Every time Otis does the caterpillar, fans are reminded of Scotty 2 Hotty, who famously did the worm during his in-ring career. The visual is much different as Otis is a bigger gentleman, but the impact is the same.
The bond between Otis and Scotty goes beyond a shared move as Otis explained to Lilian Garcia on Chasing Glory just how big of a help Scotty has been to his career.
"Scotty 2 Hotty has been nothing but great help with Heavy Machinery," he said. "Especially when it comes to character and timing. Little details. We were with him at the Performance Center for nine months and we had a blast in his class. Just learning from the master of the worm. I remember I told him, 'Scotty, this is very special to me.' Imagine 160 pounds chubby Otis at a sock hop, school dance. I'm not dancing with any of the ladies. It's elementary school. I'm in the corner thinking, 'I gotta do something here.' I just dropped [did the worm]. I remember the reaction I got. I became the cool kid all of a sudden. I told him that story and always wanted to apply it to wrestling. But I'm plumper than a worm, so we had to call it the Caterpillar.
"In our send off NXT match, we were in a six-man and I said, 'We're going full Scotty.' He was the producer for that match and we had become very close. I put the hands out, did the worm and the elbow, the crowd...oh my Lord...I'll never forget that feeling. Thank you to him for allowing me to have that."
Scotty 2 Hotty has been working at the WWE Performance Center since 2016 as a coach and trainer.
Elsewhere during the interview, Otis opened up about his struggles with dyslexia. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
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