Thanks to the WWE Network, we have been reintroduced to all of the old Legends of Wrestling Roundtables from almost 10 years ago. One of the regular guests on the panel was founding member of the Fabulous Freebirds Michael Hayes. Every time Hayes was introduced, there was always some sort of “Future Hall of Famer” reference and how “next year” would be the year…
then “next year” would be the year…
then “next year” would be the year…
well folks, “next year” is finally here!
The men who helped revolutionize the business and seemingly took over the state of Texas, and then the rest of the country, will finally take their place amongst the greats in the WWE Hall of Fame. In the 80s, Hayes and his Freebird brothers, Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy and Buddy “Jack” Roberts did the unthinkable and took it to the beloved Von Erich family in Dallas’ World Class Championship Wrestling promotion (WCCW). The rivalry, labeled “The Boys vs The Birds” would go down as one of the greatest of all time.
You know that feeling you get when you hear your favorite superstar’s music hits? When the glass shatters signaling that The Texas Rattlesnake is on his way down? How about that feeling you had last Monday from hearing the “Here comes the money!” You can thank Hayes and The Freebirds for that! They were the originators of the entrance music. Whether it was Lynard Skynard’s “Freebird” or a little Willie Nelson, The Birds used the emotion of music to help get the crowd ready for their appearance. This would be a practice that would obviously stand the test of time.
The trio from Badstreet, USA would also prove to be revolutionary in the way of teams with more than 2 members. They call it the “Freebird Rule” which states that any two members of a group can defend tag team championships. We saw this with Demolition in the early 90s (Ax, Smash, Crush), the five-member Spirit Squad in 2006 and we still see it today with current tag champs The New Day.
We saw a bit of a rebirth of the Freebirds in World Championship Wrestling. Hayes would team up with fellow WCCW alum Jimmy “Jam” Garvin to reform the popular team. The duo would hold their own in heavy competition with the likes of The Steiner Brothers and Doom. Hayes and Garvin would also introduce us to Diamond Dallas Page, who made his debut in WCW as the Freebirds’ manager.
After his in-ring career ended, Hayes would take on possibly his greatest role backstage with the WWE. No, no I’m not talking about Dok Hendrix! We’ll just chalk that up to the WWF in 1995. Hayes would become one of the most respected road agents backstage and would eventually become the head writer for SmackDown during the brand split. Hayes is also known to make his way down to the Performance Center in Orlando to teach the new kids how to do a promo. There aren’t too many in the business that would be a better teacher for that subject.
It’s been long overdue. The Freebirds are widely known as one of the most popular and influential groups in wrestling history. Nobody this side of the Von Erichs could elicit a crowd reaction, one way or the other, quite like the Fabulous Freebirds. Their influence can still be seen today and their legacy is now sure to live forever.
