Michael Oku Says He Credits Speedball Mike Bailey For His Understanding Of ‘How To Do Have Really Good Matches’

Michael Oku talks about feedback he’s received from Speedball Mike Bailey.

Over the past couple of years, Oku’s status in the world of professional wrestling has only grown thanks to his series of matches with Will Ospreay as well as appearing in AEW, Ring of Honor and more in that time period. Feedback wise, he credits one person with how he wrestles in big matches.

While speaking on the latest episode of TheFiveMarks podcast, Michael Oku was asked who he receives feedback from backstage, with Oku most notably naming Speedball Mike Bailey.

“Speedball Mike Bailey. That’s like the one, like, constant that I go for feedback. You know, you kind of try and go to everyone for feedback, especially if you’re like at a show, you want to go to the people that are there. You just kind of see like other people who are there, who makes the most sense to go to feedback for. Um, but someone who, whether they’re there or not, I ask for feedback from is Speedball Mike Bailey. I feel very fortunate. I’ve been going to him for feedback for at least like six, seven years now. I credit him to me understanding how to have really good matches. I’d go that far and say that. What’s been very useful is that just by happenstance, he’s been there either literally in the ring or backstage for a lot of my pivotal matches so that I can bounce ideas off him before I have my matches. So, I mean, of course, we talk about Forbidden Door at the O2. He was my tag partner, so I really accredit that match going as well as it did in terms of putting a spotlight on me being because Speedball Mike Bailey knows me, knows what I can do and tried to make sure that happened. He was also there for me to bounce ideas across when it came to wrestling Takeshita, He was there. I mean, I’m trying to think of other situations. Okada, he was there. Like when I found out I was wrestling Okada, I immediately, I literally ran straight to him. I didn’t go to anyone else. I went straight to him being like, hey, Help me. So having him as our resource of like, this is the things that will help and here’s why it makes sense to do this and he explains it as well. He does a good job explaining it. Yeah, that’s my guy right there.”

Elsewhere in the same interview, Oku spoke about how MJF personally wanted a match with him at RevPro Summer Sizzler 2024. You can read more about that here.

Should you use any portion of the quotes above, transcription credit should go to Fightful with an H/T linking back to this article.