Your Lordship: Looking at the Career of Lord Alfred Hayes

Brian Damage

A name not often brought up in the glory days of the World Wrestling Federation is ‘Lord’ Alfred Hayes. While WWF fans may remember him as the ‘Ed McMahon of the WWF’, there was another side to his Lordship that needs to be talked about…

If you grew up a WWF fan in the 1980’s, the name ‘Lord’ Alfred Hayes might make you remember a cherubic, comedic sidekick to the likes of Vince McMahon, Gorilla Monsoon and Mean Gene Okerlund. Hayes often played second banana and was the brunt of jokes during WWF programming like Tuesday Night Titans aka TNT. He was famous for saying the phrase…”Promotional consideration paid for by the following” during commercial breaks. As much as he was fondly remembered as the jovial British goofball during his WWF stint which lasted from 1982 until 1995…there were many other layers to this man that fans may or may not realize.

Born Alfred George James Hayes on August 8, 1928, he grew up as an athlete playing football (soccer) and studying the martial arts of judo. As a matter of fact, as a teenager, Hayes reportedly became the youngest Brit to become a black belt in judo eventually achieving a 7th degree dan black belt in judoka. Not seeing a long career path in competing in tournaments, Hayes transitioned to the world of professional wrestling being trained by ‘Sir’ Atholl Oakley. He made his pro debut in 1950 under the name of ‘Judo’ Al Hayes.

Hayes wrestled all over Europe and at 24 years old, became the youngest British heavyweight champion. For a time, Hayes also worked under a mask known as ‘The White Angel.’While Hayes became a true star in British wrestling, the landscape of pro wrestling in the UK was going through a severe downturn. That is when he decided to take his talents overseas to the United States beginning in 1972. He became known as a pompous aristocratic heel known as ‘Lord’ Alfred Hayes. He wrestled for various territories in the NWA and also competed for Vince McMahon Sr’s WWWF. 

Hayes had the distinction of challenging both Dory Funk Jr for the NWA worlds heavyweight title and Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF world title. In fact, Hayes defeated Funk to become the NWA champion, only for the referee to reverse his decision after interference from Dory Funk Sr. After over 30 years as a wrestler, Hayes retired from active competition due to his bad knees. Instead, Hayes focused on becoming a heel manager. He guided the careers of such talent as Baron von Raschke, Nikolai Volkoff, Billy Robinson, Jimmy Valiant and Sgt. Slaughter. Hayes and Slaughter became the best of friends outside of the pro wrestling world.

Hayes also served as a color commentator in territories like St. Louis. In 1982, under the suggestion of his friend Slaughter, the WWF hired Alfred Hayes for an off camera position as a  road agent. Hayes felt he could add so much more and convinced Vince McMahon to give him a tryout as a commentator in 1983. He eventually ingratiated himself with Vince Jr. and become a favorite employee of his. Vince’s young children of Shane and Stephanie referred to him as ‘Uncle Alfred’ as he spent many days at Vince’s home in Connecticut. 

McMahon loved Hayes’ quick wit and twisted sense of humor. Something that not everybody shared with Vince. For example, Hayes had a tendency to welcome newcomers to the WWF by offering his hand to shake, only for the unsuspecting newcomer to have Hayes place his rumored well endowed penis into the person’s hand. Roddy Piper was once a victim of this prank and was so furious he considered quitting the promotion right then and there, labeling the WWF as the World Wrestling Faggots. 

Hayes most memorable time in the WWF came when he became the sidekick for Vince McMahon Jr on the talk/sketch show known as Tuesday Night Titans beginning in 1984 and lasting until 1986 with a total of 99 episodes. All of which ‘Lord’ Alfred was a part of. Once TNT was canceled, Hayes became the voice of its replacement show called Primetime Wrestling where he often did the introductions of the hosts. 

Hayes would often screen test alongside many aspiring WWF broadcasters to see if they could make it at that position. He most notably stood next to Diamond Dallas Page during his 1990 WWF audition. One announcer Hayes did not initially like was Jim Ross who joined the company in 1993. It wasn’t so much that Hayes felt that Ross wasn’t a talented broadcaster, but rather felt that JR was replacing Hayes’ good friend Gorilla Monsoon. JR stated that Hayes often treated Ross badly and gave him the cold shoulder. Eventually, the two talked it out and became friends.  

In 1990, Lord Alfred barely averted tragedy, as he was struck by a car in a hit and run incident while walking out of WWF studios in Stamford, Connecticut. Hayes suffered a broken back, a broken hip and blood poisoning. He went into surgery, where doctors removed several vertebrae resulting in the 5 ft 11 in Hayes to shrink to 5ft 6in tall.

As the WWF was changing, Lord Alfred was being used more sparingly. His last real “gig” in the company came in early 1995, when he played the familiar role of sidekick this time to Todd Pettingill in a WWF sketch comedy show called Donnybrook Theater. Ultimately, the show was not picked up. In July of that year, the WWF was suffering financially and most in the company were given pay cuts. One of these people was Hayes, who felt completely insulted by the move.

Instead of accepting the cut in pay, Hayes decided to walk away from the company much to the surprise of Vince McMahon. Their relationship became a bit strained from that point. Hayes would return to nationally televised wrestling, when he appeared for the American Wrestling Federation (AWF) as a heel color commentator after his buddy Sgt Slaughter got him the job. Once the AWF folded, Lord Alfred sporadically appeared at wrestling conventions. 

Unfortunately, Hayes was involved in a near fatal car crash that severely injured what he deemed…”my good leg.” Hayes who at this time suffered from Diabetes, developed gangrene in that leg and it was amputated leaving him wheelchair bound. For the last few years of his life, Hayes battled health issues culminating in him suffering multiple strokes and he sadly passed away in July of 2005 at the age of 76. Vince McMahon honored Lord Alfred with a 10 bell salute and was eventually inducted into WWE’s Hall of Fame in 2018. He was survived by a son Kersten and a daughter named Kandace. While Alfred Hayes may be most remembered as the goofy sidekick during his WWF run, there is no question that he left an indelible mark in the business beyond the WWE universe. As Gorilla Monsoon respectfully called him “Your Lordship” Alfred Hayes was indeed wrestling royalty to many.