AEW’s Stokely Hathaway Discusses His Mental Health Issues Following WWE Release

Published: Nov 29, 2022 by Ryan Coogan | Last Updated: Nov 29, 2022 by Ryan Coogan

@theothercoogan

AEW’s Stokely Hathaway Discusses His Mental Health Issues Following WWE Release

AEW’s Stokely Hathaway has opened up about his mental health struggles in the wake of his release from WWE.

Hathaway, formerly known as Malcolm Bivens in NXT, was released from WWE in April after turning down an offer of a contract extension.

Speaking to Renee Paquette on her podcast The Sessions, Bivens opened up about how the release affected his mental health:

“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.”

At another point in the same podcast, Bivens alluded to the fact that CM Punk may no longer be with AEW, when talking about a cancelled feud between Punk and Hathaway’s stable the Firm.

If you or anyone you know is affected by mental health issues, head to our WrestleTalk Support Each Other page for a list of resources and helplines.

Transcription courtesy of WrestlingNews.co.

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