Aleister Black (FKA Malakai Black) and Rusev (FKA Miro) were signed to AEW for a few years. Both wrestlers were initially pushed well. The former once won the World Trios Championship, while the latter is a former TNT Champion. However, as years went by, Tony Khan made new signings.
Eventually, Black and Rusev’s push ended, and they stopped appearing on the company’s programs. Earlier this year, they were released from their contracts, and the duo subsequently signed with WWE. According to many fans, letting the two stars leave was a bad business decision. However, Tony Khan has probably upgraded his roster. This year, he signed the talented Kevin Knight and “Speedball” Mike Bailey.
Kevin Knight and “Speedball” Mike Bailey fit the AEW style
For the longest time, Tony Khan was overly reliant on former WWE stars. Ever since its inception, AEW has signed names such as Swerve Strickland, Samoa Joe, Mercedes Mone, Toni Storm, Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Adam Cole, and more. While the majority of these names achieved immense success, some hirings were bound to fail. Two such names were Aleister Black and Rusev.
The Anti-Hero and The Redeemer have in-ring styles more suited to WWE. Meanwhile, Knight and Bailey are tailor-made for the Jacksonville-based company. The two AEW stars are certainly an upgrade over Black and Rusev. Furthermore, it was high time for Tony Khan to stop depending on former WWE stars.
Kevin Knight and “Speedball” Mike Bailey are already being pushed well
Even though it has only been a few months since All Elite Wrestling signed Kevin Knight and “Speedball” Mike Bailey, they have received quite strong pushes. Both names are featured regularly on the company’s weekly programming and are already fan favorites.
Bailey featured in an International Title three-way match against Kenny Omega and Ricochet at the recent Dynasty pay-per-view. This match was well-received by fans and veterans worldwide. Meanwhile, Knight is being touted as a future world champion. Both wrestlers are quite young and have a lot to offer to the professional wrestling industry.
“Speedball” Mike Bailey on his time in AEW so far
Mike Bailey is certainly having the time of his life in All Elite Wrestling. 2025 is going to be an important year in his career, and he is striving to be a future great. In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Speedball opened up about his time in the company so far.
“I have been with AEW for nearly a month now, and it has been a wild month. I feel like I have done so much in just that short time, and I have a lot of time left in [All Elite Wrestling], and I’m super excited to see what the future brings,” he said.
Before signing with AEW, the 34-year-old was a TNA star. There, he won the TNA X Division Championship thrice. It will be interesting to see what Tony Khan has in store for him in the coming weeks.
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Edited by Debangshu Nath
