FTR’s connection with Stokely Hathaway has developed into one of the most significant pairings in AEW’s tag team division, and Dax Harwood does not sound eager to imagine an end date for it.
Harwood and Cash Wheeler aligned themselves with Hathaway in April 2025, adding one of wrestling’s most versatile talkers and on-screen personalities to a team already established as one of AEW’s premier tandems. The results have been substantial. FTR enjoyed a 183-day reign as tag team champions and recorded notable victories over The Rascalz, Brodido, and the Bang Bang Gang during their run with Hathaway at their side.
Now, with FTR set to challenge for the AEW World Tag Team Championships at AEW All Out, Harwood has reflected on the long road that led the team to Hathaway. The association was not simply a convenient modern-day decision. In Harwood’s telling, the idea had roots in his prior WWE tenure, when FTR performed as The Revival and Hathaway was known to many fans as Malcolm Bivens.
A long-held idea finally comes together
Harwood explained that he previously envisioned The Revival working with Bivens while both were in WWE. That prospect did not come to fruition there, but the thought stayed with him after FTR arrived in AEW.
For more background on this topic, read Dax Harwood Says AEW Has Become the Home for Tag Team Wrestling.
As Harwood recalled, he raised Hathaway’s name directly with AEW President Tony Khan toward the end of 2021 or beginning of 2022. The pitch was not merely that Hathaway could add depth to the company’s roster. Harwood saw him as a specifically valuable fit for FTR, invoking an influential model of tag-team presentation in the process.
“Fast forward in AEW towards the end of 2021, beginning of 2022, I had talked to Tony, and I said: ‘Hey, I think there’s a guy whose contract is coming up soon, and I think he’d be a great addition for AEW, but I think on top of that, he’d be a great addition for FTR and be our Jim Cornette,’ and that was Stokely.”
The comparison speaks to the kind of role Harwood had in mind. Cornette’s place in classic tag team wrestling was defined by more than ringside interference or promotional speeches. He could frame a team’s identity, make the audience understand the stakes surrounding a match, and give dangerous competitors another voice without diminishing what made them dangerous. Harwood’s remarks indicate he believed Hathaway had the ability to provide that kind of complementary presence for FTR.
That does not mean Hathaway is simply imitating anyone from the past. His personality is distinct, and his work in AEW has relied on a delivery and comedic timing all his own. Still, the broader principle is clear: FTR benefits from being presented as a complete act, and Hathaway provides an additional dimension to a team whose in-ring credibility was already unquestioned.
Cash Wheeler highlights Hathaway’s range
Wheeler expanded on why the relationship works, emphasizing both Hathaway’s business sense away from the camera and his flexibility as a television character. For a veteran team with FTR’s profile, a manager must be able to enhance the act without pulling focus from it. Wheeler believes Hathaway has consistently done exactly that.
“Yeah, and behind the scenes, Stokely is a slick businessman, so it makes sense to have him with us, but in front of the camera, he is such a talent, and he is so good at whatever he wants to be good at. If he wants to be funny, he can be funny. If he wants to be serious, he can be serious. He’s so good at all facets of it, and he brings a different element to us, a different style, a different personality.”
That range can be especially useful in AEW’s tag team environment. FTR have long thrived on a physical, grounded approach built around timing, teamwork, hard strikes, and an emphasis on traditional tag team fundamentals. Hathaway gives the group a different rhythm in interviews and ringside segments. He can inject humor when a story calls for it, but he can also sharpen the tone when the situation becomes more confrontational.
For FTR, that creates more options than a straightforward championship-chasing presentation. Harwood and Wheeler can remain focused on the work inside the ropes while Hathaway helps establish the mood before the bell. The manager’s presence also gives opponents another factor to consider, even when the core of the act remains FTR’s ability to deliver in major matches.
Success since the April 2025 alignment
The pairing has not been defined only by chemistry or potential. FTR’s success with Hathaway is already measurable. Their 183-day tag team title reign stands as a major achievement, while their victories over The Rascalz, Brodido, and the Bang Bang Gang reflect the level of competition they have navigated.
Those wins matter because they underline FTR’s continued position near the top of the division. The team has built its reputation through high-pressure performances against accomplished opposition across multiple promotions, and its AEW record with Hathaway reinforces that the duo remains a central championship threat.
Hathaway’s addition has also allowed FTR’s presentation to evolve without abandoning the traits that made Harwood and Wheeler successful in the first place. The team’s identity is still rooted in the same principles: control the pace, isolate an opponent, capitalize on small openings, and rely on cohesion built over years together. But a manager with Hathaway’s verbal ability can frame those qualities in a more varied way on weekly programming.
Rather than feeling like an accessory, Hathaway has become part of the group’s identity. That is an important distinction. Wrestling managers are at their most effective when their presence feels necessary to the act’s overall presentation, whether through strategy, charisma, emotional stakes, or the ability to change the energy of a segment. The comments from both FTR members suggest Hathaway has reached that point with them.
Harwood cannot picture a future without the pairing
Harwood’s strongest comment came when he looked beyond FTR’s current championship pursuit and considered the possibility of the partnership continuing for the rest of the team’s career.
“I don’t know if we could ever go for the rest of our careers without FTR and Stokely being together.”
It is a striking statement from a wrestler who initially imagined this combination years before it became reality. Harwood is not merely saying Hathaway has been helpful during one chapter of FTR’s AEW run. He is suggesting that the manager now feels inseparable from the team’s long-term identity.
There is no indication that FTR are stepping away from competition or that any immediate decision about the group’s distant future has been made. Harwood’s remark instead reflects the confidence that has emerged from their shared work. In an industry where alliances can shift quickly, the idea of a partnership lasting through the remainder of a team’s active run is a meaningful endorsement.
It also speaks to Hathaway’s value as a performer. He has worked in a variety of roles during his career, proving capable of adjusting his approach to the people around him. With FTR, that adaptability has helped form a unit that blends championship pedigree, tag team tradition, personality, and a clear competitive purpose.
All Out presents the next major test
FTR’s next opportunity comes at AEW All Out, where Harwood and Wheeler are scheduled to challenge for the AEW World Tag Team Championships. The title match gives the team a chance to add another major accomplishment to its record and potentially begin a new reign at the top of the division.
For Hathaway, it is also another high-profile moment alongside the team he was once pitched to join years before their official alignment. The journey from an unrealized idea involving The Revival and Malcolm Bivens to FTR and Stokely Hathaway competing for AEW’s top tag team prize has taken time, but the group now appears fully established.
Whether FTR leaves All Out with the championships or not, Harwood and Wheeler’s comments make their view of Hathaway unmistakable. They see him as more than a manager brought in for a particular storyline. They see a multi-faceted performer, a valuable presence behind the scenes, and potentially a permanent part of FTR’s remaining journey.
With a major championship match ahead, that partnership will once again be under the brightest possible spotlight.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.