Forever Forward Fridays

"Speeball" Mike Bailey VS BREEZE - Prestige Wrestling 9/24/2023

Match Link

JJZ: So I wasn't sure going into this match what type of match they would work. Even with that mindset I was suprised that they did a working from under 70/30 kind of match. I think it's a great way to show Mike Bailey's ability to work so many different roles effectively. His last match we played against King was such a wild match it's awesome to see him work such a traditional style here. This is the first match I've watched on the indies with Breeze and man do I still love him. His run in WWE was just pure entertainment but you could tell he still had such a great workrate in him. I will say Mike's explosive style offense worked extremely well for this type of match. While Breeze was able to slow everything down it made Bailey look even better when he was able to hit his crowd popping attacks. Really enjoyed this one and I hope you do too baby cakes.

CJD: It was surprising how much of a Speedball showcase this was, even though I'd agree Breeze took the majority of it. There's a point to be made that part of being a great pro wrestler is how great you can make your opponent look, and Breeze did that at a high level in this match. I also really enjoyed watching another promotion other than PWG run this unique venue. Keeping in that Friday indy spirit. The thing I enjoyed most about this match is after a lot of serious business at PIF lately, this was a fun, easy watch, that still dialed it up a notch when it needed to. I'm very curious to see where Prince Pretty brings me next!

Forever Forward Fridays

Kenny King VS "Speedball" Mike Bailey -  IMPACT! Wrestling Pit Fight 1/19/2023

Match Link

CJD: I spent a little extra time on K-I-N-G Kiiiiiinnngggg this week, watching him in tiny indies in big singles, on undercard tags in the veteran roll, trying to find that hidden gem. I'm a fan of Kenny, he has an it factor that makes me want to watch at least, even if he rarely shows up on a lot of end of year type lists. Well instead of going under the radar I settled on his 5th highest rated on Cagematch. And it's really because everyone should see this match. Once again, it probably won't make a lot of all-time match lists or what have you. But damn is this a fun piece of pro wrestling with a fresh presentation in a promotion that is hard to remember to check in on occasionally. Well here's your reminder. This match brought the best out of both Speedball and King, and I'm a little disappointed I couldn't find any of the build to it. I'd gladly have sat down to that as well. Very curious to hear your thoughts on this with decades of martial arts training, I don't know if it's scratching that BattlARTS/Bloodsport itch, but at the end of the day I thought the fun factor ruled above all.

JJZ: Jesus Chris. That this was such a joy to watch. Imma Tarentino it and just say the finish was fantastic. I literally said fuck out loud when he hit that. King and Bailey did a wonderful job using what they had as an offense. The spots off the apron were done perfectly. I didn't get any Battlearts feels but I did get some heat coming through my screen. Also Kenny and Mike's martial arts skills really shined at points. I would've loved a video package about the back story. Good shit homie.

Forever Forward Fridays

Michael Oku (c) VS "Speedball" Mike Bailey - RevPro Cruiserweight Championship 11/21/2021

CJD: Speedball is a 2x MDTSOCWWKD Champion and now our Forever Forward Champion (meaning this is our 6th match we've featured of his) and you and I are no strangers to his work in general. That said, I think between your match and this match I've seen more depth to Bailey's game than I ever knew he had previously. I went into this totally cold, a "let's see what this is all about" situation. As such my expectations were low and some criticisms I'd have with this otherwise were easier to look past. I left this match curious to see more from Oku but with a whole new level of respect for Bailey. This isn't on the level of Nigel holding Tyler Black's hand to a MOTYC back in ROH, but honestly it's not that far off. And it definitely gave off shades of that match. Life's been hectic lately and it's been hard to find time and motivation to watch wrestling. So this was a gamble to devote the time to and I don't regret it at all. In fact this was a treat. Curious to hear if you agree??

