Speedball Mike Bailey Calls Will Ospreay 'The Best Wrestler In The World'

It wasn't that long ago that Speedball Mike Bailey and Will Ospreay were on a collision course, set to wrestle at Impact Wrestling and NJPW's joint WrestleMania weekend show, Multiverse United. Alas, Ospreay was forced to miss time due to a shoulder injury, and Bailey wound up wrestling Hiroshi Tanahashi at the event instead. Now Bailey is back in Japan, gearing up to take part in the upcoming Best of the Super Juniors tournament, which begins this Friday. He hasn't forgotten about Ospreay though, and in an interview with NJPW, made no bones about where he sees the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion in wrestling's current hierarchy.

"I think that Will Ospreay is the best wrestler in the world right now," Bailey said. "I know that's a subjective notion, right, but to me, Will Ospreay has been putting on the best matches, for many many years now. And so wrestling him is always a huge challenge. But I'm familiar with Will, we've had four other very long grueling singles matches. So I knew what I was getting into." Bailey, who last wrestled Ospreay in Revolution Pro last August, is still hoping that he and Ospreay will be able to have yet another singles match. And with ImpactxNJPW Multiverse United II coming this August, he thinks that may be the spot where he and Ospreay finally have that dance.

"Absolutely, I think he will be [on the table for a match]," Bailey said. "I think even if we did have that match at the second edition of Multiverse United, I think I would still expect more afterward. I have a hunch that Will Ospreay and I have barely begun, and we'll have many, many, many more matches together in the years to come."