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Brady Booker

Professional wrestler known as Bodhi Hayward and a Survivor 51 contestant.

Biography

Brady Booker is a professional wrestler and former college football player who competed on Survivor 51.

Brady Booker moved from college football into professional wrestling before joining Survivor 51. At South Dakota, he played mainly on special teams. WWE viewers knew him as Bodhi Hayward, part of NXT’s Chase University storyline. Those sports and performance records document his public career before reality television.

Known for

Contestant

Survivor 51

Brady Booker competed on Survivor 51 in 2026.[2]

Career highlights

  1. Career 1

    Football and the Bodhi Hayward name

    Wrestling audiences may recognize him as Bodhi Hayward, the name he used on WWE’s NXT programming. His athletic background includes playing linebacker at the University of South Dakota before moving into professional wrestling.[3][4][2][1]

  2. Career 2

    School sports in Illinois

    Booker came from La Salle, Illinois, and attended St. Bede Academy. South Dakota’s athletic biography credits him with four all-conference selections and two Defensive Player of the Year awards during his school years. He also received academic recognition and played baseball and basketball, making football part of a wider sports background.[3]

  3. Career 3

    Playing for South Dakota

    After a redshirt season at Iowa Central Community College, Booker played in all twelve games for South Dakota in 2019. He worked mainly on special teams, recorded four tackles and made his debut in the season opener against Montana. The university’s roster listed political science as his field of study.[3]

  4. Career 4

    NXT and Chase University

    As Bodhi Hayward, Booker appeared on NXT 2.0 and NXT Level Up. WWE placed the character in the Chase University storyline alongside Andre Chase, who acted as both teacher and tag-team partner within the show. The presentation made use of Booker’s background as a college linebacker, emphasizing his power in early matches against opponents including Guru Raaj and James Drake.[4]

  5. Career 5

    From wrestling segments to Survivor

    WWE’s archive also preserves Hayward’s involvement in the wider Chase U presentation, including pep-rally segments and ringside appearances connected with Andre Chase’s matches. Survivor introduced Booker under his own name, adding an unscripted competition credit to his work as an athlete and wrestling performer. His football roster and WWE profile document two distinct stages of that career before his arrival on the island.[4][1]