in the heyday of Too coolScotty 2 Hottie was not the wrestler many thought would one day require major neck surgery. And yet, that’s exactly what happened to him wrestler turned AEW producer. when appearing on “Insight with Chris Van Vliet” Van Vliet asked Scotty about the scar on his neck. It was then that the former WWE Tag Team Champion revealed that he not only had neck surgery, but needed neck fusion surgery.
“I had a cervical fusion done by Dr. Youngblood in San Antonio,” Scotty said. “Stone Cold went first, and then everybody (went). Edge’s gone, Lita’s gone, Bob Holly’s gone, Benoit’s gone… I think Angle could have finally gone, but I don’t think so. But we were a group. Yes, cervical fusion. 5, 6, 7.
Scotty confirmed that the surgery was not required because he broke his neck, but because the discs in his neck are in terrible shape. He also revealed that if he chose to fuse all four levels of his neck instead, it would end his wrestling career, prompting Scott to opt for the smaller fusion. Through it all, Scott got a lot of support from Stone Cold Steve Austin, especially before the surgery.
“Austin actually went with me to my first doctor’s appointment, which is wild,” Scotty said. “I remember he was in the room before the doctor came in, and he takes the X-rays out of the envelope, puts them on the table … turns on the light, and starts looking at them and goes, ‘I’m not a doctor, but I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express last night.’ But how nice that he went with me on it. Such a cool person.”
If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit “Insight with Chris Van Vliet” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.