Personal Reason Why Michael Hayes Supported Jey Uso’s WWE Push Allegedly Revealed

Jey Uso had a massive rise in WWE in early 2025.

He won the 2025 Royal Rumble, earning the chance to compete for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. In a shocking moment at the Grandest Stage of Them All, he made his opponent, Gunther, tap out, capturing the title in a shocking and memorable fashion.

The new sports documentary series “WWE: Unreal,” released on July 29, 2025, gave fans a closer look behind the scenes. In one of the episodes, it was revealed that Senior Vice President, Creative Writing & Booking, and senior producer, Michael Hayes, played a significant role in pushing for Jey Uso’s main event push.

Hayes’ support wasn’t just random; it had deep personal roots. WCW veteran Vince Russo recently explained why Michael Hayes was so determined to support Jey Uso.

Michael Hayes Wanted To Repay His Trainers With Jey Uso’s Main Event Push

On the Behind the Turnbuckle Studios podcast with Jonathan Coachman, Russo revealed that Afa and Sika Anoa’i (who are also part of Jey Uso’s legendary family) trained Michael Hayes in his wrestling early days. Russo explained that Hayes’ push for Uso was, in part, about returning a favor to his mentors, Afa and Sika, by elevating their nephew in WWE.

Russo said, “You guys saw on the Unreal show, you clearly saw Michael Hayes pushing for Jey Uso. Who trained Michael Hayes? Afa and Sika (Anoa). Do you guys understand that’s how far it goes back?”

“He was trained by Afa and Sika, and fast forward all these years later, and he’s trying to return the favor by pushing Jey Uso in those meetings. Do you understand how this works? That’s what I’m telling you guys. They’re exposing stuff that they think you’re not going to see. That’s how the wrestling business works,” he added. [ From 1:23:09 to 1:24:06]

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