Mike Bailey Explains Where His 'Speedball' Moniker Came From

Why do they call him "Speedball" Mike Bailey?

The Canadian wrestler has taken the American indie scene by storm in 2022 with stand-out matches in Impact Wrestling, GCW, Revolver, and Black Label Pro, just to name a few. Bailey recently sat down with Chris Van Vliet on "Insight" to discuss his career as of late. During the conversation, Bailey revealed where his "Speedball" moniker originated.

"So a speedball is a piece of boxing equipment you hit and it rebounds," Bailey said. "The reason I was nicknamed 'Speedball' Mike Bailey is because—his name was Michael Ryan. He wrote about Montreal wrestling. He's since passed away, but in one of my early matches, he described my style as 'bouncing around the ring like a speedball.' A big reason I love that nickname is because I didn't give it to myself."

Bailey returned to competing in the U.S. in January following a five-year ban due to visa issues. After signing a contract with Impact at the end of 2021, Bailey's first match back in the states was a four-way at Hard to Kill in Dallas, Texas. From there, he worked his way up with victories over the likes of Alex Shelley and Laredo Kid until he captured his first X-Division Championship in an Ultimate X match at Slammiversary. He defended the title until October when he lost it to Frankie Kazarian at Bound For Glory.

Outside of Impact, Bailey competed in PWG's Battle of Los Angeles. In the grueling tournament, "Speedball" outlasted Bandido, Buddy Matthews, and Wheeler Yuta before coming up short to Daniel Garcia in the finals. Throughout the rest of 2022, Bailey locked up with the likes of Joey Janela, Davey Richards, Kylie Rae, and Dax Harwood.