JJZ: I'm pretty sure this is my first Oku match too. Can't be certain if I've seen him in a random tag at some point or not. REGARDLESS! For a first impression this is crazy town. So much great leg work. Love the mindset of these wrestlers to not just have a spotfest. With that said, this had some amazing spots. I do think this is the kind of match that would win over our friends in an all night marathon viewing of wrestling. Just saying. Bailey also really showed a lot of depth I've never seen from him before. Not shitting on the karate kid. Fucking love me some Bailey. Great pick man!

Forever Forward Fridays

 
Club Tropicana VS Bird Law (Mike Bailey/Veda Scott) - Riptide Wrestling 10/5/2019

JJZ: Bringing a little gaga for the proud papa! Right off the bat I'm going to say this probably over stayed its welcome by a few minutes. But the thought of this match being on the blog at the same time as the shoot stuff we've been sharing made me laugh to myself. This bad boy gets weird. I'm totally unfamiliar with Club Tropicana but Sexsea and Aiden have this gimmick down. Total pros. I'd love to see them wrestle against Colt and Yone. Veda was really good in this, better than I expected. Bailey (who fucking killed it in this match) could've really covered up any warts with his insane highflying but everyone delivered on what they were trying to sell in this one. The production of the intros was excellent and the crowd was hot from the jump. Hope you enjoy.

CJD: This promotion definitely has some slick production. I was just talking about how indie wrestlers have so many hats to wear any given night and improv comedian is one they don't typically get many reps with unless it's their gimmick. As such I was also impressed with Bird Law in this, they did get some laughs out of me even if the overall timing of some jokes was off. This was a big old mixed bag with some stuff I liked ("no you put him down!"), some I could have done without (that HBK/Flair joke was a miss for me in particular), and a couple of great spots to keep things moving. It's a messy but fun end result that gives me some interesting options for next week.

Enough Kinetic Energy To Knockout A Herald

Zack Sabre Jr (c) VS Mike Bailey - Defiant Wrestling Internet Championship  1/26/2018

CJD: So we now have 4 pillars of 2x MDTSOCWWKD Champions and I'm going to add a thumb to turn that structure into a fist. Bringing things back full circle to our flagship competitor, the man I think of first when I think of Play It Forward, Zack Sabre Jr. These are two of the wrestlers who have the most distinct styles of their generation. And I love when contrasting styles make the story for a match and that's exactly what we get here. I saw some comments criticizing the selling and I disagree. I think for what they were doing there was just enough attention to detail. This was a very efficient, to the point match and I respected that about it. I know this is one that'll jump right off the screen when you see the names so I'm curious how that expectation is met. I thought it was a great use of the time they had while still leaving something on the table.

JJZ: Independent ZSJ is my favorite ZSJ. I love him in New Japan but on the indies he can do whatever he wants and I believe he does. The start of this match plays out like a MMA fight. Catch wrestling vs Taekwondo. It turns quickly into a battle of kicks that I don't think will fare well for Zack in the end. Bailey is such a great white meat baby face. I don't think there was a real heel or face in this match but both guys wrestled their natural style so it still developed into a good vs bad kinda match. Bailey has such explosive kicks that he can even the match at any moment. And what can anyone say about Sabre that hasn't been said before? So I will verbalize how I felt watching him during this match. I can't take my eyes off him because even his little movements are so smart and purposeful. I loved this match so much. Great base. Great build. Great finish.

Y'all Be Racing To The Cash, That's A Grand Prix

Kazusada Higuchi VS Mike Bailey - DNA Grand Prix Finals 10/21/2016

JJZ: So on the same day I mentioned that seeing Mike Bailey VS Nakajima would be a dream match, I see Mike Bailey wrestled the man who took the coveted MDTSOCWWKD championship off of Nakajima! So I figured what the hell. Let's crown our fourth ever two-time champion. I think Higuchi is a fantastic dance partner for babyface Bailey. Higuchi's size and strength are on full display while on offense. And for Mike it looks like he is trying to chop down a redwood tree with these kicks. The crowd is pretty weak to be honest but the work rate starts bring them to life as the match progresses. This is the finals of a tournament so the length isn't what I wanted but I feel like I got a ton out of the match.

