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TNA X-Division Champion Speedball Mike Bailey recently sat down with PWInsiderElite.com to discuss this Friday's Emergence PPV as well as the new Immersed documentary.
On taking part in the new doc, Bailey commented, "I was in, I think, Immersed and Diary, the Diary series as well, that are produced by the same people, are some of the best things that TNA has done right now. I think it's absolutely amazing. I don't know if we've spoken about this before, but I think kayfabe as a whole, there's a huge disservice to professional wrestling, and I think the whole discussion of, is it fake, which the question is offensive because it's so silly because of course we're not fighting for real. Everyone knows that. But I think the fact that the perception is that. People still think that professional wrestlers are trying to make the audiences believe that we're fighting for real, which is, it's a completely different thing, right? It's, of course, it's about suspicion of this belief and like letting the audience in on how difficult it is to make this happen, how complex it is, instead of just trying to keep it mysterious to let the audience in on the fact that this is a complex performance made by a, Huge team of real people who spend their lives doing this just makes it that much more interesting And I think something like Immersed just makes pro wrestling so much better."
Bailey will defend his championship in the Ultimate X match this Friday. When asked about the uniqueness about that performance environement, Bailey said, "When I get into Ultimate X, the main goal is always to survive That's first because that's enough of a challenge as it is, but it's such an iconic match for TNA and for the X-Division and there's so much story behind it. I want to make it memorable. There have been so many unbelievable moments in Ultimate X matches, most of them include Frankie Kazarian falling on his head from 20 feet up in the air, but the goalposts have been moved so far back that, it's it's a very difficult match to, to keep fresh and keep new and make it feel just like it did the first time where everyone is surprised."
WWE NXT's Riley Osbourne will become the first WWE contracted talent to enter an Ultimate X match this weekend. When asked about the relationship between the two sides, Bailey noted, "It's incredibly exciting and the fact that's happening now in pro wrestling in TNA. You've seen it happen in Pro Wrestling NOAH and it's just those barriers...I don't think they are good for professional wrestling. I don't think it's good to keep people separated. I don't think it does anyone a service, not the fans, not the wrestlers. I think pro wrestling will grow if everyone works together, and I'm talking about pro wrestling. TNA's success being due to everyone in TNA working towards the same goa. I think seeing different companies work together with the same goal of giving the paying, the fans, the paying customers the best experience possible is fantastic, and I think that everyone is going to grow from this collaboration."
The Immersed documentary features Bailey vs. Mustafa Ali. On that rivalry and Ali being captured in the doc, Bailey commented, " I'm glad [Ali] got to show that because he's so passionate about TNA. His culture and where he comes from and the way he's using pro wrestling as a platform to talk about things that are very important to him, but important in general, I think is absolutely fantastic. And I think When you watch just the match, right? When you watch me versus Mustafa Ali, the twenty minute time slot that we had on the pay per view, you really only get the very tip of the iceberg, and behind that is, the storyline and the feud that went to the matches, but even further behind that, there's a very complex and unique story behind this. It's Both of us coming from very different cultural backgrounds, but with the same goal in mind I think he and I are very different as people, but we very much have the same Mindset when it comes to professional wrestling when it comes to life in general and I think understanding and knowing that is really makes the match a complete viewing experience and I think understanding Mustafa Ali and being able to see the difference between what he does on TV and the kind of human being that he is in real life really makes the story complete. "
Immersed is streaming now.
The TNA Emergence PPV will stream live Friday on TNA+.
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