WWE is reportedly trying to procure the services of veteran indie wrestler 'Speedball' Mike Bailey.
According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer, WWE is in the process of obtaining a visa for the 30-year-old Canadian.
Mike Bailey's Visa Issues
In 2016, Mike Bailey (real name, Emile Charles Baillargeon-Laberge) was banned from entering the United States for at least five years while attempting to enter the country without a visa. Allegedly, Bailey was in the process of acquiring a visa through CZW, but the process was taking a long time which would have caused him to some US bookings. Bailey tried his luck, but his attempts backfired and he was subsequently punished by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
As a result, Bailey was only able to accept bookings on shows taking place outside of the US. Bailey has predominantly worked in Canada, Japan and Europe since travel ban went into effect.
Bailey's travel ban expired in March of 2021, but he is yet to wrestle in the US since the ban was lifted. Bailey hasn't wrestled since September of last year.
On a recent Twitch stream, Bailey was asked by a fan if the rumors of WWE's interest in him were accurate. Bailey said that when he has anything to confirm or deny, he won't be doing so on Twitch.
WWE May Have To Fend Off AEW
Despite rumored interest from WWE, Bailey has spoken in the past of his desire to once again work with AEW star and fellow Canadian, Kenny Omega.
"If you look at the match with Kenny Omega…that’s a very special one to me because it was one of those moments where I realized, “Oh…his level of thinking of pro-wrestling is levels above mine.” We were still able to have a great match despite my shortcomings, but since then…what was missing I learned in DDT," Bailey said in an interview with Wrestling Headlines. "I went to the same place in Japan that he want and I learned a lot there and I’ve stepped my game up a lot just learning from the same people that he did. It’s kind of hard to re-watch knowing what it could be now, but I just wanna run it back. That’s the main thing."
Whether or not WWE is truly interested in signing Mike Bailey remains to be seen, but he would unquestionably be an asset to any promotion. Although hit seems unlikely that he would thrive on the main roster in its current state, he would fit in well at NXTY or NXT UK.