‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey Making Up for Lost Time After Long-Awaited Return to U.S.

After an immigration issue kept him out of the country for five years, Saturday’s match is his biggest yet on this side of the border.

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Mike Bailey: “I want to be the top wrestler in all of wrestling, and becoming X Division champion is the first step to proving that”

“Speedball” Mike Bailey went five years without wrestling in the United States.

He’s currently making up for lost time.

The dynamic performer has already wrestled 11 matches this month, sharing the ring with the likes of Minoru Suzuki, Jay White, Alex Shelley and Lee Moriarty.

“A lot of these matches are ones I’ve wanted to wrestle for a long time,” Bailey says. “I’ve been watching Shelley for almost 20 years and admire his work from a distance, and I finally had the chance to have a match with him. All of this, it has been a real joy.”

Bailey is Émile Baillargeon-Laberge, a Canadian citizen. Due to an immigration issue in 2016, he was not allowed to enter the United States for five years. His furious return to the American wrestling scene has captured a snippet of his breathtaking, risk-taking style in the ring.

“I’ve been absolutely nonstop since coming back,” said Bailey. “It’s been wild.

“I’ve had fun in every single match. I enjoy it, and I take pride in what I do. I love doing it. I am also conscious of the impact that a performance with true purpose and care can have on people. That motivates me to keep going and reach new heights.”

After WWE backed out during the eleventh hour, Bailey signed a deal with Impact Wrestling in October. Wrestling with joy, hunger and determination, Bailey has yet to even scratch the surface of the mark he can make with the support of the company’s platform.

His biggest moment since his return will come on Saturday at Impact’s Rebellion pay-per-view, seeking to steal the show in a three-way match against Trey Miguel and Ace Austin for the X Division title.

“The X Division championship is my goal,” Bailey says. “To me, the X Division championship is the biggest championship in professional wrestling. A chance to get that belt, especially when the division is so stacked, it means even more. It’s me, Ace and Trey in the match, but there’s also Chris Bey, Laredo Kid, Rich Swann, Willie Mack—those are all such great wrestlers.

“I want to be the top wrestler in all of wrestling, and becoming X Division champion is the first step to proving that. I want to make the X Division the best division in all of professional wrestling.”

While sometimes mistaken for a cruiserweight division, the X Division consistently stands out as Impact’s most thrilling action. There is no limit to who can compete, which Bailey sees as a venue to wrestle a wide range of opponents.

“The X Division, it’s action,” Bailey says. “It’s dynamic. It’s exciting. I want to win the title and then defend it against anyone in the world that’s willing to step up.”

If Bailey is successful in his attempt to win the title at Rebellion, that would instantly set up singles matches against Miguel and Austin, as well as potential encounters against Jonah, Jonathan Gresham and, eventually, Impact lynchpin Josh Alexander.

“I want to start by setting the pace for Rebellion,” Bailey says. “I wouldn’t mind if we opened the show. I’d use that energy from the crowd. That would be a pretty good place to be.”

Saturday’s pay-per-view is a launchpad for Bailey. One of the most talented wrestlers in the world now has the platform he desperately needs, and he plans to make Rebellion a night to remember.

“My biggest accomplishment in life is continued progress,” Bailey says. “If you think you’ve seen ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey before, you must watch Rebellion to see the latest, best version. I truly believe in my heart that I am the greatest professional wrestler in the world, and I intend to prove that by winning the X Division championship on Saturday. And I intend to keep getting better afterwards, too.

“I’m on the right path. But how I want to be recognized, I have a lot left to prove.”

The (online) week in wrestling

• Jon Moxley made it clear at New Japan’s show on Saturday night: He wants a match against Hiroshi Tanahashi. 

• Monday night’s showing was the latest reminder that Raw is an hour too long. I wasn’t surprised to see Theory (dropping his first name is such an odd choice) defeat Finn Bálor for the U.S. title. WWE didn’t even have Bálor defend his championship at WrestleMania 38, but for all the misuse of Bálor, this is a perfect opportunity to bring him into the Edge–AJ Styles feud. 

