he won the promotion's title. He soon came back to WWF TV as the manager for The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff Hardy). The Hardy Boyz lost the Tag Team Titles to The Acolytes at Fully Loaded when Hayes was pinned in a handicap match; he was fired by them in August. Backstage roles (1999–present) He then became a backstage road agent (producer) and color commentator for the WWF. Initially appearing for one night on the September 23, 1999 broadcast of SmackDown!, Hayes became a color commentator on Sunday Night Heat alongside Michael Cole and Kevin Kelly from 2000 to 2001, although he was mostly used on the international broadcasts of that show. At WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1, 2001, he competed in the gimmick Battle Royal, but was eliminated by the One Man Gang. During the December 5, 2005 episode of RAW, he became involved in verbal sparring with Edge in which Hayes attacked Edge's lack of main event experience and the details of his love life (with regard to Matt Hardy and Lita). Hayes was later attacked by Edge. In October 2006, Hayes became the head creative writer for the SmackDown brand after Alex Greenfield's departure from the company. He can be seen on the second season of WWE Classics on Demand series Legends of Wrestling. Hayes made occasional appearances on WWE programmes: on the December 7, 2007 episode of SmackDown, Hayes was a guest of MVP's VIP Lounge. Hayes promoted the new Triumph and Tragedy of WCCW DVD and reinforced its anti-drug message. However, Hayes ended up being attacked by MVP before being saved by Rey Mysterio, Jr. On the June 28, 2010 episode of Raw, Hayes was one of several Legends who accompanied Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, who was out to promote his new DVD. Hayes and the other legends were later attacked by the NXT season 1 graduates, collectively known as The Nexus. On the May 12, 2011 episode of WWE Superstars, Hayes accompanied Tyson Kidd to the ring but turned on him a week later after Kidd lost his match to Yoshi Tatsu. Hayes hit Kidd, stating he had better things to do than hang around losers. In October 2013, Hayes took a leave of absence from WWE for personal reasons, but he returned to work on December 2, 2013. On August 1, 2014 Hayes appeared in a short segment on the online series