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‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey is looking at AEW Dynasty as a huge step in his career.
Bailey made his debut on the March 12 episode of Dynamite. He is now in a position to potentially become a champion in just his third match in AEW when he faces Kenny Omega and Ricochet for the International Championship at AEW Dynasty. Bailey spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard about what the title match means to him, as well as getting another chance to share the ring with Kenny Omega.
“As you mentioned, this is a huge step for my career, by far the biggest platform I’ve ever been on. And to kick it off this early, I’ve only had two matches so far. And the next one I have scheduled at Dynasty is an International Championship match with Ricochet and Kenny Omega, which is honestly as big as it gets. It feels like it is all happening extremely fast. But in a way, I feel very comfortable and at home in AEW. I have already wrestled, been in the ring, been in locker rooms with almost the entire roster,” Bailey explained.
“And I have wrestled Kenny Omega before in PWG in 2015. That was a match that absolutely changed my career, its direction,” he continued. “Just working with someone like Kenny and seeing how his brain operates, and how he works, and how he goes about matches. Eventually I went on to DDT and got a much closer look on how he became the wrestler that he is. So, that’s a rematch that I’ve been chasing for ten years. Then you throw in Ricochet into the mix, who is one of the most talented wrestlers in the world. Certainly one of the most influential high flyers of the last decade. Now, as a person, as a human being, his behaviour, I cannot speak on. But I am still extremely excited for Dynasty and that three-way for the International Championship.”
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 1, 2025Speedball Mike Bailey on bringing the wrestling style and era of PWG to AEW
‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey has only faced Kenny Omega once, at Pro Wrestling Guerrilla All Star Weekend 11. PWG has not hosted any events since 2023 due to an extended hiatus, but the promotion’s influence can still be felt in the wrestling world, including in AEW. Bailey highlighted how influential PWG was on North American pro wrestling, and how AEW is now a major promotion that allows talent to showcase a certain style of pro wrestling.
“So, it’s funny because I think that style of pro wrestling is a lot bigger and more prevalent ultimately than the other style of pro wrestling. AEW is where the best wrestle, right? And for many many years in the entire world of professional wrestling, especially on the American side, there wasn’t a place that showcased professional wrestling in a much larger form,” Bailey pointed out. “You have to go to independent promotions to really see pro wrestling done for the audience. Not just for television and not just one person’s vision of pro wrestling. It is a collective vision of what people want out of the art form of professional wrestling.
“PWG was at the front of that in the US for many, many years. AEW finally brought that to a much bigger audience. But to go back to PWG and what that means… It says a lot about what that place and that promotion in a very specific period of time meant, that so many people on those cards that I was with,” Bailey added. “I wasn’t in PWG for that long, right? I was there for just over a year I think until I was subsequently banned from the US and couldn’t go for five years. But if you look at the cards from PWG in 2015 and 2016, and the people that were on there, they are all now on the undisputable top of professional wrestling. And a great part of that are in AEW right now.”
‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey reacts to Ricochet’s insults… and excuses
Ricochet is the other variable in the AEW Dynasty title match. While Omega and Bailey seem to have a certain level of respect for each other, the “new” Ricochet has taken digs at Bailey, including telling Adrian Hernandez that ‘Speedball’ has a “great face for slapping.”
“I think I appreciate that he was nice about it. He could have said a lot of mean things. But instead, he complimented my face. And I don’t want to go into a war of insults, right? I think that is a lame way of promoting a wrestling match. I think we have enough good sides, Ricochet and I. We can just rely on that,” Bailey explained. “There’s a lot of good to say about Ricochet and I’d rather focus on that, right?”
Bailey praised Ricochet for his recent character work in AEW and called him “one of the best promos in AEW.” He doesn’t want to get into a war of words like Ricochet attempted, but he can’t wait to see what excuse Ricochet comes up with after he loses at AEW Dynasty.
“One of the promos I can’t wait to hear from him is how unfair it was that he lost to ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey. Because I kick too hard, I don’t wear shoes, whatever excuse he’s going to come up with, I’m sure it will be absolutely amazing. And I can’t wait to hear him in his beautiful voice, talk about why he lost to ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey. That’s his genius. That’s how he is bred. He’s a creative guy. He will figure something out.”
AEW Dynasty takes place at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia on Sunday, April 6. Watch our full interview with ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey below:
