Early career (1977–1979) Hayes started wrestling in 1977 in the
Tennessee regional
promotions. In 1978, he wrestled his first tour overseas in Germany for IBV which later became the
Catch Wrestling Association. In 1978, Hayes formed a
tag team with
Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy called the
Fabulous Freebirds.
Mid-South Wrestling (1979–1980) In late 1979, Hayes and Gordy moved to
Bill Watts'
Mid-South Wrestling promotion, where they swiftly defeated Watts and
Buck Robley for the
Mid-South Tag Team Championship. Their first reign lasted until March 1980, when they lost to
Paul Orndorff and
Ted DiBiase. They regained the titles later that month. While in Mid-South Wrestling, Hayes and Gordy were joined by
Buddy "Jack" Roberts, expanding the Freebirds from a tag team to a stable. Hayes adopted the moniker "P. S." ("Purely Sexy") and began
moonwalking in the ring like
Michael Jackson at his concerts. The Freebirds' second reign ended in April 1980 when they lost to Buck Robley and
Junkyard Dog. This led to a match on June 9, 1980 in the
Municipal Auditorium putting Robley and Junkyard Dog against Gordy and Roberts (accompanied by Hayes), with the stipulation that the loser would have their hair removed. After Robley lost the match and the titles, Hayes poured
hair removal cream in Junkyard Dog's eyes, (
kayfabe) blinding him. The angle saw Junkyard Dog seemingly forced to retire from wrestling; after he gave a promo in which he revealed that he could not see his new-born daughter, the
heat on the Freebirds became extreme, with fans attempting to attack them. The Freebirds added to the heat by appearing on television wearing dark glasses and carrying canes to mock the blinded Junkyard Dog. Junkyard Dog returned to the ring on August 2, 1980 at Mid-South Wrestling's "Superdome Extravaganza" show in
New Orleans'
Louisiana Superdome, defeating Hayes in a
steel cage dog collar match. The Junkyard Dog went on to face Hayes and the Freebirds in a series of violent matches, including dog collar matches, cage matches, "
Jim Bowie"
death matches, and
loser leaves town matches. The feud culminated in a
lights out no disqualification match in the
Riverside Centroplex in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana on November 4, 1980 where Junkyard Dog and Bill Watts defeated Hayes and Gordy. Following the match, Hayes and the other Freebirds left Mid-South Wrestling for
Georgia Championship Wrestling.
Championship Wrestling from Florida (1984–1985) and
Buddy Roberts, |thumb In December 1984, Hayes joined the
Florida-based NWA territory
Championship Wrestling from Florida, where he initially formed a tag team with
Dutch Mantel before reuniting with Gordy and Roberts. The Fabulous Freebirds initially feuded with
Boris Zhukov,
Jim Neidhart,
Krusher Kruschev, and
The Saint, then feuded with the
Assassins. In January 1985, Hayes unsuccessfully challenged
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair in
Fort Lauderdale. The Freebirds joined the JCP roster in May 1987. Throughout mid-1987, they repeatedly challenged
NWA United States Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express. At
Starrcade '87: Chi-Town Heat in November 1987, Hayes teamed with
Jimmy Garvin and
Sting to face
Eddie Gilbert,
Larry Zbyszko, and
Rick Steiner, with the match ending in a time-limit draw. In December 1987 and January 1988, Hayes had a series of matches against
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair, including a time limit draw that aired on
NWA World Championship Wrestling. Hayes left JCP in January 1988 to return to Texas. However he retired from active competition due to a serious back injury he suffered while in WCW and after the NWA's Dallas promotion ended, and debuted on April 14 instead as Dok Hendrix,
WWF Action Zone co-host with
Todd Pettengill. He was fired by them in August. During the December 5, 2005 episode of
RAW, he became involved in verbal sparring with
Edge in which Hayes attacked Edge's lack of main event experience and the details of his love life (with regard to Matt Hardy and
Lita). 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 of
WWE Classics on Demand series
Legends of Wrestling. Hayes made occasional appearances on WWE programs: on the December 7, 2007 episode of
SmackDown, Hayes was a guest of
MVP's
VIP Lounge. Hayes promoted the new
Triumph and Tragedy of WCCW DVD and reinforced its
anti-drug message. However, Hayes ended up being attacked by MVP before being saved by
Rey Mysterio Jr. On the June 28, 2010 episode of
Raw, 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 as
The Nexus. On the May 12, 2011 episode of
WWE Superstars, Hayes accompanied
Tyson Kidd to the ring but turned on him a week later after Kidd lost his match to
Yoshi Tatsu. Hayes hit Kidd, stating he had better things to do than hang around losers. In October 2013, Hayes took a leave of absence from WWE for personal reasons, but he returned to work on December 2, 2013. On August 1, 2014, Hayes appeared in a short segment on the online series
JBL and Cole Show in which he stared at a "Free Birds, call to enquire" flier. In February 2015, Hayes partook in a WWE.com interview alongside
Arn Anderson with
Michael Cole to discuss
Triple H and
Sting's match at
WrestleMania 31. On April 2, 2016, Hayes was inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame with the Fabulous Freebirds. Hayes accepted the award alongside
Jimmy Garvin. Hayes took a hiatus from his position on the creative team in November 2024 reportedly for personal reasons, until he was named in an amended lawsuit in January 2025 involving
McMahon and a former female WWE employee, Janel Grant who alleged that McMahon ordered her to create explicit content for Hayes and backstage personnel in September 2020.
Independent circuit (1998–2000) In 1998, Hayes returned to the ring for the first time in four years working in the independents reuniting with Terry Gordy at Bad Boys of Wrestling in Wyoming. In 1999, he competed for
Power Pro Wrestling, where he won the promotion's title. He defeated
The Honky Tonk Man on May 8, 1999, at Superstars of Wrestling. On January 21, 2000, Gordy and Hayes wrestled for Oklahoma Pro Wrestling when they lost to the Hardy Boyz. == Music career ==