Stokely Hathaway was interviewed by Renee Paquette on “The Sessions” about his run in WWE and he opened up about his mental issues.
“It was really interesting because I think I would say that a lot of people kind of looked at me as if I was the bad guy. I kind of get it, or I do get it, because you know, I’m sure they’re were plenty of people who would kill to be in the position that I was in. At the time, like, I just couldn’t do it, you know? I never really said why. I did a comedy show and like, I alluded to it, but the wrong message came across from that show. So, I mean, to be completely honest, in February, I woke up one day, and like, I just felt miserable. Like, I just felt, I guess the right word would be crazy, right? Like, I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t know what was going on. It kind of went away, and then it kept increasing to the point where like, it was just debilitating. So, you know, I voluntarily just committed myself. This was on a Friday. I think I got out on Sunday. It was a very interesting experience mainly because I would say in Florida, it’s like, prison for the mentally ill. So when I went in, I had no idea what I was in for. I was in kind of, like a cell. It was like, no real sheets. It was just like a metal frame that you laid on. Like, obviously, like the sink was, you know, one of those things that was like, rigged to where you know, it was like motion detected. It gave you like a little thing of soap, a little thing of toothpaste. It was literally like, you couldn’t go into your room until 8 or 9 PM and then you had to wake up at 6 AM. Then you just walk the floor. It’s like, that was it, like you just like walk back and forth to fill up the time. So that was like three days of that, and then afterwards, I was like, maybe I’m not as crazy as I thought.”
“I think it was just trying to just manage everything. I do regret leaning into the being funny thing, because I think it’s hard for people to take you seriously. So like, who am I going to say, ‘Oh yeah, like, I feel this way, I feel that way.’ Like, I don’t think there was anyone to really like, listen or that I could talk to. Then especially with like social media, like everything nowadays, like it’s, one, it’s hard to take people seriously, and two, I feel like, I don’t want to say it’s like a thing to use mental health as like a crutch, but I just felt like no one would believe me if I said, ‘Hey, like, I feel this way or feel that way.’ So I just felt like it was the right thing for me to do.”
“I think for me, there was a lot of pressure. I think there’s always a lot of pressure because I feel like as a black talent, I get judged more harshly than other people. Like, I feel like everything I do is analyzed, over analyzed, right? Obviously, everyone gets a critique, but I feel like mine is at a different level, and I’m also incredibly hard on myself. So like, it was one of those things where I’m hard on myself. I had to realize that like, it’s wrestling. It’s just wrestling. This isn’t a live or die situation. So for me, it was just dealing with that, and it was also like, you know, again, I regret leaning into the funny thing, because, you know, like, I’m very, like, very introverted, like, very closed off, and I went, ‘You know what? I have this small circle of people that I trust. I should probably utilize that.'”
Former WWE Superstar CM Punk has not been seen on WWE television since the 2014 edition of the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. He walked out of the company the next day and has not looked back since then. Following his WWE exit, many fans have been wanting to see Punk make his return to the company every year. He has yet to make his return to the squared circle and at this point, it seems very unlikely. A WWE Superstar was also previously punished for ripping off CM Punk.
CM Punk has been in talks with AEW for quite a while as indicated by reports and it all came true as The Second City Saint made his return to pro wrestling on AEW Rampage: The First Dance back in August last year.
During the post-AEW All Out media scrum, CM Punk verbally attacked Colt Cabana, Hangman Page, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks. Ace Steel’s wife, who has a broken foot, was in the room when Ace and CM Punk fought Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks backstage at AEW All Out.
