They have been one of the most exciting talents in professional wrestling for the past decade, competing in nearly every independent promotion you can think of, as well as making name for themselves in New Japan Pro Wrestling, DDT, and PWG, but now “Speedball” Mike Bailey is in All Elite Wrestling and what a debut they had.
The former TNA X-Division Champion (yes, they also made a big impact there as well … no pun intended) arrived as the wildcard entrant in the AEW International Champion Eliminator Tournament, being pitted against The Beast Mortos, and as far as debuts go, this went as well as any debut could possibly go. On the whole, Bailey showed enough of themselves to the AEW audience to get excited about, while also not showing their full hand quite yet as those who have followed “Speedball’s” career know that they can do insane things involving kicks, flips, and kicking while flipping.
It must also be said that flowers need to be given to Mortos as well, a man (or beast, whatever he prefers) who has regularly become a member of the AEW roster that Tony Khan can turn to for a reliable in-ring hand that is guaranteed to get themselves over, even in defeat. Because of that, this match was a lot more evenly contested than some might have suspected with a new signee. Sometimes, the person who is debuting gets the vast majority of the offense to showcase what they can do, but Bailey gave Mortos more than enough in this one for the luchador to get strong reactions of his own. Despite the result never being in any doubt, Bailey is finally in AEW after months of speculation, and the question of where he goes after this week is a very interesting one.
On the one hand, putting Bailey in this tournament is a great way of showcasing what they are made of against a host of solid names in a short space of time, and is an easy way of getting them on the pay-per-view. On the other hand, the pay-per-view match is against Kenny Omega, who has just won the AEW International Championship and isn’t going to be dropping that title any time soon. You don’t want to have Bailey beaten straight away, but you don’t want Omega to drop the title when there are bigger fish to fry later down the line, and yes we are looking at your AEW Continental Championship Kazuchika Okada.
Overall, it will be interesting to see where Bailey goes on their AEW journey, especially in the immediate future. They are a welcome addition to the roster, and is more than unique enough to develop a strong following with an audience that buy in to performers who aren’t your stereotypical wrestlers, many of whom will end up having some of their best matches with Bailey because they are capable of doing that. “Speedball” has an extremely high ceiling in AEW, so let’s see how far they can go.
Written by Sam Palmer
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