Wikipedia

Stokely Hathaway

Stokely Hathaway (born November 12, 1990) is an American professional wrestling manager and professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his tenures in Evolve and Ring of Honor. He also appeared for WWE on their NXT brand, as manager to the Diamond Mine, using the ring name Malcolm Bivens.[1]

Stokely Hathaway
Hathaway in 2018
Birth nameStokely Hathaway[1]
Born (1990-11-12) November 12, 1990 (age 34)
Harlem, New York, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Chuck Taylor™
Court Moore[2]
Malcolm Bivens
Ramon
Stokely Hathaway
Billed height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Billed weight174 lb (79 kg)
Trained byROH Dojo[3]
Debut2014

Professional wrestling career

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Ring of Honor (2014–2016)

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On April 18, 2014, Hathaway had the first match of his career, teaming with Moose as they unsuccessfully challenged The Brutal Burgers.[citation needed] He soon became a member of Prince Nana's villainous stable The Embassy.[4] He adopted the managing role and performed for a while under the name Ramon, where he most notably managed Moose.[5] On March 28, 2016, Hathaway made his last appearance at ROH.[citation needed]

Independent circuit (2016–2019)

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Stokely Hathaway started on the indie circuit in 2016 after leaving Ring of Honor, working for companies such as Beyond Wrestling. Hathaway managed a group called "The Dream Team," which consisted of Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF), Faye Jackson (the First Lady of The Dream Team), and Thomas Sharp. Hathaway was involved in a rivalry with Orange Cassidy.

Evolve (2016–2018)

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On April 2, 2016, at EVOLVE 59, Hathaway debuted in Evolve as TJP's manager, where he unsuccessfully challenged Tommy End.[6] After a brief stint managing Timothy Thatcher, Hathaway became a member of EVOLVE's leading stable Catch Point, remaining in a managerial role.[7] Hathaway had his first Evolve match at Evolve 110, where he teamed with Chris Dickinson and Dominic Garrini in a losing effort against The Skulk.[8] At Evolve 111, Hathaway teamed with Dickinson, where they unsuccessfully challenged Tracy Williams. Hathaway and Williams' careers were on the line in an "I Quit" match, and Hathaway's career with Evolve ended as a result of the loss.[9] Although Hathaway had to leave Evolve after Evolve 111, he made a surprise appearance on September 8, 2018, where he unsuccessfully challenged Chris Dickinson, his final Evolve appearance.[10]

Major League Wrestling (2017–2018)

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In 2017, Stokely started in Major League Wrestling (MLW) as a manager of Black Friday Management. Hathaway managed Low Ki during the time before Major League Wrestling, secured their television deal with BeIN Sports in March 2018.[11] Due to already having a television deal with Evolve Wrestling Stokley Hathaway, Matt Riddle, Darby Allin, and Priscilla Kelly all had to leave MLW once their television tapings started. MLW wrote Stokley Hathaway off of TV by him being kidnapped by random kidnappers. Later in 2018 Stokley resurfaced in MLW in the crowd, however after that single appearance he did not appear on MLW television again.[12]

WWE (2019–2022)

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See also: Diamond Mine

On March 11, 2019, WWE announced the signing of Hathaway, revealing that he was already at the Performance Center.[1] He started as the manager to Babatunde under the name of Court Moore,[2] he later changed his name to Malcolm Bivens and began to manage wrestlers like Jermaine Haley.[13] At the May 16 NXT house show, Hathaway started going by the new name[14] and managed the team Rinku Singh and Saurav Gurjar. He began to work on NXT's weekly show as the villainous manager of Singh and Gurjar as Bivens Enterprises, but the storyline was dropped and Bivens was taken off of television. He returned in December, managing Tyler Rust.[15][16][17][18] On the June 22, 2021, episode of NXT, Bivens and Rust were revealed to be a part of the Diamond Mine stable along with Hachiman and Roderick Strong.[19][20] Hathaway was released by WWE on April 29, 2022. He had reportedly turned down a contract renewal offer prior to his release.[21][22]

All Elite Wrestling / Return to ROH (2022–present)

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The Firm (2022–2023)

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Stokely Hathaway made his debut in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) at Double or Nothing. He appeared at the end of a match between TBS Champion Jade Cargill and Anna Jay, aligning himself with Cargill and establishing himself as a heel.[23] In the lead up to All Out 2022, Hathaway started courting wrestlers such as Ethan Page, Lee Moriarty, Colten Gunn, Austin Gunn, and Big Bill to be his new clients. Hathaway and his clients then attacked the Casino Ladder match, taking out every competitor in the ring, clearing the way for the just-entering and masked Joker. At the end of the PPV's main event, the Joker revealed himself to be Maxwell Jacob Friedman, reuniting the latter. On the September 14 episode of AEW Dynamite, Hathaway revealed the name of his group to be "The Firm" and that they were MJF's "retainer team" helping him whenever he would need them. The partnership was short-lived when, on the October 26 episode, MJF would fire Hathaway for disobeying his orders not to attack AEW World Championship Jon Moxley and the Firm would subsequently turn on him.

