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Mike Bailey (wrestler)

Canadian professional wrestler From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mike Bailey (wrestler)
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Émile Charles Baillargeon-Laberge (born July 16, 1990), better known by his[a] ring name "Speedball" Mike Bailey,[5] is a Canadian professional wrestler.[6] He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is one-half of JetSpeed with Kevin Knight. He is also known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a former three-time TNA X Division Champion. He also performed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).

Quick Facts Birth name, Born ...

He is a former two time IWS World Heavyweight Champion and a former two-time KO-D Tag Team Champion. Bailey was also the winner of Combat Zone Wrestling's 2015 Best of the Best, DDT Pro-Wrestling's 2016 DNA Grand Prix, Revolution Pro Wrestling's 2021 British J-Cup and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's 2023 Battle of Los Angeles tournaments.

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Professional wrestling career

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Independent circuit (2006–present)

Baillargeon-Laberge made his professional wrestling debut at a Federation de Lutte Quebecoise[7] house show from January 6, 2006, as Mike Sydal, where he teamed up with Bouncer and Brad Foley in a losing effort to Alextreme, Sheik Tank Ali and Sweet Pete in a six-man tag team match.[8] He is known for working with various wrestling promotions and would often compete under the nickname of Speedball.

Baillargeon-Laberge, now going as Mike Bailey, made his IWS debut on October 1, 2009, in a tag team victory with Brian Kirkland, defeating 2.0 (Jagged & Shane Matthews) at Le Skratch in Laval.[9]

Bailey worked for the Canadian promotion Capital City Championship Combat based in Ottawa, Ontario, where he debuted on May 1, 2010, at C4 Stand Alone 2010 in a losing effort against Player Uno.[10]

He teamed up with Kevin Steen at C4 Domination 2K11 on April 30, 2011, to defeat Josh Alexander and Michael Von Payton (who replaced an injured Rahim Ali) for the C4 Tag Team Championship.[11] Bailey worked with other infamous wrestling personalities, such as in a six-way match from C4 Crossing The Line 5 on June 16, 2012, where he competed against Josh Alexander, Michael Elgin, Scotty O'Shea, Stu Grayson and Tyson Dux for the C4 Championship, coming in unsuccessfully.[12] He eventually won the title at C4 Crossing The Line 6 on June 15, 2013, in a three-way match also involving Josh Alexander and the champion Scotty O'Shea.[13]

At the Combat Zone Wrestling's New Heights 2014 event from July 12, he unsuccessfully challenged Biff Busick for the CZW World Heavyweight Championship.[14] At Scarred 4 Life, on September 20, 2014, Bailey won the IWS World Heavyweight Championship against The Green Phantom.[15] On the October 18, 2014 event CZW Tangled Web 7, he unsuccessfully challenged Shane Strickland for the CZW Wired Championship.[16] At CZW Night Of Infamy 2014 on November 8, he teamed up with Buxx Belmar and unsuccessfully challenged OI4K (Dave Crist and Jake Crist) for the CZW World Tag Team Championship.[17] At CZW Cage Of Death XVI, he participated in a six-man scramble match, a qualifier for the Best Of The Best Tournament, where he competed against the winner Jonathan Gresham, A. R. Fox, Caleb Konley, David Starr and Alex Colon.[18]

Bailey made his debut for the Southern California promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) at From Out of Nowhere on February 27, 2015, losing to Biff Busick in his first match.At Un F'N Sanctioned on March 28, 2015, at Corona Theatre, Bailey defeated Hallowicked and Jesse Neal in a Triple Threat Match. At Mystery Vortex III, Bailey answered Roderick Strong's open challenge for the PWG World Championship, but failed to win the title. Bailey picked up his first win in PWG by defeating Chris Hero at Threemendous IV. He participated in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament, where he managed to reach to the final by defeating Drew Galloway in the first round, Will Ospreay in the quarterfinals and Tommy End in the semifinals. Bailey competed against Chris Hero and Zack Sabre Jr. in a three-way elimination match in the final, where he was the first man to be eliminated. He made a few more appearances with PWG until early 2016 before he was banned from working in the US for five years due to not having a work visa. On September 5 at Scarred 4 Life, he retained the IWS World Heavyweight Championship against Jack Evans.[19]

