AEW star Mike Bailey recently opened up about a major setback in his career.
In 2016, while trying to enter the United States for work, he was stopped at the border. Although he wasn’t officially arrested or detained, border officials turned him away and banned him from entering the country for five years.
In an interview with Close-Up w/ Renee Paquette, Mike Bailey admitted that the situation hit him hard. When Renee asked how he felt during the drive back home, Bailey said, “Yeah, I don’t think I got there yet. I think I was just kind of numb. And it took me at least a few days. I don’t really remember exactly how long. I think it took me one match to be like, “Yeah, screw it. I’m just going to keep doing this and see what happens.”
Bailey pointed out that by the time the ban happened, he had already spent ten years in wrestling. “It wasn’t like I started at wrestling school and then got signed right away and sent to PWG. I started in 2005. I had been wrestling for 10 years for no money at all not because I didn’t want to get paid. Every time I say that, it gets picked up and people are like, “Why wasn’t this idiot asking for money?”
“No it’s just that people don’t understand how wrestling in Quebec was in 2005. Wrestlers weren’t getting paid because promoters weren’t making money because no one was selling tickets, because you couldn’t advertise your shows, because there was no social media yet. But I had already been doing it for 10 years. So I was like, “Yeah, I’m not going to stop just because I’m not able to wrestle in the U.S. I’m doing this because I love it. So I’m going to keep doing this because I love it.”
Mike Bailey credits Kenny Omega for inspiring his international wrestling journey
Mike Bailey shared that Kenny Omega was one of the wrestlers who showed it was possible to build a successful career outside USA. “Kenny Omega was certainly one of them who had been able to make a good career for themselves outside of the traditional paths for a professional wrestler where you, you know, get a job in America and work for a TV company. No, more and more people were starting at the time to get big in places like Japan. And luckily, I had already taken one trip to Mexico at that point started PWG and that had given me some international connections.”
“I had done two months in Mexico, started going to England, and had met some people who worked for DDT in Japan. So, looking at someone like Kenny Omega who was, at the time, making a career for himself and becoming. You know, the best wrestler in the world without having to be in America at all that was absolutely huge. And I’m grateful for everyone like him who was able to do that, because I was just able to hop on that train and follow that path. Now here I am.”
Read More: ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey Highlights The Match That Is The ‘Perfect Showcase’ Of His Work
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