“Speedball” Mike Bailey recently opened up about his journey to All Elite Wrestling and the development of his unique on-screen persona during an appearance on the official “AEW Unrestricted” podcast.
Bailey described his arrival in AEW as the culmination of a long-held ambition. “Well, it took 20 years. That’s the main thing,” he stated, referencing his extensive career prior to joining the company. He highlighted his deep roots within the independent wrestling scene, particularly promotions like Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), where he competed against many future AEW stars before visa issues temporarily barred him from working in the United States.
“I was wrestling with a lot of people that made up the initial and core roster of AEW by then,” Bailey explained. “I feel like this was the goal for a long time, and this is clearly the kind of wrestling that I like and have always wanted to do… I feel like AEW is finally presenting that on television in a real way, so of course I wanted to be part of it.”
Discussing his distinct martial arts-inspired character, Bailey emphasized its organic evolution. “I think nothing good in pro wrestling happens just as an idea, as a thought. Everything happens organically,” he said. He noted that fan interactions often reinforced the martial arts aspect of his presentation. “I’ve had throughout my whole career so many children come up to me after a show and go, ‘Oh, I’m a green belt in Karate’, or ‘You remind me of a character from Mortal Kombat.’ So of course, I leaned all the way into that.”
Bailey elaborated on the specific image he aims to project: “So that’s what I want people to see. I want them to be like, ‘Oh, this is exactly like an old school martial arts movie. This guy is right out of an arcade fighting game.’ That’s exactly the image that I want people to see.”
He expressed contentment with how this vision has translated to AEW television. “With everyone that’s been behind me, I’m glad I’ve been able to accomplish that, and I feel like the presentation coming into AEW is exactly where it should be,” Bailey concluded. “So I’m very happy with that.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit AEW Unrestricted with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
