Scott Armstrong (wrestler)

Joseph Scott James (born May 4, 1961) is an American wrestling producer, referee and retired professional wrestler better known as Scott Armstrong. He is currently signed to WWE. He is the oldest son of Bob Armstrong and has three brothers who became wrestlers, Brad, Steve and Brian.[4]

Scott Armstrong
Armstrong (left) in the ring with Justin Roberts
Birth nameJoseph Scott James
Born (1961-05-04) May 4, 1961[1]
Marietta, Georgia, U.S.[2]
ResidenceGulf Breeze, Florida, U.S.[3]
Spouse(s)Michelle James
Children2
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Dixie Dynamite[2]
Scott James
Scott Armstrong
Billed height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[2]
Billed weight220 lb (100 kg)[2]
Billed fromPensacola, Florida[4]
Trained byBob Armstrong[2][4]
Debut1983[2][4]
RetiredOctober 9, 2010

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1983–1989)

James started wrestling in 1983 as "Scott Armstrong".[4] He wrestled primarily in the Georgia and Alabama areas. On January 2, 1984 he teamed with his brother Brad Armstrong for the first time, losing to Wayne Farris and Boris Zukhov in Birmingham, AL.[5]

World Championship Wrestling (1990)

Armstrong made his debut with WCW on May 27, 1990 on a house show in Los Angeles, CA when he defeated Rick Fargo.[6] Scott started as a preliminary wrestler, teaming with and later facing Barry Horowitz.

Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1991 - 1995)

Scott then joined Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling, appearing on October 30 in Greensville, SC and defeating Dutch Mantell. In March 1992 he went under a mask and was redubbed Dix i.e. Dy-no-mite. Wrestling as Dy-no-mite, he competed in a tournament for the vacant SMW title. After defeating Carl Stiles in an opening round, wild card match he was pinned by Dirty White Boy in the quarterfinals. Despite the loss Dy-no-mite was strongly pushed and won most of his matches, while registering some losses in 1992 to Paul Orndorff and Jimmy Golden.[7]

On May 8, 1993 he became involved in an angle with Jim Cornette on SMW TV when the manager announced that Dixie Dy-no-mite was nothing more than Scott Armstrong in a mask, and that he wore it out of shame over his father Bob Armstrong. Scott came to ringside and took off the mask, professing his love for his father. Shortly afterwards Armstrong left the promotion in September 1993.[8]

Armstrong made only two appearances in SMW in 1994 while also wrestling in WCW.[9] In March 1995 Armstrong returned again to SMW, this time teaming with Tracey Smothers. After teaming with his brother Steve Armstrong for two house show matches in April he left the promotion once more.[10]

World Championship Wrestling (1994 - 2001)

Scott Armstrong made his return to WCW on January 18, 1994 at a TV taping for Main Event where he wrestled Tony Zane. On March 6 he wrestled WCW World Television Champion Lord Steven Regal on The Main Event. In August on WCW Worldwide Armstrong was defeated by Diamond Dallas Page. On the September 10th episode of Worldwide he faced Ron Simmons in one of the last WCW matches for the latter. On the December 17th edition of WCW Saturday Night Armstrong wrestled Jean Paul Levesque.

Scott began to form teams with his brothers, which he had already done with Steve Armstrong in a one-shot appearance with Smoky Mountain in July 1994. At Starrcade 94 on December 27th, 1994 Scott teamed with his brother Brad Armstrong and wrestled a dark match against Arn Anderson and Bunkhouse Buck.[11] On the January 7th, 1995 episode of WCW Saturday Night Scott and Brad again teamed against Harlem Heat. A week later on WCW Pro they would earn their first WCW victory when they defeated Bob Starr and Ricky Santana. On January 25 in a dark match at Clash of Champions XXX Brad and Scott defeated Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck.

The team with Brad however dissolved and Scott Armstrong began teaming with his brother Steve instead. At the July 10th taping of WCW Pro, the World Tag Team champions Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater defeated the duo in the debut match. A month later on the August 5th, 1995 edition they fell to Arn Anderson and Ric Flair. On August 22 they faced Men at Work but were again unsuccessful.