Hathaway would simultaneously enter a long-term feud with Matt Hardy. On the October 12 episode of Dynamite, Hathaway revealed he bought Private Party’s contracts from LFI. During this segment, a challenge was made for AEW Rampage for a match between Ethan Page and Isiah Kassidy to free Private Party from The Firm's control.[24] But if Page won, The Firm would acquire Matt Hardy's contract as well. On the October 14 episode of Rampage, Page won the match which Hardy and Private Party would have to join The Firm.[25] Hardy and Kassidy would team with The Firm over several months, unsuccessfully challenging the likes of The Elite for the AEW World Trios Championship and JungleHOOK, the latter of which resulted in Hathaway having his first singles match in AEW against Hook in a No Disqualification match after Hardy failed to beat him for the FTW Championship, which Hathaway would lose.

On April 12, 2023 episode of Dynamite, Hardy and Kassidy were turned on by The Firm but were later saved by Hook and a returning Jeff Hardy.[26] This would lead to the Firm Deletion match at the Hardy Compound, where the Hardy Boyz, Kassidy and Hook would defeat Hathaway, Page, Moriarty, and Bill, with Maxel Hardy hitting a Swanton Bomb on Hathaway.[27] This would effectively disband The Firm, with the Gunns allying with Jay White and Juice Robinson of Bullet Club Gold and Hathaway being named to the Board of Directors of Ring of Honor alongside Jerry Lynn.[28]

Managing Kris Statlander (2024–present)

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Hathaway (right) wrestling Tomohiro Ishii at All In in August 2024

After spending the summer of 2023 as one of ROH's authority figures, Hathaway returned to a managing position in early 2024, winning the grudging acceptance of Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale after a campaign to "Give Stokely a Chance" that featured Cameo messages from Kurt Angle[29] and George Santos.[30] The partnership solidified by Revolution, with a win over Skye Blue and Julia Hart at Zero Hour, and a post-match declaration that they were "family.", turning Hathaway face in the process.[31] On May 26 at Double or Nothing after Nightingale was defeated by Mercedes Moné, Hathaway berated Nightingale until Statlander pushed him over, seemingly terminating his role as their manager. Moments later, on the ramp Statlander attacked Nightingale and aligned herself with Hathaway once again, revealing the prior events to be a ruse. As a result of the attack, Hathaway once again turned heel.[32] At All In in August 2024, Nightingale and Tomohiro Ishii defeated Hathaway and Statlander in a mixed tag team match.[33][34] After Statlander defeated Nightingale at All Out, Hathaway and Statlander parted ways with the kayfabe reason for the split being Statlander had invoiced Hathaway a large sum of money to make up for physical therapy, emotional damages and losing her shot at the CMLL World Women's Championship, though this was never acknowledged on AEW programming.[35][36][37].

Championships and accomplishments

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  • Alpha-1 Wrestling
    • A1 Outer Limits Championship (1 time)

