Michael Hayes Recounts André The Giant Agenting Matches

Michael Hayes discusses André.

The latest episode of Stephanie McMahon’s What’s Your Story? podcast featured an extensive chat with WWE producer Michael Hayes.

As they were going over Hayes’ life and pro wrestling career, Hayes brought up that André the Giant agented matches.

André held a show in Ohio that The Freebirds (Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts) were scheduled for. Hayes forgot they were booked, so the night before, he drank and took valium. Gordy and Roberts had to carry him into the venue.

“We were in Pittsburgh and there was no hotel rooms so Terry (Gordy) slept on the grass by the pool at the Howard Johnson. We got up the next morning and there was a flight to New Haven or something and there was a flight to Atlanta, and it didn’t take long and all of a sudden, we’re changing our flights and here comes André (the Giant), and we hid, all three of us are hiding behind this pillar, like, ‘I hope he don’t see us. Please don’t see us,’” Hayes said about himself, Terry Gordy, and Buddy Roberts. “‘God, I hope he don’t see us.’” Hayes was asked why they were afraid, and he said, “Well, because I’d already got in trouble for showing up when his first time he was an agent.” Hayes was then asked to clarify if he meant to say André the Giant was a match agent, and he replied, “He was an agent. He was running a show in Youngstown, Ohio, and we were staying in Columbus and I thought we were off. So I drank about, I don’t know, 10 or 12 beers, and had taken some valium.” He continued, “We pull up to the school, and I go, ‘What are we doing here?’ Terry goes, ‘We’re going to work.’ ‘Work!?’ I walked in and literally like the cartoon you see, they’re both holding me up and André’s there playing Cribbage or whatever and drinking his wine. ‘He drunk!’ They go, ‘No, he’s not,’ and they let me go. Wham! Faceplant. Really bad.” Hayes added the following about André, “He was very instrumental in talking us up. Him and I were close when he would come to Georgia. I would take him around and stuff, and I blew that.”

Hayes has reached 31 consecutive years with WWE. He shared that Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque talked to him about his future, and that can be read about here.

If the quote in this article is used, please credit What’s Your Story? With Steph McMahon, with an H/T to Fightful for the transcription.