Disabled local veteran now WWE hopeful

Michael Hayes is tough; tough enough to join the military straight out of high school, tough enough to drag himself out of a destroyed Humvee in Iraq carrying his detached left leg and tough enough to become a professional wrestler.

Born at Fort Knox and raised in Louisville, Hayes decided at an early age that he wanted to be a professional wrestler. He graduated from Seneca High School in 2004, joined the U.S. Army, and was eventually deployed to Iraq.

In August 2006 in Ramadi, Iraq, Hayes was riding in a Humvee hit by an IED (improvised explosive device). Hayes was the only survivor, and he had to drag himself away from the wreckage carrying his own left leg, which had been blown off from the knee down. Along with losing the leg, he sustained a broken hip, a crushed right heel, shrapnel damage in his hands and burns on 35 percent of his body.

Hayes believes now that his injury is what opened the door for him to pursue his childhood dream.

"I think what was necessary was for me to experience some sort of catastrophic pain and suffering, which would allow me to grow enough to where I could accept and actually appreciate doing what I've wanted to do my entire life," Hayes said.

He spent the next 18 months undergoing rehabilitation and physical therapy at the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, using the prosthetic leg he'd have for the rest of his life.

Learning the ropes

Hayes finished his term in the Army in 2008 and moved back to Louisville once his rehab was over. In 2010, he was introduced to and became workout buddies with Chris Silvio, Mohamad Ali Vaez, Mike Mondo, all wrestlers with the Louisville-based Ohio Valley Wrestling. The group gradually convinced him to give the beginners' program a shot.

"Once I found out the reality of his situation, we encouraged him a little bit more, because it seemed like something he needed," Silvio said. "He seemed to have a spark for it. So why not?"

"Those guys, they accepted me and they taught me so much in the short amount of time before I started with the school (at OVW)," Hayes said. "Just that connection alone and working out with them, they showed me how passionate they were and I could see how much they loved it and how much they really enjoyed doing it. It kind of rubbed off on me, and they got that fire going again."

Hayes joined OVW in late 2010 and trained with Nick Dinsmore's introductory class. Dinsmore had been wrestling since 1996 and was on the WWE's main roster from 2004-2007 as the character Eugene. He has since rejoined OVW as a trainer. Hayes said Dinsmore was very open to the idea of a wrestler with a prosthetic leg and welcomed Hayes as his student.

"I knew it was going to be a challenge to train him," Dinsmore said. "I was excited to hopefully see him succeed and know that I had trained someone that had a challenge and still learned the craft of professional wrestling"

"He had such an open mind with me stepping into the ring the first time. That taught me the artistic freedom you have when you wrestle," Hayes said. "There are certain things you have to do when you perform and certain steps you have to take, little things here and there that don't change when it comes to connecting with fans in a match. We do have a lot of artistic freedom when it comes to certain points."

Making his debut

Hayes made his OVW debut in a match against Dinsmore on Feb. 22, 2011, in a packed Davis Arena on Shepherdsville Road. Dinsmore still remembers the match fondly, even though he lost after Hayes hit him on the chin with his prosthetic while Dinsmore was diving off the top rope.

"It was a great match," Dinsmore said. "The energy and electricity in that building that night ... it's one of my favorite matches of all time."

"Before we knew it, the match was over and everyone (in the crowd) was losing their minds," Hayes said. "It was the first example for me how fun it can be, how creative it can be."

Hayes wrestled nearly four years with OVW, becoming one of the company's top babyfaces (wrestling lingo for the good guy in a match). While many wrestlers spend years developing their on-camera persona, Hayes simply told the story of how he lost his leg, wanting to inspire others like him with similar disabilities.

"I took what should have never happened and turned it into something that can now create and make positivity," Hayes said.

Silvio, who has wrestled against Hayes over a dozen times, said his real-life story and charismatic presence helped fans gravitate towards him.