On June 20, 1995 Scott wrestled Ric Flair at a WCW Pro taping in Gainesville, GA. On September 16 Disco Inferno would make his successful debut on WCW Saturday Night by pinning Armstrong. He made his first ever WCW PPV appearance at WCW World War III on November 26, 1995 when he competed in the three ring battle royal. After being eliminated he was placed on a stretcher and put in a neck brace.[12]

While wrestling singles matches with Konnan in the first half of 1996 under his Scott Armstrong name, Scott and Steve began competing under their real surnames as the James Brothers from time to time (although they did not change their looks at all) On the February 17th edition of WCW Saturday Night they again fell to Men At Work. In June 1996 they were defeated by Public Enemy, and on the July 1st edition they were defeated again by Arn Anderson and Ric Flair. On the July 28th, 1996 edition of WCW Worldwide they fell to Lord Steven Regal and Squire Dave Taylor.[13] On the August 22nd 1996 taping of WCW Pro The James Brothers would finally gain their first WCW victory when they defeated Bill Payne and Rick Thames. They would go on to face The Amazing French Canadians and The Faces of Fear during the remainder of 1996.[13]

The James Brothers would continue teaming in 1997 and faced The Amazing French Canadians and The Steiner Brothers. On the April 13th, 1997 edition of WCW Worldwide they defeated The Southern Posse. After this they moved on to a brief series of matches with Harlem Heat, and in May 1997 defeated the new duo of Jim Powers and Bobby Walker, the latter put together by Teddy Long. After this they were winless for the rest of 1997 in matches with Mortis and Wrath, as well as The Public Enemy.[14] Their pairing continued into 1998 but again saw little success. They were winless against High Voltage in multiple encounters. On the September 13th PPV Fall Brawl 98 they were involved in an angle when WCW Worldwide announcer Mike Tenay attempted to interview them, only to be interrupted by Ernest Miller who then attacked both brothers. Thirteen days later they would defeat The Power Company on WCW Saturday Night. On November 30, 1998 the duo enjoyed the biggest victory of their WCW tenure when they upset Raven and Kanyon on WCW Monday Nitro.[15]

Success continued for The James Brothers in 1999. On January 6, 1999 they upset Alex Wright and Disco Inferno in Mobile, AL. On the January 9th, 1999 edition of WCW Saturday Night they defeated Nick Dinsmore and Mike Sullivan. The winning streak was stop in April on WCW Saturday Night when they were defeated by Disorderly Conduct. On April 27, 1999 at a television taping in Bismarck, ND they faced the NWO for the first time and defeated Vincent and Stevie Ray. On April 29, 1999 on WCW Monday Nitro the team faced Raven in a handicap match and were victorious.[16] Scott's teaming with Steve finally came to an end on March 1, 2000, when The James Brothers faced WCW World Tag-Team Champions Big Vito and Johnny The Bull at a WCW Saturday Night taping. Shortly thereafter Steve Armstrong left the promotion, while Scott became a referee.[17][4]

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Scott Armstrong joined TNA in 2002 as a referee for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. On January 29, 2005 he made a return to the ring at WrestleReunion in Tampa, FL. Scott participated in a 17-man battle royal along with his brother Brad and father Bob.[18]

World Wrestling Entertainment (2006–2010)
Big Show arguing with Armstrong in 2009.

Armstrong appeared on the July 28, 2006 episode of World Wrestling Entertainment's SmackDown refereeing the WWE United States Championship match between Finlay and William Regal. In August 2006, Armstrong was hired as a full-time WWE referee, in WWE's ECW brand.

He became senior referee in February 2007 after Mickie Henson was moved to SmackDown.

He was also the only WWE referee for the ECW brand at WrestleMania XXIV. At WWE's SummerSlam pay-per-view event on August 17, 2008, Armstrong refereed the Hell in a Cell match between Edge and The Undertaker. He then moved to the Smackdown brand, becoming its senior official. In November 2008 referees were made no longer exclusive to certain brands.

At WrestleMania XXV on April 5, 2009, Armstrong refereed the main event WWE Championship match between Triple H and Randy Orton. On September 13, 2009, at Breaking Point in Montreal, Armstrong was involved in a storyline in which he made a controversial call on the main event match between World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and The Undertaker. Armstrong called for the bell and declared Punk the winner, even though The Undertaker never actually submitted defeat, thus making a reference to the Montreal Screwjob (which was held in the same venue in 1997).[19] On October 30, 2009, Armstrong faced CM Punk on SmackDown, but lost in a squash match.[20] The next week, Armstrong fast-counted for R-Truth in his match with Punk, costing Punk the match.

