Mike Bailey Praises Kevin Knight Despite JetSpeed Betrayal

“Speedball” Mike Bailey isn’t letting a betrayal get in the way of respect for his former partner. Despite Kevin Knight turning on him to end their JetSpeed tag team and align with the Don Callis Family, Bailey said he was proud to watch Knight headline AEW Redemption.

Bailey explained that people around him had been telling him all week that seeing Knight in a major spotlight would be an emotional moment, and he didn’t initially expect it to hit as hard as it did. In his own words, it “means a lot” to see Knight main-eventing, adding that he believes Knight is on track to be known as one of the best in the world.

The comments carry extra weight given how the JetSpeed story played out. Bailey and Knight built one of AEW’s more entertaining tag pairings on pure chemistry and high-flying appeal before Knight shocked fans by turning his back on his partner and throwing in with Don Callis’ stable — a group that has become one of AEW’s most effective vehicles for elevating talent through calculated, often ruthless storytelling. For Knight, hitching his wagon to Callis has clearly paid dividends, culminating in a headline slot on AEW Redemption.

What makes Bailey’s reaction notable is the lack of bitterness in it. Betrayal angles in wrestling are usually played for animosity, with the wronged party publicly stewing over the turn. Instead, Bailey is choosing to frame Knight’s rise as validation — both of Knight’s talent and, by extension, of the FKA JetSpeed run that helped get him there. It’s a subtle but effective bit of storytelling logic: the better Knight looks now, the more it retroactively boosts the perception of what Bailey and Knight built together before the split.

It also leaves the door open for where this story goes next. AEW has plenty of options with a scorned former partner watching his old ally thrive under Callis’ wing — a slow-burn issue Bailey wants to address directly, a redemption arc of his own, or simply Bailey continuing to root from the outside while pursuing his own singles goals. Given how AEW has used the Don Callis Family as a launching pad for names like Knight, it wouldn’t be surprising if Bailey eventually finds himself back in the crosshairs of that faction, whether by choice or by circumstance.

For now, though, Bailey seems content to let Knight have his moment. Main-eventing a show is a significant milestone for any wrestler, and the fact that Bailey — despite everything — is publicly complimentary rather than combative says something about how AEW has built both men as sympathetic, talented performers rather than simple hero-and-villain archetypes.

Knight’s ascent under the Don Callis Family banner is very much still in progress, and how AEW chooses to write Bailey back into that picture, if at all, will be worth watching in the weeks ahead. But for one night at least, Speedball was just a fan cheering on the guy who used to be his tag partner.