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Stokely Hathaway, Cal Bloom and Robert Strauss join the WWE Performance Center". WWE. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Satin, Ryan. "Stokely Hathaway Debuts At NXT Live Event With New Name (PHOTOS)". Pro Wrestling Sheet. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  3. ^ "Stokely Hathaway". CAGEMATCH.
  4. ^ Greer, Jamie (March 11, 2019). "Stokely Hathaway, Robbie E and Cal Bloom Join WWE Performance Center". Last Word On Pro Wrestling. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  5. ^ Thomas, Jeremy. "ROH Field of Honor Results 8.15.14 – Brooklyn, NY". 411MANIA. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  6. ^ Kraetsch, Rich (April 8, 2016). "EVOLVE 59 RESULTS & REVIEW: RICOCHET VS WILL OSPREAY". Voices of Wrestling. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  7. ^ Taylor, Warren (May 8, 2016). "EVOLVE 60 RESULTS & REVIEW". Voices of Wrestling. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  8. ^ Csonka, Larry. "Csonka's EVOLVE 110 Review". 411MANIA. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  9. ^ Sapp, Sean Ross. "Stokely Hathaway's WWN Career Ended After EVOLVE 111". Fightful. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  10. ^ Elizabeth, Claire (September 8, 2018). "Evolve 113 recap & review: Drake bests Janela, Stokely gets Pazuzu Bombed, and Swerve breaks Hot Sauce's arm". Cageside Seats. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  11. ^ Satin, Ryan (March 26, 2018). "Major League Wrestling Signs TV Deal".
  12. ^ "Stokely Hathaway kidnapped?". MLW: Major League Wrestling®. April 29, 2018.
  13. ^ "NXT Largo, FL, live results: Dream vs. Cole vs. Riddle title match". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. April 13, 2019.
  14. ^ "411MANIA". WWE News: Stokely Hathaway Gets A New NXT Name, Every Successful Money in the Bank Cash-In, WWE Announces Watch Along For Sunday’s PPV.
  15. ^ "Russ Taylor Makes NXT Debut In Timothy Thatcher, Tommaso Ciampa Segment". Fightful.
  16. ^ "Malcolm Bivens makes a proposition for Tyler Rust: WWE NXT, Dec. 9, 2020". YouTube. December 9, 2020.
  17. ^ "WWE NXT Results for 12/16/20 NXT Championship Number One Contender Match". Fightful.
  18. ^ "WWE NXT Results for 12/23/20 A Very Gargano Christmas Special, Lorcan & Burch Retain". Fightful.
  19. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (June 22, 2021). "Roderick Strong And Malcolm Bivens Lead Diamond Mine, Attack Kushida On 6/22 NXT". Fightful. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  20. ^ Wilkins, Rob. "WWE NXT Results For 6/22/21 O'Reilly vs. Kushida, Adam Cole in action, Diamond Mine debut, and Samoa Joe". Fightful.
  21. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (April 29, 2022). "Malcolm Bivens, Dakota Kai, Harland, Dexter Lumis, More Released By WWE". Fightful. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  22. ^ Thomas, Jeremy (April 29, 2022). "More on WWE's Releases Of Dakota Kai, Malcolm Bivens, Harland & More". 411 Mania. Retrieved April 30, 2022. Kai apparently saw her release coming and had indicated to WWE that she wasn't planning on renewing her contract.
  23. ^ Powell, Jason (May 29, 2022). "AEW Double Or Nothing results: Powell's live review of Hangman Page vs. CM Punk for the AEW Championship, MJF vs. Wardlow, Thunder Rosa vs. Serena Deeb for the AEW Women's Title, Owen Hart Cup tournament finals, The Hardys vs. The Young Bucks, Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus vs. Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland for the AEW Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  24. ^ "AEW Dynamite Results for October 12, 2022".
  25. ^ "AEW Rampage Preview for October 14, 2022".
  26. ^ "Jeff Hardy is back in AEW".
  27. ^ "AEW Rampage live results: The Firm Deletion". May 5, 2023.
  28. ^ "AEW Star to be ROH's New Authority Figure – TJR Wrestling". June 5, 2023.
  29. ^ "Kurt Angle Thinks Willow Nightingale And Kris Statlander Should #GiveStokelyAChance".
  30. ^ "George Santos Wouldn't Lie, Wants You To Give Stokely Hathaway A Chance".
  31. ^ https://twitter.com/AEW/status/1764470359368007687 [bare URL]
  32. ^ "2024 AEW Double or Nothing results, recap, grades: MJF returns; Mercedes Mone, Will Ospreay win titles". CBSSports.com. May 27, 2024. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
  33. ^ Rose, Bryan (August 10, 2024). "Mixed tag team match official for AEW All In Zero Hour". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  34. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (August 17, 2024). "Kris Statlander To Face Willow Nightingale At AEW All Out, Stipulation To Be Decided At AEW All In". Fightful. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  35. ^ Singh, Gaurav (October 8, 2024). "Real reason why AEW suddenly disbanded top alliance - Reports". SportsKeeda. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  36. ^ "Reason Behind AEW Partnership Split Revealed?". WrestleTalk. October 11, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  37. ^ Defelice, Robert (October 18, 2024). "Mercedes Mone: Kris Statlander Is Right, I Did Change AEW. The Mone And Competition Have Increased". Fightful. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
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