Speedball Mike Bailey Reacts To Being Ilja Dragunov's First AEW Opponent

Mike Bailey has opened up about his defeat to Ilja Dragunov in the former WWE star's AEW in-ring debut.

Dragunov made his in-ring debut on the October 21 edition of "AEW Dynamite," where he faced one of the promotion's best high-flyers, Bailey. After the match, Bailey spoke about the loss on his vlog, expressing disappointment at the result while also praising his opponent.

"F***," Bailey said, reflecting on his loss. "And I have been thinking a lot about Wednesday. Good match, you know, good times. I got exactly what I wanted, which is yet another one of the world's best wrestlers finally where the best wrestle. Shout out to Ilja. He f***ing brought it. He's going to do amazing, and I'm very excited to see where this goes in the next couple months. As for myself, I am where I usually am, you know? I feel like great performances aren't lost on the AEW audience. And it's not because I don't win a match that people don't notice that I come close to winning, that I put on a great performance, that I go out there and give it my all with some of the world's best wrestlers. But man, it gets tiring, you know?"

Bailey, though, has come to terms with his situation and said that he will continue to pursue his goal of winning a singles title in AEW, despite the setbacks he has faced in the ring. He added that he will keep pushing to reach that goal, however long it takes. 

The former AEW Trios Champion has had several opportunities to win singles titles in AEW, including the AEW World Championship, TNT Championship, National Championship, and International Championship, but has come up short each time. However, given his never-say-die attitude, Bailey could very well climb the ladder one day and fulfill his dream.