Michael P.S. Hayes

Michael P.S. Hayes

Class of 2016

Career[]

Early career[]

Hayes started wrestling in 1977 in theTennessee regionalpromotions. In 1979, he formed atag team withTerry "Bam Bam" Gordy calledThe Fabulous Freebirds. Hayes became Michael "P.S." Hayes, and they strutted their way to many tag team titles along withBuddy "Jack" Roberts. Hayes also started moonwalking in the ring like Michael Jackson used to do in concert.

The Freebirds spent 1980 through 1982 in theNWA's Georgia Championship Wrestling area, where they won the National Tag Team Titles a few times, split and feuded, then mended fences.

World Class Championship Wrestling[]

In 1982, they left forWorld Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), where they had one of their most famousfeuds. During Christmas night in 1982, Hayes was chosen by the fans to be the special guest referee during theRic Flair-Kerry Von ErichNWA World Heavyweight Championship match inside asteel cage. Hayes at one point knocked Flair out so Von Erich could get the pin and the title. Von Erich refused to pin him after the dirty deed which ultimately led to Gordy slamming the cage door on Von Erich's head. As this later cost him the title, it triggered the legendary feud betweenThe Fabulous Freebirds andThe Von Erichs and ended a good respectful friendship between both groups. The Freebird-Von Erich feud ended for good in 1993 during a memorial card in tribute toKerry Von Erich.

Hayes was always the leader of the group with his exceptional mic skills and he recorded the team's new theme song,Badstreet USA, in 1983. The video to the song features all three of The Fabulous Freebirds as well as Jimmy Garvin, who was often considered the fourth Freebird. They had used theLynyrd Skynyrd song "Free Bird" andWillie Nelson's version of "Georgia on My Mind" up to that point and would on occasion in the future.

In 1984, The Freebirds had a brief stint in theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) but left due to disciplinary issues. The Freebirds then spent a few months in theAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1985, feuding withThe Road Warriors (Hawk &Animal) over theAWA World Tag Team Championship, winning the belts temporarily at the inauguralSuperClash event before the AWA overturned the decision. The Freebirds interfered in the match where the Warriors lost the belts toJimmy Garvin andSteve Regal, and subsequently returned toTexas.

In 1986, Hayes appeared in the opening credits ofHighlander alongsideThe Fabulous Freebirds, working his Purely Sexy gimmick on the turnbuckle while writhing free of his ring robe.

Universal Wrestling Federation[]

The Freebirds also spent several months in theUniversal Wrestling Federation in 1986 and early 1987 with Sunshine as theirmanager. There they feuded withThe Fantastics (Bobby Fulton &Tommy Rogers) and with"Dr. Death" Steve Williams.

In 1986, Hayes' partner in the Freebirds, Terry Gordy, became the first holder of theUWF Heavyweight Championship. After losing the title by default toOne Man Gang, the Freebirds engaged in a major heel vs heel feud withGeneral Skandor Akbar'sDevastation, Inc.. The feud continued even after Akbar double-crossed Gang and helpedBig Bubba Rogers win the title from him, and saw the Freebirds form an alliance with their former enemy Williams against Devastation Inc.

As a consequence of this, after the breakup of the Freebirds, Hayes remained in the UWF now evolved into a fully-fledged babyface. At the NWA/UWF co-promoted pay-per-view eventStarrcade '87 Hayes teamed with Jimmy Garvin (also now a babyface after reconciling withkayfabe brotherRon Garvin) andSting to face the team ofEddie Gilbert,Rick Steiner andLarry Zbyszko whom they wrestled to a time-limit draw. He also challenged NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair and frequently teamed with Jimmy Garvin.

Music Career and return to World Class Championship Wrestling[]

In 1987, on the back of the popularity of the Badstreet USA theme, Hayes recorded and released an album,Off The Streets. He also performed live concerts to promote the album with his backing band, the Badstreet Band. The July 1988 issue ofPro Wrestling Illustrated (written circa March 1988) contained a (possiblykayfabed) column by writer Dave Rosenbaum in which he visited the box office for a Badstreet Band show and surveyed what sort of people would actually go to Hayes' concerts.

