Quick Facts
Biography
Joseph Scott James (born May 4, 1959) is an American referee, retired professional wrestler and producer better known as Scott Armstrong. He is currently under contract to WWE. He is the oldest son of Bob Armstrong and has three brothers who became wrestlers, Brad, Steve and Brian.
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1983–2006)
James started wrestling in 1983 as "Scott Armstrong". He wrestled primarily in the Georgia and Alabama areas but has wrestled for the National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he formed a tag team called "The James Boys" with brother Steve. He worked in WCW from 1992 until 2001, beginning as a wrestler and spending the last year as a referee. He also wrestled as Dixie Dy-no-mite in Smoky Mountain Wrestling.
He was also a referee for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
World Wrestling Entertainment (2006–2010)
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). On October 30, 2009, Armstrong faced CM Punk on SmackDown, but lost in a squash match. 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.
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 (2011). 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.
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 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 Daniel 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 at 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.
Personal life
James is married to Michelle and has two children. In 2008, he helped raise money for The Zoo Northwest Florida (now Gulf Breeze Zoo) after it suffered damage from Hurricane Ivan.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Superkick
- Signature moves
- Diving reverse crossbody
- Dropkick
- Roll-up
Championships and accomplishments
- Dixieland Championship Wrestling
- DCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Georgia Championship Wrestling
- NWA National Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bob Armstrong
- North Georgia Wrestling Association
- NGWA Tag Team Championship (1 time)
- NWA Wrestle Birmingham
- NWA Wrestle Birmingham Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bob Armstrong
- Peach State Wrestling
- PSW United States Tag Team Championship (1 time, last) - with Mad Jack
- Pensacola Wrestling Alliance
- PWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Southeastern Championship Wrestling
- NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Brad Armstrong
- NWA Southeastern United States Junior Heavyweight Championship (5 times)
- Southeastern Xtreme Wrestling
- SXW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- SXW Impact Championship (1 time)
- Tennessee Mountain Wrestling
- TMW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Brad Armstrong
- United Championship Wrestling
- UCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bob Armstrong
- USA Wrestling
- USA Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)