On February 26, 2010, Armstrong was released from his WWE contract.[21]

Return to WWE (2011–present)

On February 20, 2011, Armstrong reappeared on WWE programming as the referee for the main event during the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. He officiated The Undertaker vs. Triple H match at WrestleMania XXVII as well as the match between John Cena and CM Punk match for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank. He returned to SmackDown on August 5, 2011, refereeing the match between The Great Khali and Sheamus. On September 18, 2011 at Night of Champions, Armstrong officiated the main event between Triple H and CM Punk. During a run-in, The Miz and R-Truth verbally abused him, to which Armstrong retaliated by punching The Miz in the face before being beaten down by the two. At TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, Armstrong was Daniel Bryan's referee when he cashed-in his Money in the Bank briefcase and counted the pinfall for Bryan's World Heavyweight Championship victory over Big Show.

In early 2012, Armstrong became a producer for the company. Scott Armstrong also officiated the match between CM Punk and Chris Jericho for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXVIII.[22]

On August 19, 2012 at SummerSlam, Armstrong officiated the match between Triple H and Brock Lesnar in which Triple H told him not to stop the match. On Survivor Series, he was accidentally Brogue kicked by Sheamus when he was used as a human shield for World Heavyweight Champion Big Show, causing Big Show to lose via disqualification.

At Night of Champions, Armstrong officiated the WWE Championship match between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton, and made a fast 3-count in favor of Bryan to allow him to win the championship. He was kayfabe fired the next night for his actions. This was later revealed as a ploy to keep Bryan away from the title. Armstrong made another appearance at Battleground, being the second referee of the Bryan-Orton match after the first referee was knocked out, before himself being knocked out by Big Show. Armstrong returned at the main event of WrestleMania XXX, where he was recruited by The Authority to screw Bryan out of the championship, but was kicked out of the ring by Bryan. At Survivor Series, he was sent by Triple H to replace the knocked out referee, but was struck down by the debuting Sting. Afterwards, he didn't appear on WWE programming until the January 4, 2016, edition of Raw, where he tried to help Sheamus win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Roman Reigns while the guest referee, Vince McMahon, was knocked out.

On April 15, 2020, Armstrong was furloughed from the WWE along with several other producers due to the COVID-19 cutbacks, but he returned on October 4. [23][24]

Personal life

James is married to Michelle and has two children.[4] In 2008, he helped raise money for The Zoo Northwest Florida (now Gulf Breeze Zoo) after it suffered damage from Hurricane Ivan.[3]

Championships and accomplishments

References
  1. https://twitter.com/WWEArmstrong/status/308605548092338176
  2. "Scott Armstrong Profile". Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  3. Errico, Teri (2008-01-25). "ECW referee Scott Armstrong helps save Florida zoo". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
  4. "Scott Armstrong Profile". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2012-06-26.
  5. http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/jcp84.htm
  6. http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/wcw90.htm
  7. http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/smw91-92.htm
  8. http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/smw93.htm
  9. http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/smw94.htm
  10. http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/smw95.htm
  11. http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/wcw94.htm
  12. http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/wcw95.htm
  13. http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/wcw96.htm
  14. http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/wcw97.htm
  15. http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/wcw98.htm
  16. http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/wcw99.htm
  17. http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/wcw00-01.htm
  18. http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/tna05.htm
  19. Elliott, Brian (2009-09-18). "Montreal fans 'screwed' again in Breaking Point sham". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
  20. Waldman, Jon (2009-10-31). "Smackdown: New feuds for end of month". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
  21. Caldwell, James (2010-02-26). "WWE News: WWE releases a total of four talents on Friday". PWTorch. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
  22. "Exclusive: Two WWE Employees Gain More Responsibility Behind The Scenes - Wrestlezone". 17 October 2012.
  23. https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2020/04/exclusive-details-on-what-wwe-is-telling-furloughed-669351/
  24. https://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=140134
  25. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  26. NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title Wrestling-Titles.com Retrieved August 4, 2019
  27. "Independent Wrestling Results - September 2004". onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
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