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There has been some clarification regarding the status of a top free agent that was just disclosed. This comes amid rumors that they were headed to AEW in the coming months. This would be 'Speedball' Mike Bailey.
A few days ago, following the rumors that he would be heading to the Tony Khan-led promotion, speculation swirled around his participation in the second Continental Classic tournament. As of now, the only confirmed name for the C2 is the champion himself, Kazuchika Okada.
Fightful Select had just reported earlier today that Mike Bailey's contract with TNA has not expired yet. It was mentioned that this would expire by the end of the year, but he has been given the go-signal to speak with other companies, and AEW has become the front-runner. This means that he'll only be able to debut with them by January, and not in time for the Continental Classic.
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Speedball has already said his goodbyes to TNA amid rumors of him going to AEW
A few days ago, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightul reported that Mike Bailey had already finished up with TNA, as he had already said his goodbyes during the latest tapings of the promotion in Detroit.
It was also mentioned that he could be headed to AEW next. One piece of evidence that supports this is his being written off TV. This would not be the case if he was headed either to WWE or NXT, as they could just begin to feature him in the other shows, seeing as they had a working-partnership currently.
"He finished up with the company in Detroit, said his goodbyes to a lot of people on the roster. We had so many people after the news of that emerged that spoke so highly of him, how professional he is, how well-liked he is and all that and he's headed towards AEW, my friends. So, an indication that we were given was, well, he wouldn't need to be written off if he was headed to NXT or WWE because he could just continue to appear as a part of this talent exchange." [1:50 - 2:23]
At this point, nothing is set in stone until pen is put to paper, so fans should stay tuned for further updates and details regarding his possible debut in the Jacksonville-based promotion in a couple of months.
