Mike Bailey confirmed that his visa renewal process was responsible for delaying his long-awaited AEW debut until the March 12 episode of Dynamite.

Bailey addressed the situation during an interview with Sid Pullar III for The Takedown On SI, explaining he spent several months in his home country while handling the documentation.

During the whole time I was off, I was in Canada getting my visa renewed between December and March

The high-flyer disclosed that he utilized this period away from American wrestling to focus on training and improving his skills at a wrestling school in Montreal.

I spent a lot of time there several hours every week in the IWS dojo, which is a wrestling school in Montreal training and teaching there, and I’ve been working on that kick extremely hard every chance I get for the last three months

Bailey finally made his debut for AEW on the March 12 episode of Dynamite, following months of speculation about his future after concluding his time with TNA Wrestling.

Bailey had reportedly wrapped up with TNA at their post-Bound For Glory tapings in October, remaining under contract for the rest of 2023 before becoming available to sign elsewhere.

In the same interview, Bailey reflected on the significance of finally joining AEW after his extensive career journey.

You talk about a wild ride, but it’s been 20 years of a professional wrestling career that’s led me up to this moment, up to this debut on AEW Dynamite, finally making it here

Bailey also expressed gratitude to his supporters during the interview, acknowledging the fans who have followed his career through the years.

And I mean I want to say thank you to every single person that has watched a Speedball Mike Bailey match over the last 20 years, that’s been on my side, on my team that’s been supporting honestly

Tony Khan confirmed Bailey has signed with AEW following his debut appearance on the company’s flagship program.

AEW has officially formed a new masked tag team to replace The Lucha Brothers following Penta’s WWE debut and Rey Fenix’s rumored upcoming departure from the company. The high-flying duo named The Lucha Stars consists of Komander and Hologram.

The Lucha Stars made their official debut through a vignette aired on AEW Collision, with former Lucha Brothers manager Alex Abrahantes introducing the team. Abrahantes highlighted their intentions to target La Facción Ingobernable members Rush, Dralistico, and The Beast Mortos.

Komander and Hologram have already begun establishing themselves in AEW’s tag team division. Their recent match on Collision saw Hologram team with Top Flight to defeat Shane Taylor Promotions. Following this victory, Dralistico confronted Hologram to continue building their rivalry.

Backstage during the same show, The Beast Mortos taunted HarleyGram, also known as Harley Cameron, adding another layer to the developing feud between the two factions.

Komander, who currently holds the ROH World Television Championship, has been with AEW since March 2023. Hologram is a newer addition to the roster, having debuted in July 2024. The pair first teamed together at Revolution 2025, where they defeated Lee Johnson and Blake Christian.

The formation of The Lucha Stars comes as AEW adjusts to the departure of The Lucha Brothers, who were prominent figures in the company for years. Penta and Fenix, known for their high-flying style and charisma, were original AEW talent who debuted during the company’s first year.

During their AEW tenure, The Lucha Brothers achieved significant success, capturing the World Tag Team Championships once and the World Trios Championships once alongside PAC. Fenix also held the International Championship for a period before leaving the company.

Penta departed AEW last year and made his WWE debut in January 2025. Reports indicate Rey Fenix will soon join his brother in WWE, completing the dissolution of the popular tag team in AEW.

Teddy Long has shared his opinion on AEW’s approach to using blood in its programming. The WWE Hall of Famer appeared on the latest episode of The Wrestling Time Machine podcast alongside Mac Davis and Sportskeeda Wrestling Senior Editor Bill Apter.

The discussion centered around the recent AEW Revolution Pay-Per-View, which featured bloody matches including Mariah May versus Toni Storm and Will Ospreay against Kyle Fletcher in a Steel Cage.

Apter noted during the conversation that WWE uses less blood due to PG rating requirements and shareholder considerations. Davis observed that blood creates a bigger impact when limited to a single match rather than being used throughout an event.

Long agreed with Davis’s assessment, explaining that blood should be reserved for main event matches to maximize its effectiveness.

You save it for your main event, Okay? If you’ve seen blood from the beginning [it takes away from the impact]. I’ll give you a quick scenario… there was a time when we’d get ready to go to the ring, [before] all the matches they’d let everybody know, ‘Nobody goes to the outside but the main event, keep your match n the ring!’ [If every match ends up on the floor], then when the main event comes, it means nothing because they’ve already seen it.

The Steel Cage match between Ospreay and Fletcher took place after the Women’s World Championship match between May and Storm, with both contests featuring significant blood.