Scotty Riggs Reflects On Returning To The Ring At TCW, ‘It’s A Cool Memory’

Scotty Riggs looks back on his in-ring return. 

Scotty Riggs returned to the ring at Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling on February 8, teaming with Glacier, Luther Biggs, and QT Marshall to defeat Adam Priest, Duncan Mitchell, Owen Knight & Sunny Daze. 

It was Riggs’ first bout since 2009, and a bout that highlighted his journey from a low point in his life to finding a home again inside the ring. 

Speaking to Jeremy Lambert & Stephen Jensen on The Spotlight, Riggs discussed his in-ring return. 

“That was one where I got caught way off guard. None of us were actually prepared for it when QT (asked). They were talking about doing a first TCW show in a while. You hear stuff going, but you don’t put any stock into it. We did a photoshoot because they needed new pictures of me. None of us knew QT was actually going to do this. QT did, but we didn’t until afterward. He goes, ‘There is something I want to ask. We’re putting an eight-man tag together.’ The purpose behind doing it at TCW, the reason Dusty did it back in the day was to give the youngsters somewhere to go to. WCW was closing down, no more territories to go to. I was very lucky and very blessed to get to USWA before it closed down. There are no territories left like that (back then). There were schools, but somewhere you could really learn your craft? There wasn’t. That’s why Dusty got that started. QT asked, ‘Do you want to wrestle in that match?’ I was like, ‘Sure, why not?’ How do you turn down a chance to have fun in a match? It would be something to have fun with. Then you start thinking about it. ‘I’m 56 years old, how is this going to feel the next day?’ It’s not the next day, it’s the day after that when the real soreness sets in. QT gave me the option, first match in 15 years. Yeah, why not. That’s what opened the door. It was a cool memory to have. If nothing else came of it, it’s a cool memory,” he said. 

Asked if he would do another match, Riggs replied, “You can never say never, but I have a complete tear in the rotator cuff on my right shoulder and a little spurring and a messy shoulder joint. The power cuffs have gotten my shoulder stronger, so you never know what more things could happen and if another match at another level or another stage could happen.”

Riggs is a former three-time TCW Heavyweight Champion when the promotion was run by Dusty Rhodes in the early 2000s. 

Riggs has been working with Diamond Dallas Page to turn himself into a handsome motherfucker after struggling with depression and finances. 

Fans can watch the full interview with Riggs in the video above.