMW), and the
United States Wrestling Association
The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Wrestling ...
(USWA).
World Championship Wrestling
American Males (1995–1997)
Antol signed a contract with
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...
in 1995 and was renamed Scotty Riggs, with his last name taken from Mel Gibson's character, Martin Riggs, from the ''
Lethal Weapon
''Lethal Weapon'' is a 1987 American buddy cop action comedy film directed and co-produced by Richard Donner, written by Shane Black, and co-produced by Joel Silver. It stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover alongside Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, Darle ...
'' films. He was immediately placed in to a
tag team
Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
with
Marcus Alexander Bagwell
Marcus Alexander Bagwell (born January 10, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1991 to 2001, where he was a fiv ...
and they became known as
The American Males.
[ Together, they captured their first and only ]World Tag Team Championship
The world tag team championship is the name usually given to the primary tag team championships in professional wrestling promotions.
Nomenclature
The name of the promotion is often preceded to the term "world tag team championship" as the ...
, but only held it for eight days before losing it back to Harlem Heat
Harlem Heat was a professional wrestling tag team composed of two brothers, Booker and Lash Huffman (better known as Booker T and Stevie Ray). The team achieved their greatest success in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where they won the WCW ...
, the team they won it from in the first place. The team competed on a tour of Germany for WCW at this time.
The American Males broke up in November 1996 after Bagwell turned heel
The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg.
Structure
To distribute the compressive for ...
on Riggs and joined the New World Order. Following the split, Riggs began competing as a singles competitor. He immediately entered a feud with Bagwell, which resulted in a match at nWo Souled Out which he lost and a rematch at Uncensored in a strap match where Riggs was choked out by Bagwell with the strap while hanging from the ropes.
Raven's Flock and departure (1997–1999)
After performing in the mid-card for most of 1997, Raven
A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...
took an interest in him and during a No Disqualification match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
on the October 27 edition of ''Nitro
Nitro may refer to:
Chemistry
*Nitrogen, a chemical element and a gas except at very low temperatures, with which many compounds are formed:
**Nitro compound, an organic compound containing one or more nitro functional groups, -NO2
**Nitroalkene, ...
'', Raven caught Riggs in a drop toe-hold, sending him face-first into a steel chair and injuring his eye in the process. Riggs then began wearing an eye patch
An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn ...
and, to this day, claims that the eye injury was legitimate. At first, Riggs resisted joining Raven's Flock, but eventually joined after they kidnapped him following his loss to Raven at the World War 3 pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
. Raven explained that Riggs's "ocular disability" had alienated him from society
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...
and that he was seeking acceptance within The Flock. Riggs remained within The Flock until Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...
defeated Raven at Fall Brawl: War Games in a match that forced The Flock to disband.
Following The Flock's disbanding, Riggs remained a heel
The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg.
Structure
To distribute the compressive for ...
and adopted a narcissistic gimmick
A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...
. However, the gimmick was unsuccessful, and Riggs remained on the undercard before being released from WCW in 1999.
Extreme Championship Wrestling (2000–2001)
In 2000, Antol debuted in Extreme Championship Wrestling
HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
as Scotty Anton, aligning with his real-life
Real life is a phrase used originally in literature to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds, and in acting to distinguish between actors and the characters they portray. It has become a popular term on the ...
friend Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling ...
.[ At ]Hardcore Heaven
Hardcore Heaven was a professional wrestling event produced by Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It took place annually from 1994 to 2000, with the exception of 1998. The 1997, 1999 and 2000 iterations aired on pay-per-view. The footag ...
, Anton betrayed Van Dam, knocking him off the top rope to the floor, allowing Jerry Lynn
Jeremy Lynn (born June 12, 1963), better known by the ring name Jerry Lynn, is an American retired professional wrestler currently signed with All Elite Wrestling as a producer and coach. He has worked for promotions such as World Championship ...
to pin
A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together.
Pin or PIN may also refer to:
Computers and technology
* Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system
** PIN pad, a PIN entry device
* PIN, a former Dutch de ...
him and thus end Van Dam's two-year undefeated streak. From there, he joined The Network
The Network was an American six-piece new wave band. they released their debut album ''Money Money 2020'' on Adeline Records on September 30, 2003. After a 15-year hiatus, the band became active again in 2020, releasing a follow-up album titl ...
as a "hired gun". Van Dam gained revenge at Heat Wave
A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...
, where he defeated Anton by using his new '' Van Terminator'' finisher.
Independent circuit and retirement (2001–2003, 2007–2009)
After leaving ECW, Antol returned to the independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...
, where he found his greatest success in Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling
Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling was a Southeastern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Marietta, Georgia. It was founded by retired wrestler and former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dusty Rhodes in 2000 and, during its thre ...
(TCW). While competing for TCW, he became a three time Heavyweight Champion
At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, thou ...
and a one time TCW Tag Team Champion with Erik Watts
Erik Watts (born December 19, 1967) is an American semi-retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and the WWE, World Wrestling Federation in the 1990s. He is the ...
. Following TCW's closure in 2003, Antol took time away from professional wrestling to deal with personal issues of divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
and his father developing lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
. His father died from the illness in 2004. Following this, Antol moved to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Hilton Head Island, sometimes referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and southwest of C ...
to work as a bouncer
A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or m ...
and manager at a lounge
Lounge may refer to:
Architecture
* Lounge, the living room of a dwelling
* Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby
* Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar
* Airport lounge, or train lounge (e.g., AMTRAK's Acela Lounge), a premium ...
.[
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 before retiring in 2009 due to injuries.
]
Championships and accomplishments
*Peach State Wrestling
**PSW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*''Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
''
**PWI ranked him #134 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...
in 1996
**PWI ranked him #461 of the best 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
*Smoky Mountain Wrestling
Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, wit ...
**SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship
The SMW "Beat the Champ" Television Championship was the secondary singles championship for the Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) professional wrestling promotion. The title was created in 1992 and was active until SMW closed on November 26, 1995. Th ...
( 1 time)
*Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling
Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling was a Southeastern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Marietta, Georgia. It was founded by retired wrestler and former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dusty Rhodes in 2000 and, during its thre ...
**TCW Heavyweight Championship
The TCW Heavyweight Championship was the primary professional wrestling singles title of Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling. It was originally won by Glacier who defeated Jorge Estrada in tournament final held in Ashburn, Georgia on July 6, 2000 ...
( 3 times)
**TCW Tag Team Championship
The TCW Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team title of Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling. It was originally won by Scott Anton and Erik Watts who defeated Glacier and Jorge Estrada, coincidentally opponents for th ...
( 1 time) – with Erik Watts
Erik Watts (born December 19, 1967) is an American semi-retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and the WWE, World Wrestling Federation in the 1990s. He is the ...
*World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...
**WCW World Tag Team Championship
The WCW World Tag Team Championship (previously NWA (Mid-Atlantic) World Tag Team Championship) was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). ...
( 1 time) – with Marcus Bagwell
Marcus Alexander Bagwell (born January 10, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1991 to 2001, where he was a fi ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riggs, Scotty
1971 births
American male professional wrestlers
Living people
Professional wrestlers from Georgia (U.S. state)
Sportspeople from Savannah, Georgia
20th-century professional wrestlers
21st-century professional wrestlers
SMW Beat the Champ Television Champions
WCW World Tag Team Champions