Speedball Mike Bailey Was In Talks With WWE Before Signing With Impact

The news has definitely made the rounds that independent wrestling sensation, ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey, has recently signed with Impact Wrestling. He was signed shortly after his match against Josh Alexander on Halloween at the Destiny Wrestling’s Raising Hell event, Impact’s Scott D’Amore, offering him a contract.

For years, Mike Bailey has attracted wrestling fans, with his martial arts style in the ring and expert-level techniques in pro wrestling. He has worked extensively for IWS, based out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he also trains other young talents from the area.

He himself is only 31 and is quite the acquisition for Impact. They made a smart decision in signing him for sure, but as it would turn out, they weren’t the only company in wanting to sign the young talented wrestler. It was while speaking with Sports Illustrated that he informed one and all that the conglomerate known as WWE, wanted him all for themselves.

“We went through a process and we had some pretty in-depth discussions. I didn’t sign a contract. It pretty much went up to that point of me accepting an offer and going through the proceedings that would lead up to me signing for several months, and them deciding they were going in a different direction.”

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On looking forward to working with Impact and pro wrestling overall, he said:

“I look forward to starting with Impact Wrestling. The response from people has been overwhelming. Not that I didn’t expect the response from the crowd and the internet to be positive, but it was so positive. Some of the comments I’ve read have been so positive that they’ve almost brought me to tears.

I love wrestling. And when wrestling works, it works for everyone. It brings people together in a way that is really hard to describe. There are so many ways to fail and it is very unforgiving, which is why it is so satisfying when you succeed.”

Bailey debuted in 2005 and as stated above has had quite the run in the indies. Being from Laval, Quebec, a city just north of Montreal, he started with the promotion known as: Federation de Lutte Quebecoise. Later he’d make indie wrestling history with matches in IWS based out of Montreal, where he is still the current champion (now 2-times total). It’ll be great to see him on Impact.