Handshake deals don’t always work out in professional wrestling, just ask Goldberg.
One man who seems to honor these deals however is AEW president Tony Khan, as it has come to be revealed that an AEW name made his debut for the promotion after shaking on his deal with Khan.
Speaking to Chris Jericho on Talk Is Jericho, Stokely Hathaway revealed that during his AEW Double Or Nothing 2022 debut, he was technically not signed to the promotion.
“I was available and Dax (Harwood) is one of my good friends. We were talking back and forth, and he sent me a screenshot. He was having a conversation with Tony (Khan) and the screenshot was Tony just being like, ‘LET’S GO!!!!!!!’ in all caps with 37 exclamation marks. That was the beginning of the talks of me coming in. We didn’t meet face-to-face until I would say Double or Nothing. I met you [Jericho], and you were like, ‘who is this guy?’ I walked in and half the people knew me. I was not signed, I was just backstage. I debuted, it was a handshake deal, and it became official a few hours after that,”
Stokely Hathaway
Hathaway would go on to manage and bring together The Firm, after briefly managing TBS Champion Jade Cargill.
It is unknown what is next for Stokely, but it is believed he will continue to be a manager in Tony Khan’s company.
H/T to Fightful
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