‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey Thinks Naomi Is One Of The Greatest Wrestlers On Earth
‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey says his scissor-kick flurry is now ‘the Naomi kicks.’
The IMPACT Wrestling star recently sat down with Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp (full interview above), during which he discusses a number of topics including a signature move he shares with WWE Superstar Naomi. The reigning X-Division Champion insists that his scissor kicks have been taken over by Naomi and that if anything, she has inspired him.
“No, sorry. They’re the Naomi Kicks now. If anything, she inspired me at this point. She has taken over those kicks,” Bailey said.
He would continue on to praise Naomi, calling her one of the greatest pro wrestlers on earth. Bailey would also say that he never has an issue with anyone doing the same moves as him, encouraging everyone to emulate him.
“It feels great. Of course, it does. Two layers to this. I didn’t invent those kicks. They’re a thing in Tae Kwon Do. If you go on YouTube right now and put in Athens Olympic Tae Kwon Do Highlights you will see only those kicks because at the time, those multiple scissor kicks as well as counter-spinning hook kicks, were the style at the time for Tae Kwon Do. Tae Kwon Do is 90% that if you watch it from that era. But Naomi did make a tweet when it happened and she quote tweeted someone saying, ‘Those are Mike Bailey kicks,’ and she said, ‘Oh, you know what? I can watch his tapes.’ So I don’t know of the official full story, but yes. I thought the kicks were great when she did it. I think Naomi’s one of the greatest pro wrestlers on earth right now. I think she’s absolutely fantastic and, yes, I want everyone to do what I do. I never have an issue with it. I think it’s great,” he said.
On May 16, 2022, Naomi and Sasha Banks walked out of WWE Raw and were subsequently suspended, with the company publicly stating that “they let us all down.” Banks and Naomi have been spotted together publicly on multiple occasions since leaving WWE, including at the She-Hulk premiere and walking the runway at New York Fashion Week.
Bailey, who’s been a mainstay on the independent circuit, even after his IMPACT debut earlier this year, believes that the discussion of people trying not to do each other moves is silly.
“Mostly because, again, I think the discussion of people not trying to do each other’s moves, especially in independent wrestling, is very, very silly,” Bailey said. “Everyone does every move in terms of, if you watch an independent show with ten / twelve matches or whatever with a thousand moves on it, someone’s going to do something similar. If you do a double underhook piledriver and want to make sure it’s unique, but someone else does a double underhook suplex and or powerbomb, it’s all the same.”
What matters more to Bailey is how you make the move your own and the context in which you use it during your match. To the uninitiated, a lot of the action can look the same, so using those moves to tell a compelling story is paramount.
“What matters a lot more is how you make the move yours and the story you tell behind it and how you tease the move and how you make it yours and how you get in and out of it within the match matters a lot more than the move itself. Because to a majority of people that watch wrestling, especially people who watch wrestling for the first time—which, to me, are the most important to impress—a guy picks up another guy and drops him on his head kind of all looks the same. He jump, spun, and kicked him,” Bailey stated.
‘Speedball’ would then joke that he’s happy no one in the UFC gets made at each other for using the same holds to win fights.
“Especially when it’s a real thing, when it’s a real move that happens. I’m just glad no one in the UFC gets mad at each other for both winning their fights with rear-naked chokes,” he said.
Bailey will defend his X-Division Championship on Friday, October 7 at IMPACT Bound For Glory. Fightful will have live coverage of the event followed by a post-show review. You can view the updated card by clicking here.