Bailey made his debut for the British promotion Revolution Pro Wrestling, having his first match at RevPro High Stakes 2016 on January 16, where he lost to Big Damo.[20] On March 5, 2016, at Un F'N Sanctioned held at Métropolis, Black Dynomite won the IWS World Heavyweight Championship in a four-way match versus Rey Mysterio, Jack Evans and Bailey.[21] Bailey debuted for the German promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling on March 10, 2016, at the wXw The Inner Circle, where he first fell short to Kim Ray. In the second match, he teamed up with Tyler Bate in a losing effort to Timothy Thatcher and Big Daddy Walter.[22] At CZW Deja Vu 2015 on March 14, Bailey unsuccessfully challenged Joe Gacy for the CZW Wired Championship.[23] Their feud continued until CZW Proving Grounds 2015 from May 9, where he managed to defeat Gacy, but by disqualification, therefore not succeeding in winning the title.[24]

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Bailey facing Jurn Simmons at wXw 16 Carat Gold 2020

Bailey was defeated by Sami Callihan at CZW Seventeen from February 13, 2016.[25] He participated in the wXw 16 Carat Gold 2016 Tournament where he lost to Ilja Dragunov on the first night, on March 11, 2016,[26] and on the second night, from March 12, he faced Marty Scurll, Trevor Lee and Angélico in a three-way match.[27] On the third night, on March 13, he teamed up with Will Ospreay in a losing effort to Marty Scurll and Trevor Lee.[28] Bailey worked several matches for Progress Wrestling, first of them being a loss against Mark Haskins for the Smash Wrestling Championship at Smash/Progress Smash vs. Progress, a cross-over event held between the two promotions on August 7, 2016.[29] On September 30, 2016, on the first night of the wXw World Tag Team League 2016, Bailey defeated John Klinger to become the number one contender for the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship.[30] On the second night, on October 1, he fell short to the champion, Jurn Simmons.[31]

Bailey returned to RevPro in 2017, competing in various matches against popular wrestling figures. He lost to Zack Sabre Jr. at RevPro Live At The Cockpit 13 on February 5, 2017.[32] He also participated in the wXw 16 Carat Gold 2017 Tournament, and on the first night, on March 10, 2017, he defeated A. C. H. in a first round match.[33] On the second night, on March 11, he got defeated by Matt Riddle in a quarter-final match.[34] On the third night, he teamed up with ACH to score a victory against Donovan Dijak and J. T. Dunn.[35] At wXw True Colors 2017 on April 8, Bailey battled Jurn Simmons, Walter and Axel Dieter Jr. in a four-way match for the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship, coming out unsuccessfully.[36] At RevPro Live In Portsmouth 9 on August 27, 2017, Bailey lost a match to Jeff Cobb.[37] At RevPro Live At The Cockpit 21 on October 10, 2017, Bailey lost to Zack Gibson.[38] At RevPro Monday Night Mayhem on October 23, 2017, he unsuccessfully challenged Josh Bodom for the RPW British Cruiserweight Championship.[39]

At Road To 16 Carat Gold 2018, on February 25, 2018, Bailey defeated Jay Skillet and Julian Pace in a three-way match semi-final; however, he fell short to Marius Al-Ani in the final, the same night.[40] At wXw 16 Carat Gold 2018 Tournament, Bailey unsuccessfully challenged Bobby Gunns for the wXw Shotgun Championship on the second night, from March 10,[41] and on the third night, a day later, he teamed up with Matt Sydal and Marius Al-Ani in a losing effort to CCK (Chris Brookes and Travis Banks) and Jonah Rock in a six-man tag team match.[42] On September 9, 2018, Bailey defeated Psicosis and Argenis in a three-way dance,[clarification needed] at an IWS vs AAA spot show for the Montreal Mercado del Taco.[43][44] At Progress Chapter 78: 24 Hour Progress People on November 11, 2018, he lost a match to Eddie Dennis.[45]

On March 23, 2019, IWS celebrated its 20th anniversary with Un F'N Sanctioned at MTelus, where Tajiri with Mikey Whipwreck defeated Bailey.[46] At RevPro Summer Sizzler 2019 on August 30, he participated in a six-man scramble match also involving the winner Sanada, Hikuleo, Robbie Eagles, Rocky Romero and Senza Volto.[47] At Progress Chapter 95: Still Chasing on September 15, 2019, he participated in a 30-person rumble match for the inaugural Progress Proteus Championship, competing against other wrestlers such as the winner Paul Robinson, Eddie Kingston, Dan Moloney, Sid Scala and Los Federales Santos Jr.[48] Bailey wrestled a match for Ring Of Honor, at ROH Honor United - Bolton, on October 27, 2019, where he fell short to Flamita.[49] At RevPro Live At The Cockpit 47, Bailey teamed up with Mao as Moonlight Express to win the SWE Tag Team Championship by defeating Deadly Sins (JK Moody and Kane Khan).[50] At RevPro Uprising 2019, on December 15, Bailey teamed up again with Mao, this time scoring a loss against Pretty Deadly (Lewis Howley and Sam Stoker).[51]

