Undertaker Calls This WWE HOFer's Contributions Backstage Greater Than Work In Ring

WWE legend The Undertaker has lavished praise on fellow Hall of Famer Michael Hayes for his work backstage in WWE as a producer.

Hayes, who had a legendary in-ring career as part of The Fabulous Freebirds, has been working backstage in WWE for nearly three decades, where he became one of Vince McMahon's trusted lieutenants, and has now continued that role under the Paul "Triple H" Levesque era. "The Phenom," in a recent edition of his "Six Feet Under" podcast, argued that Hayes' impact on the pro wrestling business as a producer may exceed his influence on the business as a wrestler.

"He was a brilliant, man. I think — and Michael was a great heel, and, you know, the Freebirds [were great]. But his contributions, I think his contributions behind the scenes as a producer, I think are far — I mean, that's hard to say because the Freebirds were awesome — but I think him as a producer is his greatest contribution to the wrestling business. He was my producer for, you know, all my WrestleMania matches, and, just an incredible wrestling mind," said Undertaker. "He was so good ... and still is. 

"The Deadman" has revealed that Hayes is now passing on his knowledge as a producer to the next in line behind the scenes in WWE, one of whom is former WWE United States Champion, Bobby Roode.

"He's training, I think Bobby Roode now, to kind of be the next guy down the line. Mike says he's doing phenomenal as a producer," he stated.

D-Von Dudley, who was on the podcast with The Undertaker, spoke highly about Michael Hayes and his impact on his WWE career, not just in the ring but backstage as a producer too.

"Michael helped me, you know, when I made the transition from in-ring talent to producer in the back, Michael helped me tremendously with a lot of stuff, and, I was kind of underneath his wing for a little bit. And then I went, you know, after he helped me be able to work with The Usos and The New Day when they had their feuds and things like that, so many different talents that I was able to work with as a producer, which I was very happy about."

Dudley said that he was, at first, a little hesitant as a producer as he wondered if the wrestlers that he had been in the ring just a little while earlier would want to listen to his advice when he donned the hat of a producer. The tag team legend revealed that Hayes gave him words of encouragement and advised him to believe in himself.

"That was when Michael came in and told me — he was like, 'Don't sell yourself short.' That was exactly what he said because I had expressed to him what I felt and what I thought. He was like, 'You're thinking wrong. You wouldn't be put in this position if they didn't think you had it to do it. So go out there and give it everything you've got.'"

The veteran star had worked as a producer in WWE from 2016 to 2023, where he worked alongside Hayes and co.