Michael PS Hayes Says He's Training Former WWE NXT Champ To Be His Replacement

Professional wrestling is an ever-changing business, but when it comes to WWE, some of the most long-term, tenured people in the company are the producers and writers. One of those people is Michael PS Hayes, who first took on a backstage role in 1999.

Hayes has remained in the position ever since, something he talked about on an episode of "What's Your Story?" He joked that young WWE producers these days are "very, very good" compared to the older generation, but joked they're not as good as him. Hayes said that Paul "Triple H" Levesque did, however, remind him that he wasn't "going to be around forever," and went as far as to name Hayes' replacement.

"What does that mean? Life or work?" Hayes laughed. "He said, 'You're our Pat Patterson, I need you to make Bobby Roode [our] Michael.' I said, 'Okay. That's a really good point, because I'm not going to be here forever.' Boy, has [Roode] come along. Bobby's really, really good. He's going to be great... I see great things for him."

Roode made a name for himself in TNA beginning in 2004, and hung up his wrestling boots following neck fusion surgery in September 2022, after just six years wrestling in a WWE ring. He made the transition from in-ring competitor to match producer in August 2023.

Hayes said that Roode just needs to realize that things happen in the industry that are out of one's control, and you just need to let things go. He said he personally also still has problems doing so sometimes, but said you can't "waste so much energy b*******," because "you're going to have to do things anyway."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "What's Your Story?" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.