On February 8, 2020, at Praise the Violence, Matt Angel defeated Bailey in an IWS World Heavyweight Championship Ladder Match.[52]

On September 4, 2021, at Blood, Sweat & Beers, Bailey defeated Matt Angel in an IWS Title Match, winning his second IWS World Heavyweight Championship.[53] On September 18, 2021, at Fighting Back X, Bailey defeated Daniel Garcia for his second C4 Championship. On November 12, 2021, at Never Say Never, Bailey defeated Kevin Blackwood for the C4 Underground Championship in a Title vs Title Match.[54] On November 6, 2021, Bailey defeated Kid Lykos in the first round and pinned Luke Jacobs in a four-way elimination match to win the 2021 British J-Cup.[55]

Bailey returned to PWG after a six-year absence as a participant in the 2022 Battle of Los Angeles tournament, where he defeated Bandido in the first round, Wheeler Yuta in the quarterfinals and Buddy Matthews in the semifinals before losing to Daniel Garcia in the final. On June 25, 2022, at Hardcore Heat, Matt Falco defeated Bailey for the IWS World Heavyweight Championship.[56] Bailey has taught seminars and until moving to the United States, was part of the IWS Training Centre coaching staff.[57][58]

He rebounded from the loss in the 2023 Battle of Los Angeles, a year later, where he defeated Jordynne Grace in the first round, Shun Skywalker in the quarterfinals, Bryan Keith in the semifinals and Konosuke Takeshita in the final to win the tournament. The tournament win earned Bailey, a PWG World Championship title shot against Daniel Garcia in a sixty-minute Iron Man match at Twenty: Mystery Vortex, which Bailey lost in a sudden death overtime.

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Bailey in 2024

Bailey made his debut for Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling (MLP) on both nights of their debut event Forged In Excellence. On night 1, Bailey was defeated by Konosuke Takeshita, while on night 2, Bailey defeated El Phantasmo.

DDT Pro-Wrestling (2016–2020)

Bailey debuted for DDT Pro-Wrestling on August 1, 2016, for DDT's Tavern Pro Wrestling brand, at Drunkers Kingdom: Most Drunk in Tavern's History For 3 Days!!, losing to Isami Kodaka.[59] He often wrestled alongside members of the Happy Motel stable Konosuke Takeshita and Antonio Honda without being part of the group. They challenged Damnation (Daisuke Sasaki, Mad Paulie and Tetsuya Endo) for the KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship at Sapporo Wrestling Festa: DDT Crab on October 10, 2016, but were unsuccessful.[60] Later that month, Bailey took part in the DNA Grand Prix, where he advanced to the finals after winning his block with a record of five wins and one loss.[61] In the finals, he defeated Kazusada Higuchi and earned a one-way plane ticket to New York which he refused and gave to Higuchi instead.[62] Bailey captured his first title in DDT, the KO-D Tag Team Championship, by teaming up with Konosuke Takeshita at Osaka Octopus 2016 on December 4, to defeat Damnation (Daisuke Sasaki and Tetsuya Endo).[63]

They dropped the titles to Masakatsu Funaki and Yukio Sakaguchi at Road to Super Arena in Oyodo on January 9, 2017.[64] Bailey entered the 2017 King of DDT Tournament on June 2, but was eliminated in the first round by Tetsuya Endo.[65] On July 2 at Hello From Shinjuku Village 2017, he unsuccessfully challenged Konosuke Takeshita for the KO-D Openweight Championship.[66]

He won the KO-D Tag Team Championship for the second time by teaming with Mao as a part of the Moonlight Express on July 22, 2018, at Summer Vacation 2018, where they defeated Damnation (Mad Paulie and Tetsuya Endo).[67] Bailey unsuccessfully challenged Harashima for the KO-D Openweight Championship at New Year Lottery Special! on January 3, 2017.[68] He is a former Ironman Heavymetalweight Champion, title which he won in the block B of the D-Oh Grand Prix 2019 tournament show from November 30, 2018, where he defeated Konosuke Takeshita.[69] Bailey participated in comedic matches such as a five-way loser explosion weapon rumble tag team match at Judgement 2018: DDT 21st Anniversary on March 25, where he teamed up with Mao to defeat Michael Nakazawa and Chinsuke Nakamura, Isami Kodaka and Fuminori Abe, Sanshiro Takagi and Ippanjin Munenori Sawa, and Smile Squash (Yuko Miyamoto and Soma Takao).[70]

Impact Wrestling / Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2021–2024)

On October 31, 2021, Bailey signed a contract with Impact Wrestling, offered by Impact executive Scott D'Amore after their match against Josh Alexander at Destiny Wrestling's Raising Hell.[71][72] Bailey competed on the Hard To Kill pre-show in their debut match in Impact, winning a four-way match against Ace Austin, Laredo Kid, and Chris Bey.

