I don’t get to talk about AEW, aka All Elite Wrestling, as much as I would like on this site, mainly because of timing and other factors. But it’s absolutely something I love. For me, this brand embodies what wrestling truly is, and is an epic “alternative” to a certain other brand. I love seeing each new signing that the company gets and how they blend into the roster’s ranks. I would even argue that one of its newest signings, Speedball Mike Bailey, has had one of the most flawless and seamless arrivals in the company’s history.
Speedball Mike Bailey is a warrior through and through, and utilizes martial arts to highlight just how good he is, and how different he is. In the AEW Unrestricted Podcast (as transcribed by Wrestlingnews.co), fans have been comparing him to video game characters for a while, and he loves that:
“I think nothing good in pro wrestling happens just as an idea, as a thought. Everything happens organically. 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. 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 further noted that he loves being able to showcase this “vision” of himself in All Elite Wrestling:
“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. So I’m very happy with that.”
His most recent singles match was at the Dynasty PPV on Sunday, and it was truly magical, with him showing off his moves against two of the best in the world via Kenny Omega and Ricochet. He absolutely brought in, including this tribute to The Karate Kid that he totally nailed:
Ricochet sold this crane kick so well#AEWDynasty pic.twitter.com/ae3BU4zMew
— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) April 7, 2025
Even his theme music sounds like something that would befit a Street Fighter character walking in for a fight:
You can watch Speedball Mike Bailey on All Elite Wrestling via their Wednesday show, Dynamite, and Saturday show, Collision, on TBS and TNT!