During a recent appearance on Six Feet Under with Mark Calaway, longtime WWE executive and creative producer Michael Hayes reflected on nearly five decades in the wrestling business, his personal struggles with priorities, and his ongoing sobriety journey.
Hayes, who noted he will hit the 50-year mark in professional wrestling by 2027, spoke candidly about how his relationship with the industry has evolved over time. When asked by The Undertaker how he maintains motivation and creativity after so many years, Hayes said his love for the business is stronger now than ever.
“I think first and foremost is because I’m more in love with the business than I ever have been,” Hayes said. “I realized a couple years ago like I started to talk about that this—everything that I’ve done in my life has led me to where I’m at. And it wasn’t me that was making those choices, it was God. And when I finally got on board with that, well, if He wants this, then it’s got to be good.”
Hayes even suggested that many of his creative ideas feel spiritually inspired rather than internally generated.
“I don’t get a lot of the ideas I get by myself. I don’t. I’ve said this before: I feel God loves wrestling because I get some ideas out of nowhere sometimes. Or more importantly, I get a ‘No,’ which almost sounds like Vince [McMahon], so it’s scary.”
The conversation also turned toward personal sacrifices Hayes made throughout his career, particularly in his marriages. He openly acknowledged that wrestling consistently came first in his life.
“The challenge of doing it and trying to keep everything interesting is a major driving force for me,” Hayes explained. “I think that’s probably why I’ve been divorced twice—is because wrestling was number one. And I’ve finally come to realize that and admit that, you know? And I don’t know, I can’t sometimes now, I look back and I go, ‘God, how hard could it have been on both of them to realize they weren’t number one, they were number two?’ Didn’t mean anything to me because it’s worked fine for me, because that’s how I like life.”
Hayes also shared a major personal milestone, revealing he is approaching 17 months of sobriety — a change he says has transformed his life.
“I’m almost 17 months now without a drink,” Hayes revealed. “That’s made a world of difference for me. I was worried at first that I would lose some of my creativity because a lot of it came when I was drinking or high or both.”
The discussion revisited the challenges of WWE’s pandemic era, including the “Thunderdome” and Performance Center shows performed without live audiences. Hayes praised the talent who delivered high-level performances despite the unique environment.
“Everyone of them during the pandemic, especially in 2020, that went out and performed with no people there, they got my attention and they got my approval,” Hayes said. “I saw Jimmy Uso tear his ACL five minutes into a ladder match in 2020 at the Performance Center and go another 25 minutes with no people. And I mean any wrestler from any organization back in that time that wrestled with no people, my hats off to them. Huge.”
He concluded by recalling a brief exchange with former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon after WWE wrapped its final empty-arena show before returning to live crowds.
“I’ll never forget when we did our last show in South Florida… and now we were going back to arenas and audiences,” Hayes recalled. “And Vince was walking up the ramp and I said, ‘Boss, wait a second.’ I got up the ramp and I said, ‘I just want to thank you for doing this.’ And he just looked at me and goes, ‘Michael, I had no choice!’ and he storms off. He knew what I meant, but he just couldn’t take the compliment. He never wanted to get emotional… he runs.”
Nearly 50 years into the business, Hayes remains driven — but with a renewed clarity shaped by faith, reflection, and sobriety.
