Stokely Hathaway got into the wrestling business to “prove that pro wrestling is an art form” for his grad school thesis. Since his professors thought he’d fail, they “allowed me to go on this journey.”
On the latest episode of “The Sessions with Renee Paquette”, Hathaway used a Jill Scott lyric to explain why he is a manager; ‘everything isn’t for everybody.’ I wanted to be a wrestler and I’m 5’8″ on a good day and I didn’t have the athletic ability to pull it off. And so everyone thought that I was a good talker, so I just transitioned into that.”
To work on his thesis, he moved to Philadelphia. “Claudio Castagnoli was originally one of my trainers; Cassidy and Chuck Taylor. Claudio probably wouldn’t claim me on the athletic front. Managerial duties, maybe.” Although he never managed Castagnoli, they did try.
When asked how the thesis did, Hathaway replied that “I graduated, so it went well.” He has his Masters in Performing Arts. Hathaway discussed how the program teaches students that not everyone will be a famous actor, so they teach things like lighting, production, and directing to “make you a well-rounded entertainer.”
Hathaway appeared in his friend’s thesis films and was doing “the marketing thing professionally.” Wrestling was a hobby, but it soon took off. Hathaway watches a lot of comedy and is influenced by Robin Harris and Bernie Mac because he looks at being a manager as a character. He looks to Wayne Brady for improv. “You’re like the dressing on the salad and the salad is whoever you are managing, so that’s how I look at it.”
Stokely Hathaway On Working with MJF
Although Hathaway and MJF worked together on the indies, they hadn’t seen each other since 2018 before crossing paths in AEW. They had kept in touch over the years. “Fuck MJF” is what he says about him now.
Hathaway also reveals that the original plan for The Firm was to work with CM Punk. In fact, he was handpicked by Punk to work with him. “That was one thing I was looking forward to because I was hand-chosen for that role. I’m just going to say it. I don’t know the specifics about people choosing sides. I just know that CM Punk said ‘hey. I want to work with this guy.’ That means a lot, regardless of what has happened.”
Due to the situation with Punk, The Firm is having to figure out where to go next. “Everyone in the group is trying to do their best. The purpose isn’t the purpose anymore. With Ethan Page, I think he’s doing great. The Gunns are doing great. Lee is going to go into this feud with HOOK. And so things are slowly, no pun intended, gearing up.”
“It’s just going to take a few weeks. I think the way wrestling is nowadays, I get that first impressions are everything, but it’s a little bit difficult to change people’s minds. Obviously, I get it. People do not want to see Picasso work on his painting. They just want to see the shit when it’s done, right? I think that’s the phase that we’re in. We are working on it, but people don’t want to see anyone working on it. They want to see the finished product. Which I completely understand, but at the same time, we’re all human. Like, I wish this was Harry Potter and I had a wand and could move time.”