• There were some fascinating nuggets in this interview with Triple H, including touching on the prevailing mentality among high-level WWE executives—one that I still don’t think Paul Levesque adheres to blindly—that it is easier to train those who aren’t already indie wrestlers: “The indie stuff, half of it is, ‘He’s a good in-ring performer, but the rest is a mystery. He’s got bad habits I have to get him out of.’ This is almost cleaner. It’s a blank slate.” 

• I noticed on social media that there were some people who took issue with Sasha Banks being part of the 24/7 title double commitment ceremony, which was a classic hokey WWE segment. Banks is a star, and that won’t change through one segment. It reminded me of Andre The Giant’s appearance in the Uncle Elmer wedding from 1985, which didn’t impact the brightness of his stardom.

• Thunder Rosa had a great showing as champion at Battle of the Belts II. 

• New TNT champion Sammy Guevara acts and sounds more like a heel every week. 

• Is the Elias/Ezekiel name change just WWE’s way of having some fun with the audience upset over other recent name changes in the company? It couldn’t be, right? 

• Sincerest condolences to Mike Johnson, who is a true gentleman and talented writer. 

Critiquing Cody Rhodes’s return to WWE

Since the moment his music hit on the first night of WrestleMania 38, Cody Rhodes has been treated like an absolute star in WWE.

Rhodes defeated Seth Rollins at WrestleMania, and in the ensuing weeks has had the company’s flagship show, Monday Night Raw, built around him. Now there is no doubt that SmackDown is currently WWE’s top program, benefiting tremendously from a two-hour format and the presence of Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman, but having the keys to the castle on Raw is still noteworthy.

From the moment he held a microphone in WWE, Rhodes has been clear about his intentions: winning the world title. And why not? This is a unique story, one with deep roots to his father, the late Dusty Rhodes, and even his brother, the timeless Dustin Rhodes (aka Goldust). The top piece of WWE gold has eluded the Rhodes family. Cody did not join WWE with any of his entourage, but he carries his family’s legacy atop his broad shoulders. Other legendary families, like the Harts and the Guerreros, struck gold and found their way atop the WWE hierarchy. That is now Rhodes’s responsibility, and watching it develop on a weekly basis should continue to be fascinating.

But it hasn’t been entirely perfect for Rhodes so far, beginning with the build to WrestleMania. Seth Rollins is one of the best in the world and can certainly withstand a few losses, but why on earth would he lose in the weeks leading up to Mania?

Rollins is also only a few months removed from taking Roman Reigns to the limit at the Royal Rumble, an entertaining match that told a story of the unstoppable Reigns unable to find a way to beat Rollins. Yet, in just the month of March, Rollins lost to Kevin Owens on the March 14 edition of Raw. He lost to AJ Styles the following week by disqualification, his last televised singles match. For good measure, he also finished in the loser’s bracket of a four-way tag title match on Raw on March 7. Wouldn’t it have helped the story had Rollins instead steamrolled through every one of his opponents, then lost to Rhodes at WrestleMania?

Imagine if Kenny Omega was losing matches in the weeks leading up to Bryan Danielson’s AEW debut. Or if Reigns lost ahead of John Cena’s return last summer. That wouldn’t have made any sense and would have only served to hurt the story, which is why neither happened. Vince McMahon and his team need to put that same attention on Rhodes, doing all they can to ensure this run produces a genuinely star-making moment culminating with Rhodes winning the world title.

WWE features the best talent roster in the world, but its story lines often lead to frustrations. As Rhodes—who is coming off a count-out victory against Owens on Monday in a fun match with a frustratingly flat finish—continues his ascent in the company where he first started his career, let’s hope that close attention is paid to the small details. If done right, this run shouldn’t be good; it should be great.

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Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.