Wrestling On FanNation

Speedball Mike Bailey & Overlay Films Talk 'Keep It Kayfabe' Documentary: 'Pro Wrestling Is A Language' (Exclusive)

Overlay Films presents a brand new documentary that gives you a different perspective on pro wrestling than anything else seen in years.
Sid Pullar III|
Speedball Mike Bailey
Speedball Mike Bailey | Overlay Films

Professional wrestling has become a genre of its own when it comes to the documentary space. From VICE's Dark Side of the Ring to WWE: Unreal on Netflix, there are so many to choose from nowadays.

It is very rare that a documentary or docuseries really gives you a different perspective and gives you a honest look at the backstage aspect of how the artform comes together before it gets to the ring.

This is what Overlay Films is looking to achieve with their new project entitled, "Keep It Kayfabe," which follows current AEW star Speedball Mike Bailey during a very busy weekend while he competed on the independent scene.

In 2023, Bailey wrestled eight matches in three days during WrestleMania 39 week in Los Angeles. Directors Michael Priestley and Christian O'Keefe followed and documented the complex nuances on how Speedball was able to approach each match and the outcome in the ring.

"Right, so as a professional wrestler, I get a lot of offers for things like this, which often turn out to not be legitimate, to not have a foundation," Speedball Mike Bailey told The Takedown On SI. "But so Michael hit me up first, and he kind of sent me what Overlay Films had done before, and it was really amazing stuff. Right."

"There really wasn't an example of a documentary, but the way he explained to me what he wanted to do really felt special and really felt like something I could get behind."

Filmmaker Michael Priestley is a longtime professional wrestling fan who has an inspiring passion for the business that made him pursue a project like this.

"Yeah, I mean, I've been a huge wrestling fan for a long time, for basically my whole life," Michael said. "And, you know, kind of had the idea during the pandemic of wanting to make a documentary in our style."

Working with his friend and co-director Christian O'Keefe, the duo have created Overlay Films who have created different documentaries and music videos that focus on intimate human stories.

"We have, we've been co-directing stuff for about a decade now. And I would say we have a pretty unique style that worked really well for music videos and things like that," Michael stated. "And it kind of, had the ideas during, early in the pandemic of like, once, you know, wrestling came back."

"It would be a cool time to dive in and kind of apply that style to wrestling because I just think that it works really well together. So then we reached out to Mike early on in the process and he was all for it right away and it was perfect, worked out perfectly because he's one of the best in the world."

The fact that Priestley was such an avid pro wrestling fan, while his partner O'Keefe was not actually made Bailey more interested in taking on this documentary.

"Because I think it's what wrestling as an art form really needs right now and the fact that Christian was part of it too and he was not familiar with professional wrestling as an art from really understood it right and that their project was going to address both the inner workings for people who are pro wrestling fans already and I think also made this a fantastic introduction for people who aren't familiar," Speedball said.

"With the art form of professional wrestling because it really addresses the question of, 'yeah, but isn't it fake' that people have all the time, I mean, I think this documentary, because it's a very complex question, 'is pro wrestling fake, right?' In ways it is, in certain ways it's not, and the documentary does a fantastic job answering that question."

Not being as familiar with the wrestling industry made this something that gave O'Keefe a different insight and goal coming into this project.

"Yeah, yeah, that's an interesting aspect of this, I think, is because I was not a wrestling fan before working on this," Christian O'Keefe said. "I would say my perception of wrestling even skewed a little to the negative. I didn't really like it as a kid growing up."

"And Mike's always tried to sell me on it and everything. And so when he brought this up, I was kind of like, yeah, I mean, I just love to work on things. I love to. You know, have my hands dirty and have a project going."

Priestley believes O'Keefe's difference to him being a wrestling fan helped to provide something unique to the experience for everyone involved.

"And I think Speedball liked that dynamic, too, early on when we were kind of talking to him about it, because, you know, for me, I really wanted to make something that was a kind of a response to the annoying question that I've gotten my whole life, which is, you know, isn't it fake? Why do you like it? Isn't it? It's fake. It's stupid." Michael said.

"So I wanted to made something that, you like four wrestling fans in a good response to that annoying question. Um, but at the same time, I think I'm probably in a little too deep and Christian being a bit of an outsider, it helped kind of reel me in a little bit to make it for, you know, a wider audience also than just wrestling fans."

Seeing how the inner workings of professional wrestling went down helped Christian get a newfound respect and appreciation for the business.

One of the more fascinating things about this project that he explained helped him grow that love for what he was seeing is realizing that the performers have their own language to communicate before and during matches.

"But I think for me, once we worked on this project, then I got to actually see the behind the scenes and the inner workings of how it all works and the choreography behind it and there's kind of this shared language aspect between wrestlers from different countries, even speak different languages," O'Keefe said.