At around this time, Hayes returned to World Class Championship Wrestling to find that his former Freebird partners Gordy and Roberts, in alliance withIceman Parsons andThe Angel of Death, had resumed their feud with the Von Erichs. After Gordy and Roberts helped Parsons win the World Class heavyweight title from Kerry Von Erich by bashing Kerry with socks loaded with weights while the arena lights were mysteriously turned off, a disgusted Hayes allied himself with the Von Erichs against his former Freebird 'brothers'.

At the1988 Parade of Champions, Gordy defeated Hayes in a hair vs hair "triple dome of terror" (three vertically stacked cages) match. After the match, however, Gordy refused to cut Hayes' hair and instead turned babyface on Roberts and cuthis hair. Subsequently, Hayes and Gordy reunited as babyfaces and feuded with Roberts and hisSamoan Swat Team as well as old Freebird enemies Devastation Inc, of whom Parsons was now a member.

While all this was going on, Hayes continued with his music career, often playing concerts with his Badstreet Band at theDallas Sportatorium, World Class's main arena. Inevitably, the music career overlapped with World Class' storylines when, at one such concert, Roberts appeared onstage and hit Hayes over the head with a guitar. Hayes also formed a new tag team with"Do It To It" Steve Cox and together they twice briefly beat the Samoan Swat Team for the World Class tag team titles, on September 12–16, 1988 and October 15–17, 1988.

World Championship Wrestling[]

In 1989, Hayes went toWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he wrestled as aface. He turned on U.S. ChampLex Luger during a match withHiro Matsuda'sYamazaki Corporation and joined them. The stable includedRic Flair,Barry andKendall Windham, andButch Reed. Hayes feuded with Luger and won theNWA United States Heavyweight Championship from him after Terry Gordy surprised everybody and interfered in the match. Hayes soon lost the title back to Luger and The Freebirds entered the tournament to crown newNWA World tag team champions.

At theClash of the Champions VII on June 14, 1989,Jimmy Garvin showed up as the newest Freebird and he and Hayes won the tournament and titles (thus reuniting their old tag team from the NWA circa 1987). The new champions immediately feuded withThe Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton &Stan Lane). Gordy left in late 1989 and Hayes and Garvin feuded withThe Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton &Robert Gibson).

In 1991, The Freebirds feuded withThe Young Pistols (Steve Armstrong andTracy Smothers). They soon added another Freebird,Badstreet. He helped them win theWCW United States Tag Team Championship and they all won theWCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. They also had two managers briefly,Big Daddy Dink andDiamond Dallas Page. Once Badstreet departed from the group in late 1991, The Freebirds were left with no real direction. The Freebirds turned face, and Garvin's wifePrecious became their on-screen manager. Although they won the WCW United States Tag Team Championship again, The Freebirds disbanded by late 1992.

Hayes then turned heel again and started managingArn Anderson andBobby Eaton, who were still members of theDangerous Alliance. He became a member of sorts and even helpedPaul E. Dangerously in his feud withMadusa. In 1993, Hayes became a fan favorite again and feuded withPaul Orndorff over the TV Title and then briefly teamed (and later feuded) withJohnny B. Badd and also did some commentating before quitting WCW in January 1994, after being offered a $75,000 a year contract. He went back to Dallas to theGlobal Wrestling Federation and reunited with Garvin and Gordy as The Freebirds, whom he managed them to win their Tag Team Championship, before the company folded that September.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment[]

In 1995, Hayes retired from active competition due to a serious back injury he suffered while in WCW. He signed with the WWF in early 1995 and becameDok Hendrix,WWF Action Zone co-host withTodd Pettengill. As "Dok Hendrix", Hayes would interview wrestlers before their matches. His most famous interviews include "The birth of Austin 3:16," "The Super Soaker DX" commercials, and hosting most of WWF's products. Hayes also worked as a color commentator in 1995 with Vince McMahon onWWF Superstars of Wrestling and on theIn Your House 1 and the1995 King of the Ring pay-per-view events.

Hayes returned to active competition in 1999 forPower Pro Wrestling, where he won the promotion's title. He soon came back to WWF TV as the manager forThe Hardy Boyz (Matt andJeff Hardy). The Hardy Boyz lost theWWF Tag Team Championship toThe Acolytes atFully Loaded when Hayes was pinned in a handicap match; he was fired by them in August. He then became a backstage road agent andcolor commentator for the WWF. Initially appearing for one night on the September 23, 1999 broadcast ofWWE SmackDown, Hayes became acolor commentator onSunday Night Heat alongsideMichael Cole andKevin Kelly from 2000 to 2001, although he was mostly used on the international broadcasts of that show. AtWrestleMania X-Seven on April 1, 2001, he competed in theGimmickBattle Royal.