On June 19, 2022, Mike Bailey defeated Ace Austin, Alex Zayne, Andrew Everett, Kenny King, and Trey Miguel in a 6-man Ultimate X match for the X Division Championship to become Impact X Division Champion for their first time at Impact's Slammiversary 2022.[73] At Against All Odds, Bailey defeated Trey Miguel to retain the title. At Emergence, Bailey defeated Jack Evans to retain the title. At Victory Road, Bailey defeated Delirious to retain the title. Afterwards Bailey lost the X Division title to Frankie Kazarian at Impact's Bound for Glory 2022 via Submission.[74]

At Slammiversary, Bailey defeated Mustafa Ali to win the X-Division Championship for the second time. At Emergence, Bailey lost the title to Zachary Wentz in a Ultimate X match. At Victory Road on September 13, Bailey defeated Wentz to win the TNA X Division Championship for the third time.[75] At Bound for Glory, Bailey defeated El Hijo del Vikingo to retain the title.[76] On the November 7 episode of Impact!, Bailey lost the title to Moose.[77] A week later, it was reported Bailey's contract had expired and his profile was removed from TNA's official website, ending his tenure with the promotion.[78][79]

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2023)

On April 27, 2023, Bailey was announced as an entrant in New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Best of the Super Juniors 30 tournament, competing in the A Block.[80] In his first tournament match, Bailey defeated IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and four-time tournament winner, Hiromu Takahashi.[81] Bailey scored 14 points in the tournament, topping the A Block and advancing to the semi-finals.[82] In the semi-final round, Bailey was defeated by Master Wato.[83] On August 19, Bailey was announced as one of four participants for One-Night All Star Jr. USA tournament which was held as part of All Star Jr. Festival USA 2023 event in Philadelphia. He defeated Francesco Akira in semifinal and Kevin Night in the final to win the tournament.[84] On October 9 of Destruction event in Ryogoku Sumo Hall, Tokyo, he unsuccessfully challenged Hiromu for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in a three-way match that also included YOH. On November 10 at Lonestar Shootout, Bailey unsuccessfully challenged Zack Sabre Jr. for the NJPW World Television Championship.[85]

All Elite Wrestling (2025–present)

On the February 22, 2025 episode of Collision, a video aired teasing Bailey's debut in All Elite Wrestling (AEW).[86] He made his debut on the March 12 episode of Dynamite, defeating The Beast Mortos in the semi-final of the AEW International Championship eliminator tournament, advancing to the four-way grand final.[87] The following week, both Bailey and Ricochet pinned Mark Davis to win the match, meaning that both wrestlers would challenge Kenny Omega for the International Championship on April 6 at Dynasty in a three-way match.[88] At the event, Omega retained the title against both Bailey and Ricochet.[89] On May 25 at Double or Nothing, Bailey unsuccessfully challenged Kazuchika Okada for the AEW Continental Championship.[90] After Double or Nothing, Bailey formed a tag team with Kevin Knight, known as "JetSpeed".[91][92] On July 12 at All In, JetSpeed failed to capture the AEW World Tag Team Championship from The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin) in a three-way tag team match, also involving The Patriachy (Christian Cage and Nick Wayne).[93]

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Personal life

In March 2016, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Baillargeon-Laberge had been arrested while trying to get into the United States to compete for Evolve. He was subsequently banned from entering the country at all for the next five years. The Observer reported that he was in the process of obtaining a visa through Combat Zone Wrestling at the time of his ban, but the process was going extremely slowly and would have forced him to miss the Evolve booking.[94]

Baillargeon-Laberge is non-binary, and uses both he/him and they/them pronouns.[4] He got engaged to American professional wrestler Veda Scott in November 2020.[95] They were married in May 2022.[96]

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Championships and accomplishments

  • DPW Awards (2 times)
    • Tag Team of the Year (2024) – with Jake Something
    • Match of the Year (2024) - with Jake Something vs. Violence Is Forever at 3rd Anniversary
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Notes

  1. Baillargeon-Laberge uses he/him and they/them pronouns.[4] This article uses he/him pronouns for consistency.

References

External links

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