WWE Hall of Famer Michael Hayes (Photo credit: WWE)
Craig Melvin
The WWE Hall of Famer wore his Philadelphia Eagles hat with pride when he sat down.
These days, Michael Hayes, a key player in the infamous professional wrestling rivalry between the Fabulous Freebirds and the Von Erich family plays a major role backstage with WWE, but he still knows how to bring out some heel tendencies when called upon.
“I always have a ritual when I go to Dallas during the football season. I wear my Eagles gear,” Hayes told The Dallas Morning News in a recent interview.
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“I’m a huge Eagles fan. Have been all my life. I was born in Philly. … Once you’re an Eagles fan, you’re stuck with it, bad as it can be.”
But in the wrestling space, Hayes serves as WWE’s vice president of creative writing and booking, along with being a senior producer — until a new opportunity came along, one the would get him back in front of the camera.
Hayes, along with a number of WWE personalities, are starring in the new microdrama film “Agent of Shadows,” set to premiere Friday on ReelShort and social media.
Microdramas are typically shot in aspect ratios made for viewing on mobile phones, with clips released minutes at a time with potential cliffhangers in every installment. The full movie will also be made available for consumers.
“I think it’s a great concept, and I think it has a lot of promise,” Hayes said. “Everybody seemed like they were having a good time. For me personally, you know, playing a prick, not far from who I am. … Housewives seem to like it a lot. I’ve always got along with housewives all my life.
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“I was fortunate enough to have a bunch of WWE people with me: Hank & Tank from NXT, Booker T, Nikkita Lyons from NXT, Ethan Page, Jacob Fatu, and, of course, Drew McIntyre.”
Big stories. Short episodes. WWE’s first ReelShort collaboration “Agent of Shadows,” starring Drew McIntyre and more WWE Superstars, premieres October 23. https://t.co/UUVkmYZ501
— WWE (@WWE) October 10, 2026
In a wide-ranging interview, Hayes discussed his role as the villain in the film, his history wrestling in Dallas, as well as his role today in WWE. Here are some highlights, edited for clarity:
On shooting a movie during WWE’s busy schedule…
Hayes: “It’s hard for me to find time to do any outside projects because you know we have Monday TV, we have Friday TV, and then once a month we have a premium live event, and that pretty much takes up your time. But we shot out there for three days and got it done. It was kind of a like run-and-gun atmosphere by the way we were shooting the scenes. I mean, after about three takes, if it wasn’t good, we’re taking it. It was a great experience.”
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Was there any sort of just getting back on the bicycle, being the bad guy again?
Hayes: “Well, it was, you know. I don’t really perform anymore because I’m behind the camera producing everything. It was fun to perform again – it’s a lot more fun to perform in front of a crowd, you just live for that response. There is no crowd on the movie set. There’s just people telling you killed it. In fact, I think like one kid told me I killed it. He wasn’t even with the project. I don’t even know what he was doing there. But you know, it’s a fun kind of foreign experience for me.”
You have a very long history in your career wrestling in Dallas. I’ve had the pleasure in the last couple years sitting down with Kevin Von Erich. You’ve wrestled at Texas Stadium in the whole run with the Von Erichs feud. What are your memories of that time in your career?
Hayes: “Gratefulness really comes to mind. You know, I only came out there for one shot of WCWA Star Wars in San Antonio (in 1986), because Gary Hart was a good buddy of mine, and at the time I was not doing a lot. And when I got there and saw the crowd, and boy, saw how vastly the Von Erichs were over, there was nothing like it. And that’s why I told Terry [Gordy] to give his notice in Georgia to come out here, and we’ll do some business with these boys. And we did. And I don’t know, man. I still look back on them with very fond memories. …
“You know, Kevin and I are the only ones left from that era, and we text all the time. I’m glad he’s back in Texas, and the family’s doing well. They certainly been through hell and high water.”
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We’ve also had two WrestleManias at AT&T Stadium, the new home of the Cowboys. What are your memories of those two events, and what do we need to do to get a third one at AT&T Stadium?
Hayes: “Well, geez, I would think you guys would be in the running. I really have nothing to do with those decisions. I enjoyed the first two. I believe the first one we actually got to walk on the stage because we got inducted into the Hall of Fame. So that was fun to be out there with, you know, like about 100,000 people.
“And then the first one was really interesting for me because I had Undertaker and Shane in ‘Hell in a Cell,’ which anytime you have a Shane McMahon match you lose years on your life, especially with Vince [McMahon] watching, because everything’s going to be your fault if anything goes wrong. And then the next ‘Mania, I had Kevin Owens and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, so that was really fun for me, too. That was Steve’s return to the ring, and that was great fun.”
On Shane McMahon convincing WWE to let him jump off the ‘Hell in a Cell’ cage in 2016…
Hayes: “Ugh, that was a struggle the night before because we had to rehearse it, and he talked Vince into it because originally Vince was not going to allow him to do it. But he, the son persuasion to the father, I guess. … That takes balls. I don’t care what you say, you know, maybe a little stupidity, too, and recklessness, but that takes balls. I’m glad we didn’t have to do that stuff to fill a stadium because I wouldn’t have done it.”
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FOR THE LOVE OF MANKIND!! 🤯 🤯 🤯
#WrestleMania 32 airs TONIGHT at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on @espn! @shanemcmahon https://t.co/Wng1hR2HxG
— WWE (@WWE) March 29, 2020
Your whole run with the Freebirds and wealth of knowledge. What kind of advice do you pass along now to groups like 946 and the Vision and Judgment Day to help dive into the group dynamic and make it work in 2026?
Hayes: “The kids today are much better athletes than those of my era. Not that we didn’t have great athletes; we did. We just didn’t have as many. By the same token, they’re better human beings, but some of them lack that grit that made the characters. They really weren’t characters, it’s just an extension of their own personalities, and some of that is missing. But if you’re going to be in a group, you have to devote to the group and for what is best for the group, and that means giving up some things that if you were just a single act that you might be pursuing for the betterment of the group. The other thing is – because I can’t tell you how many people told us the Freebird gimmick, the bringing rock-and-roll into wrestling would never work, never work – I was told I was on marijuana pills. I told them if they find them, let me know. …
“But you gotta believe in yourself. You gotta believe in yourself because if you can’t sell yourself to yourself, how do you expect to sell yourself to anybody else? And that’s it. You just got to have a real good belief system in what you’re doing, and you’ve got to be willing to fall on your face and make mistakes. Nobody is a huge success without any mistakes. Mistakes are good as long as you learn from them.”
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