Details On Speedball Mike Bailey Signing With AEW (AEW News)

Speedball Mike Bailey is now officially #AllElite

by Andrew Pollard
Mike Bailey
IMPACT Wrestling

After months of speculation, Speedball Mike Bailey is #AllElite.

Last night's AEW Collision saw a vignette air, promoting the imminent arrival of Speedball in AEW.

Previously, Bailey was contracted to TNA through until the turn of the year, with the ridiculously talented Canadian having last competed for the Anthem promotion back in October.

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Since it became clear Speedball was finishing up with TNA, the rumour mill has been rampant on where the 34-year-old may end up next, with both WWE and AEW having had interest in the star. Those rumours suggested AEW was the most likely landing spot for Bailey, and that has indeed proven to be the case.

On this signing, Fightful Select reports that Speedball has penned a multi-year deal with AEW. While the former three-time TNA X Division Champion was free to work elsewhere as of 1 January following the expiration of their prior TNA contract, Fightful adds how the delay in bringing Bailey to AEW was related to visa issues - visa issues that are currently in the approval process.

Speedball Mike Bailey
IMPACT Wrestling

Getting Up To Speed With Mike Bailey

For those maybe not too familiar with Speedball Mike Bailey, without any sense of hyperbole, Speedball is one of the very best in-ring works on the planet, meshing a high-energy style with submission work and striking. There may be other wrestlers who do similar stuff to Speedball, but few do it as well as him.

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Having made his in-ring debut in 2006 at the age of just 15, Bailey wasted no time in making a name for himself across Canada, competing against the likes of Kevin Owens/Steen and Josh Alexander, before seeing his star power continue to rise in promotions such as CZW, PROGRESS, RevPro, wXw, PWG, and DDT.

Unfortunately for Speedball, he was banned from entering the United States for five years between 2016 and 2021, which obviously led to him spending plenty of time competing elsewhere across the globe. As for the reason for that ban, that was due to attempting to get into the US for an EVOLVE show without having the relevant visa.

Bailey signed with IMPACT/TNA in late 2021 ahead of debuting for the promotion the following year, and his tenure with the Anthem organisation saw Speedball win the TNA X Division Title on three occasions plus put on a string of stunning matches, not least against Josh Alexander and Will Ospreay. Outside of TNA, these last few years have seen Speedball wrestle regularly for GCW, make appearances for NJPW, and work for notable independent promotions such as Wrestling Revolver, House of Glory, DEFY, and DEADLOCK Pro.

Speedball Mike Bailey has technically competed in an AEW ring before, working a couple of matches as part of the 2024 Jericho Cruise - where Bailey lost to Michael Oku, then teamed with Chris Jericho and Paul Wight to pick up a win over Lance Archer, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Kyle Fletcher.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.