Mike Bailey says a five-year ban from entering the United States nearly made him quit wrestling. Speaking on TMZ Sports’ Inside The Ring, Bailey said he was stopped at the border in 2015 during a breakout year on the American independent scene.
“There was a brief moment where in 2015, I had a real breakout year in the US independent scene with PWG and Evolve, and CZW, and excelling in companies like that. And then I was stopped at the border and banned from the US for five years because I didn’t have the work visa. Boring details, but the story is what matters. I couldn’t come to the US for five years.”
Bailey said watching others chase major contracts he could not pursue gave him a moment of doubt.
“So after seeing the path that wrestlers were taking and hoping to get a shot at the major companies at the time, being told, ‘Yeah, those companies that are offering big money contracts, you’re not gonna be able to work for those for five years.’ I had a very, very brief moment where I was like, ‘Hmm, maybe this isn’t gonna work out after all.’ But then I remembered I had already been doing this for 10 years, and it’s not like those first 10 years had been very profitable at all. I was a professional wrestler, and I did professional wrestling because I loved it. And I was gonna keep doing it no matter what.”
Bailey, 36, spent the ban working in Japan, Europe, and Mexico. He left TNA in 2024 and joined AEW in 2025. He is in the six-way ladder match at Redemption on Sunday.