"With Mike, honestly you don't have to do a whole lot, because there's so much emotion in the Mike Hayes persona," Silvio said. "When he's out there (in the ring), it's such a good underdog story, you don't need to put him through 20 tables or fly off the rope 50 times or something like that. It's a very easy story to tell, and Mike has done a phenomenal job of learning how to play his role as the hero in the wrestling match."

Hayes said at first he wanted his style to be like everyone else ("all the bipeds," as he calls them), but he had to change how he performed certain moves. For example, his finishing move is a variation on WWE wrestler Chris Jericho's Codebreaker, but instead of using two knees, he only uses his non-prosthetic leg to smash into his opponent's face.

Hayes became a two-time OVW Southern Tag Team Champion and a two-time OVW Television Champion. In his final three months with the company, Hayes was booked as the No. 1 contender for the OVW Heavyweight Championship, but he never won the promotion's top prize. His left the company in Feb. 2015 for what he said were personal reasons.

"I was at a low point with professional wrestling," Hayes said. "I wasn't having a very good experience. My ego was a little bruised. It wasn't exactly working out the way I wanted to, and I had a falling out with certain people."

An opportunity

On the April 20 episode of WWE's Monday Night Raw, it was announced that the organization was resurrecting it's reality show program "Tough Enough," where contestants would compete for a contract. Levesque said that contestants would be selected via video submissions.

Hayes said he believed the opportunity Tough Enough presented was a sign that he shouldn't quit.

With the help of OVW referee Chris Sharpe, Hayes created his one-minute video submission using a GoPro camera and a cellphone, showing off his strength and speed while working out at a gym.

The submission's audio was dubbed over by an emotional speech from Hayes: "You may think my injuries are a disadvantage. People like to classify my situation as a disability, they couldn't be more wrong. I'm not the only one. There are many like me that have survived the road to hell and back, that live every day to show the strength, will and perseverance of the human body. People like me are changing the world. And I'm about to change yours. My name is Mike Hayes, and I am tough enough."

The video impressed the producers, so much so that of the 11,154 video submissions, Hayes was one of the 40 contestants selected for a training camp at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., from June 9-12.

Of the 40, only seven men and six women would be selected for the weekly reality show on the USA Network which airs Tuesdays. The competition was filmed and broadcast on the WWE Network.

The camp was primarily intense cardio drills to weed out the contestants who were not in top shape. Hayes said the training was the toughest he had been through since Army boot camp, but made it through the first day without being cut.

But when he woke up for the second day of training, there was a problem. He was exerting too much force on his prosthesis, causing the bottom of his left leg to bleed.

"I could barely put my prosthesis on," Hayes said.

He attempted to participate in the drills, but by the end of the day Hayes' leg was such that he had to withdraw from the competition.

But that wasn't the end for Hayes. After giving his farewell to the judges and other contestants, he was approached by senior director of WWE talent development Canyon Ceman.

Ceman said the WWE wasn't giving up on him and that when he was fully recovered he would be considered for a developmental contract. The conversation between the two was uploaded to WWE's YouTube page on June 18.

"Whether or not your body lives up to your heart and mind, there is an opportunity here at the WWE," Ceman said to Hayes.

The next chapter ahead

A month has passed since his time on Tough Enough, and Hayes' leg has fully recovered. The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs recently approved of him getting a new socket made for his prostheses, one that will be better shaped to his leg and be able to handle more rigorous training.

Hayes says he's still getting messages from people who watched the network special.

"It's been fun to keep getting feedback," Hayes said while training at the Louisville Athletic Complex. "They did so good by me to show me in such a positive light. I get messages from amputees, people all over the world that have some kind of disability."

Hayes said he plans on reaching out to the WWE in the next few months.

He said he's already chomping at the bit to be working there so he can continue to inspire others with disabilities and work with WWE's affiliations with groups like Make-A-Wish and Hire Heroes USA.

"It's a global brand that affects so many people," Hayes said. "On that scale, I can make it better for people that are going through it."