When “Speedball” Mike Bailey let it be known in an interview with Sports Illustrated that he was in a contract year with TNA Wrestling, fans around the world imagined a world where the French Canadian Moonsault specialist would eventually join Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Kazuchika Okada as a cruiserweight specialist in AEW.
On paper, the pairing makes perfect sense; while Bailey is a bit too small to be on WWE's radar, especially a 33-year-old journeyman with 18 years of experience on his resume, he could fit perfectly on the AEW roster, where his unique style of martial arts-influenced high flying could fit right in alongside the likes of Rey Fenix, PAC, and the Top Flight boys.
So naturally, as Omega took part in his final Twitch stream for some time as he prepares for surgery on his diverticulitis, fans asked the “Best Bout Machine” about the prospects of “Speedball” joining AEW at some point in the future, to which the EVP has a very interesting response indeed.
“Mike Bailey, now that's a guy that's been killing it. You want to talk about a journeyman? A guy who has been going to every little mom-and-pop indie on the planet doesn't matter where. And he is giving incredible efforts. I look at that guy, and I'm thinking like, ‘Man, how are you not on the injury list?' And he wrestles with no shoes on top of that? And he's doing dives all the time? What the h*ll? Geez!
“Yeah, Speedball could have done some great things in AEW. I mean, he still might; who knows? But I like him, I really do. I don't really know him as a person, but as a performer, he's great. I wrestled him once at PWG, loved that match too, and he's probably even better now.”
Mike Bailey is #AllElite confirmed? No, not necessarily, but it is interesting to know that he is on Omega's radar and could join Will Ospreay, a man he worked a 5.25-star match with in Impact in 2023, in AEW at some point in the future.
Kenny Omega throws shade at Will Ospreay for following his lead.
Elsewhere on his Twitch stream, Kenny Omega was asked about Will Ospreay, the man he worked 2023's best match with at WrestleKingdom 17. Does Omega respect Ospreay as a worker? It's almost impossible not to, but he remains firmly out on him overall, as he believes the “Billy Goat” has been aping of of his accomplishments for too log.
“I remember having that killer instinct, that mean streak, that ego if you will. It's the same one that Ospreay has, he really struts around calling himself the best. I used to be that guy too. Well, actually I was never that bad. I let other people call me the best, Ospreay just goes around parading calling himself the best. I just can't stand that. I can't stand when people do that… ‘I'm the best of the 21st century. I'm the best wrestler you've ever seen…' That I've ever seen? I've seen myself. So go f*** yourself… He's pretty good. But he ain't me. He wasn't me. Never will be me,” Kenny Omega said on Twitch via 411 Mania.
“When you talk about the matches, who remembers any of your f**king matches, Will? Nobody remembers them. Who's got the better matches against Okada, who's got the better matches against Naito, who's got the better matches against Ibushi, Goto, Tanahashi, freaking Yoshi-Hashi, all these motherf***ers?… We're talking about the major players, the stuff that was bringing in the [money], that was yours truly, that was me only, not you, it wasn't you.”
Omega then set his sights on the Dave Meltzer rating scale, noting that using his stars as justification for Ospreay's greatness really isn't relevant anymore, as the scale was broken by his matches with Kazuchika Okada in NJPW.
“Get that f**king Dave Meltzer checklist. Every time. See if anyone remembers or gives a f**k aside from Dave Meltzer… I get the love of all the people and Dave Meltzer. I broke the scale. It f**ked up something in his brain, or he doesn't know what a good match is anymore… I think he doesn't understand it anymore. He's stopped being able to understand. He can't comprehend what's going on. I opened Pandora's box, and he's just running rampant right now.”
Whoa, has Omega turned on Meltzer because of his connection to Ospreay, his current golden boy in professional wrestling? While one could argue that that relationship has been less and less relevant with each passing year of AEW, it is interesting to see a babyface Omega go right back into “Cleaner” mode when talking about his chief competition for the best working in AEW and by extension, the world today.
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