WINSLOW — Scott Garland sipped coffee as he set up his table in Sukee Arena. Among the items for sale were books, toys and photos he would be happy to autograph. Garland had his T-shirts, and was proud to declare that 100 percent of the money from T-shirt sales goes to Give Kids the World, a charity that helps families of children with life-threatening illnesses take a weeklong, cost-free vacation – where they can forget their health battle and simply have fun.
“The charity is important,” Garland said.
A native of Westbrook who now lives in Orlando, Florida, Garland is soft spoken. What does it take for him to become Scotty 2 Hotty, the former WWE champion wrestler?
“A lot of people. It’s hard to do right here. What we do is a combination of the music and the lights and the Adrenaline you feed off,” Garland said. “Just to be here at the autograph table or at a meet and greet, it’s hard. I think any performer, it’s the same thing. It’s hard to turn it on unless you’re actually performing.”
Garland was back in Maine Sunday afternoon for a Big Time Wrestling show at Sukee Arena. He met fans for two hours before the show started shortly after 3 p.m.
Kobe Dodge, 12, came from South Paris with his father to watch Garland wrestle and to show him a school report he had done on Scotty 2 Hotty, his favorite wrestler. Garland posed with Dodge, the poster board presentation held between them.
“I want to be a WWE superstar like him, and he’s from Maine,” Dodge said.
Garland would rather meet fans after a match, or at intermission. That way, the fans get Scotty 2 Hotty, not Garland. Signing autographs and posing for pictures before a match is like going to a Kiss concert and seeing Gene Simmons before the show without makeup, Garland said.
A couple hours later, it’s Garland’s turn to wrestle. His opponent, Sean Burke, enters the ring first. Then the music starts. Garland jumps from the locker room, picks up a child in the second row, poses with him against the ropes, then runs to each corner of the ring, egging on a crowd already firmly on his side.
Scotty 2 Hotty has arrived at Sukee Arena. Scott Garland is gone.
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