Scotty 2 Hotty Recalls His Frustration With Finding Out About WWE NXT Releases On Social Media

In a recent interview with Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, Scotty 2 Hotty discussed leaving WWE being a gradual decision for him, his frustration on finding out about WWE NXT releases on social media, and much more. Here are some highlights:

Scotty 2 Hotty on leaving WWE being a gradual decision for him: “It wasn’t an immediate thing. Well, it was building over the last six months. It all started during the pandemic and everything started to change. Moreso over the last six months, I started having thoughts come into my mind. I saw people outside of WWE independent wise, AEW wise, international wise out there having fun. I just wasn’t having fun anymore. I had a great thirty years working for them and I’m so thankful for everything they did.”

On his appreciation for WWE: “They gave me a platform. You and I probably wouldn’t even be talking if it wasn’t for my time that. So, that’s why I say I have to be thankful for that, but I just wasn’t having fun there anymore. I’d be driving to work at the Performance Center every day and I’d have my stomach in knots. I blame a lot of it on the pandemic because that started, which seems like it started the releases and all of these people that I had coached and been friends with. Some of them became like my kids and all of a sudden they’re getting released and I’m finding out about it on Twitter. I’m their coach, I’m encouraged to build a relationship.”

On his frustration on finding out about WWE NXT releases on social media: “I was finding out from you. I would literally be sitting in class with somebody and then three hours later—there was one person, in particular, I’m having a heart to heart talk with and I’ve earned that person’s trust over the last couple of years and I’m giving them the best advice I can and then three hours later my buddy from Nashville texts me and he says, ‘Hey, looks like releases are happening again.’ So I jump on Twitter and see this guy was just released. I always said, ‘I don’t ever want to know that one of my talents was getting a release before they know,’ but I feel like the coaches deserve the respect of being told as soon as the talent knows. I shouldn’t be finding out on Twitter. That was, really, my biggest beef, if anything.”

“C’mon, man. Give me a little bit of respect. Give me a heads-up before I’m finding out on Twitter and it goes back to the same thing as a guy like Otis and Tucker, who I had worked with. When Otis came to me and asked if he could do the Worm and I told him to hold off, go out there and get over first, and then add the Worm in. That’s what they did. Heavy Machinery went out there, had maybe six months, they started to get over and I pulled him aside one day. I said, ‘Hey, go ahead. Add the Worm in now.’ So he started doing the Worm and I had this relationship with him and I love the dude. I find out that they’re going to RAW watching the show with everybody else. Like, dude. C’mon, man. Just a bit of a lack of communication there. I understand it’s a big machine, it’s running a hundred miles an hour and they’re probably not worried about my feelings. It’s an oversight. I don’t believe it’s a deliberate thing. It’s just an oversight.”