Hayes received some attention when it became known that, prior to the November 13, 2003 episode ofSmackDown! he had canvassed forJohn Cena (then a face) to attack his tag team partnerChris Benoit (also a face) after they had won their match. Hayes believed that adding an "edge" to Cena's character could recreate the popularity ofStone Cold Steve Austin. After the live crowd reacted badly to the storyline, it was cut from theSmackDown! broadcast.

During the December 5, 2005 episode ofRaw, he became involved in verbal sparring withEdge in which Hayes attacked Edge's lack of main event experience and the details of his love life (with regard to Matt Hardy andLita). Hayes was later attacked by Edge.

In October 2006, Hayes became the head creative writer for the SmackDown! brand after Alex Greenfield's departure from the company. He can be seen on the second season ofWWE Classics On Demand seriesLegends of Wrestling. On the December 7, 2007 episode ofSmackDown!, Hayes made another one-time appearance, as a guest ofMVP'sVIP Lounge. Hayes' appearance was to promote the newThe Triumph & Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling DVD and reinforce its anti-drug message. However, Hayes ended up being attacked by MVP before being saved byRey Mysterio.

On June 28, 2010 edition ofRaw, Hayes was one of several Legends who accompanied Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, who was out to promote his new DVD. Hayes and the other legends were later attacked by the NXT season 1 graduates, collectively known asThe Nexus.

On the May 12, 2011 episode ofWWE Superstars, Hayes accompaniedTyson Kidd to the ring. Then on the May 19, 2011 episode ofSuperstars, Hayes hitTyson Kidd in the face after Kidd lost his match toYoshi Tatsu. He claimed that he has better things to do than hang around losers.

WWE issued a statement onOctober 10, 2013 claiming that, "Michael is taking a leave of absence for personal reasons." Hayes returned to work on December 2, 2013.

On August 1, 2014 Hayes appeared in a short segment on the online series JBL & Cole show in which he stared at a "Free Birds, call to enquire" flier.

In wrestling[]

• Finishing moves

• DDT
• Bulldog

• Signature moves

• Piledriver
• Elbow drop

• Managers

• Sunshine
• Hiro Matsuda
• Diamond Dallas Page
• Big Daddy Dink
• Little Richard Marley
• Paul E. Dangerously

• Wrestlers managed

• The Hardy Boyz

• Entrance themes
  • "Free Bird" byLynyrd Skynyrd
  • "Georgia on My Mind" byWillie Nelson
  • "Badstreet USA" by Michael Hayes and The Backstreet Band

Championships and accomplishments[]

• Georgia Championship Wrestling

• NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (1 time) - withTerry Gordy
• NWA National Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Terry Gordy (3,First) andOtis Sistrunk (1)
• NWA United National Championship (1 time)

• Mid-South Wrestling Association

• Mid-South Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Terry Gordy

• NWA Mid-America

• NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Terry Gordy

• Power Pro Wrestling

• PPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• World Championship Wrestling¹

• NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• NWA World Tag Team Championship/WCW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - withJimmy Garvin
• WCW United States Tag Team Championship (2 times) - withJimmy Garvin
• WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Jimmy Garvin andBadstreet

• World Class Championship Wrestling | World Class Wrestling Association

• NWA American Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Terry Gordy
• NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship(Texas version) (6 times) - withTerry Gordy &Buddy Roberts (5,First) andKerry Von Erich &Kevin Von Erich (1)(Last)
• WCWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts(First)²
• WCWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - withSteve Cox

• World Wrestling Entertainment

• WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2016)

¹Hayes' reigns with the Mid-Atlantic version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship and the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship occurred after Ted Turner purchased the promotion and renamed it World Championship Wrestling. The reigns also occurred prior to the titles being renamed as WCW championships.
²During The Freebirds 5th reign, WCCW withdrew from the NWA and was renamed World Class Wrestling Association. Their fifth reign carried over as reign after the title's name was changed to the WCWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship because they were the champions at the time of the name change.

See also[]

• Legends with JBL: Michael Hayes

External links[]

• Profile
• Accelerator Profile