"It really opened my eyes to the fact that like, this is more than just a sport that has pre-constructed outcomes ahead of time or whatever I thought it was before to being like, wow, this is truly an art form. "

Talking to Speedball, this language is what pro wrestling is all about and allows him to communicate with opponents from Mexico, Japan and all over the world.

"It is pro-wrestling. That is pro-wrestling. Pro-wrestling is a language," Bailey said. "Again, I say it in the documentary, right? And I truly mean it. And I don't remember the exact words I use that they have on film. But it's something like, if you really wanted to get the general public to understand professional wrestling and really appreciate it, you would show them the whole process."

"Because what you see on TV or at a show is really just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to see the entire pro wrestling, then you have to see two people who will fly in from different countries, talk to each other in different languages, but still pro wrestling, speak for 20 minutes, then shake hands, meet back in the ring, and perform a flawless fight scene that needs to be good for all angles and interact with the audience and needs to only be, needs to work in just one take."

This entire process is what truly gives a totally unique feel to "Keep It Kayfabe" and helps to bring a better understanding onto what pro wrestling is in comparison to all other documentaries out there, according to Bailey.

"And I mean, that entire thing is the beauty of professional wrestling," Speedball said. "And again, there is so much negative media around professional wrestling outside of what is shown on TV, right?"

"You see all the documentaries and shoot interviews focus on, you know what I mean, all the bad things pro wrestlers have done, the negative interactions that happen backstage. But what you can see when you watch the film, which is what most of professional wrestling ends up being, is just people working together to create art."

Bailey explains how this passion for creating art inside the squared circle brings individuals from all walks of life together and why he has this profound love for the industry.

"Art that transcends language or nationality or, you know what I mean, gender or anything like that. It all just comes together. And most professional wrestlers, especially nowadays, modern pro wrestling is about cooperation and kindness."

This is a sentiment that both Priestley and O'Keefe also share from their filmmaking perspective covering some of the most intimate moments of a crazy weekend in pro wrestling.

Michael: "Yeah, it's art and I think a lot of people who aren't in the know or who aren't fans, kind of miss that part of it. "

Christian: ""Exactly. And that I was one of those people. And I think after really seeing how it works and seeing Speedball, you know, an amazing artist at work really doing his thing. It totally changed my perception of wrestling and what wrestling is. "

Explaining his approach to this documentary, Speedball stated he changed nothing to how he would go into any other weekend on the indies despite going on the daunting task of performing eight different matches in a short span.

"Yeah, so I had absolutely no approach to the documentary, which was great, but that's what they wanted to begin with, right? WrestleMania weekend for the last three years for me has been just a celebration of professional wrestling where I get to do just that, nothing but that, as much as I can and get completely absorbed in trying to have as many matches in as few days as possible," Bailey explained.

"And they just wanted to capture that. And it's raw, it's real, what you see is exactly what I would have done whether there was a camera pointed at me or not. So I think they really nailed it from that perspective. "

Looking back on a weekend where he faced AEW's Kota Ibushi, current AAA Mega Champion El Hijo Vikingo among others, Bailey couldn't really pick what match he is most looking forward to watching back.

"It's an impossible question to answer for me because that entire weekend just feels like a blur. And I am just, again, I am entirely focused on what I'm doing at the time, right? I mean, this is why I like the documentary so much."

On what viewers will see in this documentary, the AEW star explained how so much goes into performing three different matches in one day.

"This is why I think they did such a good job because having three professional wrestling matches in one day is incredibly difficult," Speedball stated. "And you don't just go out there and do it. There's a ton of planning and deliberation and communication and art that goes behind it."

"And I am so focused on everything. And I cannot, like, I can't even separate those three days into days or even less into matches. For me, it's all one event that just never stopped for 72 hours."

"Keep It Kayfabe" premieres during the San Diego Comic Con in the Grand Ballroom 6 on Thursday, July 24th with a Q&A panel featuring Speedball Mike Bailey, Michael Priestley and Christian O'Keefe immediately after. For more information on the documentary and its premiere, visit @overlayfilms on Instagram.

The Latest On WWE, AEW & More

AEW Announces Location And Date For 2025 WrestleDream PPV

AEW Dynamite Preview (7/23/25): Start Time, Match Card, How to Watch & Live Stream

MJF Teases Happy Gilmore 2 Movie Details Ahead Of Netflix Premiere

WWE Reportedly Eyeing Former AEW Star For Referee Audition

Published
Sid Pullar III
SID PULLAR III

Sid Pullar III is a lifelong pro wrestling fan who has been covering the business for the past eight years. Starting off as a podcaster and creator of the Tru Heel Heat Wrestling YouTube channel, he made the transition to news and feature writing with Sportskeeda and WrestleTalk in 2020. His passion for the industry has been documented with over 3,000 videos on YouTube and 8,000 written pieces across multiple outlets, such as Fightful, WrestleTalk, The Takedown and more. Follow him on X @TruHeelSP3

Share on XFollow TruHeelSP3
Home/Features