Mike Bailey Talks The Differences Between Being In IMPACT & Being On The Independent Scene

Mike Bailey compares the IMPACT version of himself to the independent version of himself.

‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey is one of the hardest working wrestlers in the world. In 2023 alone, Bailey has competed in 150+ matches across promotions like IMPACT Wrestling, GCW, NJPW, Wrestling REVOLVER, and Prestige Wrestling. Many fans find Bailey impressive for the simple fact that he competes in so many other promotions outside of his home company of IMPACT Wrestling.

While speaking to Fightful Overbooked’s Indied podcast for a recent interview, Bailey talked about the differences between when he’s wrestling on the independent scene and when he’s wrestling in IMPACT Wrestling.

“Yes, in a way. There’s a difference between weekly episodic wrestling that follows stories and independent wrestling. Most independent wrestling, given who the audience is, you kind of have to treat every match that’s happening like it’s in a vaccum. When Mike Bailey from IMPACT wrestles Will Ospreay, I can kind of take for granted — not so much, because with that match, I had a lot of people tell me that this was their first Speedball Mike Bailey match they had ever watched, which is fantastic. There’s a lot more knowledge that comes with the IMPACT fanbase, they’ve been seeing me for nearly two years now, and they’re a lot more familiar with who I am. Things like your finisher and what it means changes when they’ve seen me defend the X-Division championship so many times, that move has different meaning within the IMPACT universe now.”

Fans can see Indied’s full interview with ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey in the video linked at the top of this article.

Furthermore, Bailey is set to compete against Trey Miguel at IMPACT Final Resolution on Saturday, December 9. Fans can see the full lineup for that show by clicking here.