CJD: They got a ton out of this for certain. And to be fair attendance was listed at 200 and I think that was generous. Hot crowds are not exactly DNA's MO but I'm still digging this little run we have going from them. You mentioned to me recently how you love seeing bodyslams used effectively and Higuchi did just that early on in this one. It was cool seeing him a bit more in the driver's seat this week throwing his weight around. But Bailey is never one to back down and I thought he struck just the right balance fighting his way back into this one. Just a packed match for what it was that did everything you could ask for and then some. And I'll take Speedball as our fourth pillar alongside Kasai, KENTA, and Nakajima any day of the week!

The Need For Speed

"SpeedBall" Mike Bailey Vs Matt Riddle - OTT 3rd Anniversary 7/10/2017

JJZ: This was the very first match that came up when I started searching for Bailey. And I said "fucking A!" Besides a Riddle no-sell that I didn't like, this match over-delivered and I had high expectations going in. I knew with both guys having martial arts backgrounds that we'd have some nice square offs. Wish I was live for this one. I think this match is a great snapshot of current independent wrestling. Both guys wanted to put on a show and prove that they are the better worker. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

CJD: To quote one of my favorite co-workers, I never want to yuck someone else's yum. And after reading comments and reviews about this match the general consensus is definitely yum. So here's what I liked about this match. The sparring felt organic and unpredictable which the commentators did a good job accentuating. Bailey looked like he believed with every ounce of his being that he could beat Riddle's ass which I loved. And that finish, oof! But at the end of the day, you compared my match last week to a schoolyard fight, and I'll take a John Carpenter fight scene over a wuxia kung fu movie any day of the week. But I know most people love Crouching Tiger so who am I to yuck it? You often want more from a match, and this is just one of those cases where I wanted less. The yin and yang of pro wrestling fandom I suppose. There's a reason Baskin-Robbins has 31 flavors of ice cream... and I'd still recommend So Delicious Snickerdoodle over every single one of them!

Break Those Chains That Bind You

"Speedball" Mike Bailey VS "The Bulldozer" Matt Tremont - C*4 Wrestling A Better Tomorrow 1/18/2014

CJD: I know you're going to leave this match wanting more. But if you think of it as the best possible version of a Velocity main event adapted to the 2014 indies maybe your expectations will be better met? Because that's what I'm getting serious vibes of here, Bailey channeling his inner Akio and Tremont as a Kensington update of Jamie Noble. One thing I love about Tremont that's remarkable seeing him this young is how he never rushes. Even when something goes wrong he makes it seem deliberate, and any opportunity to add emphasis to a quiet moment he'll find. I'd love to see what these two could do together now, but I'll gladly take this throwback freak encounter for the time being.

JJZ: Well I didn't see this coming. Kensington Jamie Noble is a fucking great description. We got a couple of baby boys over here slapping, kicking, and spiking the diapers off each other. Tremont would have been perfect for ECW. I could easily see him throwing punches with Balls and Axl. If I had to describe this match to someone not familiar, I'd say it's like a kid took karate to fight off his bully and this is the showdown. And whenever the bully is about to end it he catches a kick to the face. I do want more Chris and I didn't watch Velocity. I did watch Felicity but that has nothing to do with this. This would have been a great TV main event. If only these two could have a 4 or 5 match feud with a couple gimmick matches. A submission match and a insert town name street fight. I want more!

CJD: Oh man I'd love to see these two in a taped foot VS taped fist match or a something-or-other-on-a-pole match. Tremont in ECW would have been fun but unfortunately I'd have to think he'd have ended up as the kid sidekick in da Baldies.You never watched Velocity?? They'd have some really good 10 minute matches on there. Guys like London, Regal, etc.

JJZ: Not on the regular. I'm sure I've seen some episodes. I just liked the joke. I've never watched Felicity either.

CJD: You dirty dog!