If you watched the WWE Tough Enough competition special (or if you happened to read my recap), you got familiar with Mike Hayes, an Army veteran who made the preliminary 40-person cut and even lasted until the second day of drills. For those who missed it, Hayes is an Army veteran who lost his left leg in 2006 when his Humvee was hit by an IED. But as Tough Enough has proven so far, it takes a lot more than that to keep him down. Hayes only withdrew from the competition when he realized that he might be putting his health at risk. Luckily, it appears that WWE knows they’d be crazy to give up on Mike’s story just yet. This video, posted yesterday by WWE, shows Senior Director of Talent Development Canyon Ceman informing Mike that the road hasn’t come to an end.
This is great to see, and we don’t even know yet how it’ll manifest. Maybe one day we’ll see him in the ring, or maybe he’ll find something to do backstage. Or who knows, maybe he’ll decide that the offer isn’t for him after all. But in any case, there’s potential to move forward, and that’s important. I think there’s room for one more Michael Hayes in the WWE, especially considering that the one we have now has a less-than-stellar reputation when it comes to race relations. Also, if I can make a final digression here, “Canyon Ceman” is one hell of a name. He sounds like he should be representing one of the rich districts in The Hunger Games.
(Via YouTube)
