AEW's Speedball Mike Bailey Looks Back On Early Career

"Speedball" Mike Bailey is officially All Elite, but the former TNA X-Division Champion has had a much longer road to AEW than some of their colleagues that broke through on the independent scene during the same era. Bailey was asked about the journey they have taken to AEW during a recent interview on Sports Illustrated's "The Takedown," and what it means to finally be a part of one of the biggest wrestling companies in the world.

"I started wrestling in Quebec, in the French part of Canada in 2005, and if people don't know what wrestling was like in 2005, this is pre-Facebook. So if you wanted to advertise your independent professional wrestling show, like you had to staple a flyer to a telephone poll and that was the most accessible means of advertising. So I wrestled for like almost 10 years in Canada making little to no money until I eventually made it to the United States, and started working on some of the major independent promotions there, one of which being PWG, which I think PWG is ultimately, and now like very intimately tied in to All Elite Wrestling."

Bailey explained that the cards they appeared on for PWG, particularly in 2015 and 2016 were shows that are full of performers who now call AEW their home. However, Bailey's US journey was halted for five years due to being unable to acquire a work visa, resulting in them traveling to Japan to DDT, where Bailey wanted to follow in the footsteps of a former AEW World Champion. "I started wrestling for DDT, which is the same promotion in Japan that Kenny Omega came up with. Trying to follow in his footsteps, and I mean that's been the journey, that's been the goal for me."

Please credit "The Takedown" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.