Stokely Hathaway Reveals Original AEW Plans For Him And Jade Cargill

After leaving WWE last year, Stokely Hathaway began lending his managerial services to several stars in All Elite Wrestling. The first, of course, was TBS Champion Jade Cargill. Hathaway quickly aligned himself with Cargill as he made his AEW debut at Double or Nothing in late May. But soon after, he began scouting other talents to represent as well, leaving many to question his allegiance to Cargill. As it turns out, Hathaway's affiliation with Cargill was a small part of a bigger ploy.

"It's interesting because a lot of people thought that Jade and I was this long-term plan," Hathaway said on the Talk Is Jericho podcast. "And the idea, which I take a little bit of responsibility for, actually, I take a lot of responsibility for it. It wasn't really conveyed the fact that when I was with Jade, the idea was I was a con artist. I was a scammer. So, I was using everyone to get to this position in The Firm."

As Hathaway alluded to, he offered up his business cards to a number of AEW stars during his run with Cargill, including Lee Moriarty, Ethan Page, Big Bill, and the Gunn Club. Eventually, all of these stars and some other notable names officially linked up to form one of AEW's most expansive stables –- The Firm. At All Out, The Firm aided MJF in winning the Casino Ladder Match, guaranteeing him a future shot at the AEW World Championship. Hathaway noted that some creative plans changed after All Out, but his involvement with Cargill was always "the beginning of the next chapter" for him.