AEW will have its second pay-per-view event, Fyter Fest, this Saturday in Daytona Beach, Fla. Although she is not scheduled on this event as of this writing, Diva Dirt’s own Simon Hannig had a chance to talk with one of AEW’s top female talent – Dr. Britt Baker.
Doctor by day, professional wrestler by night, Baker studied behavioral medicine with a minor in human development and family studies. She did this at Penn State. In 2014 she enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. She graduated in May 2018.
Baker is employed at a private practice in Florida. She explained when she decided she wanted to do both professions.
“It actually started right around the same time period,” Baker said. “It was when I was graduating from undergrad at Penn State University and I was moving to Pittsburgh to start my dental school education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. That was right at the same time I enrolled in the IWC Wrestling Academy, also in Pittsburgh, and I literally started my training for both dentistry and wrestling at the same exact time, like within months of each other.”
Baker also discusses how she keeps her balance being a doctor and also a pro wrestler.
“Definitely takes mental toughness more than anything, because sometimes the schedule of everything that needs to be done in a day, going to the dental office, getting to the gym, getting to the wrestling ring, watching wrestling matches, keeping up to date what’s the latest science behind the industry,” Baker said.
She continues, “Sometimes that seems a bit daunting as far as, is there enough hours in a day to get everything done, but it’s just a matter of putting one step in front of the other and just trying to relax and get everything done; and that’s the part that has been… my secret to success is never panicking and just power forward and get everything done that needs to be done.”
In the first pay-per-view for AEW, it turned into a four-way match for Dr. Baker. Brandi Rhodes came out prior to the start of the match and introduced Awesome Kong. This was a surprise to many. She won this match making her the winner of the first ever women’s match for the promotion.
Next, she was asked which women’s wrestler she would like to face, past or present. She picked someone from the aforementioned match who she would love to have a one-on-one match with.
“Oh, my goodness. That would literally be impossible for me to answer,” Baker said, “Just one? How about we keep it in the realm right now of AEW? I would love to have a singles match with Kylie Rae. We have fantastic chemistry. I’d love sharing a ring with her at Double or Nothing, and I would love to have a future program with her as well.”
She also added, “I also have my eyes on Bea as well. Bea Priestley, she’s fantastic. She is just making waves in Japan right now. She’s really at the top of the ladder, and that’s where you want to be. You want to pick the best. Bea is definitely someone else I would like to wrestle.”
We have seen Stephanie McMahon over the years in WWE inserting herself into feuds and wrestling matches. Rhodes is in a similar position with AEW. When asked if she foresees a program or a match with Rhodes, Baker said she is pretty confident in a match with her.
“Sure. I have the utmost respect for Brandi [Rhodes], but at the end of the day, your somewhat position of power becomes widely less relevant when they are standing in a ring with somebody who is a better wrestler than them.”
“I truly believe that I’m a better wrestler than Brandi Rhodes, so unless she intends on lugging around Awesome Kong with her everywhere she goes, I would be fully confident in that matchup.”
Baker commented on the six women Joshi tag match at Double or Nothing. From that, she picked who she would possibly want to face in the ring.
“Oh my gosh,” she exclaimed. “They are fantastic, and I was watching that match backstage and I was getting so excited. I love the athletics and the storytelling and stuff in wrestling. It almost makes you jealous, like you want to get in the ring with them because it’s really … it’s contagious.
“And as far as someone I would want to wrestle, I love Emi. I met her at Pro-Wrestling Eve at the UK, and she’s a big Queen fan and I also love the band Queen. So, I instantly bonded with her over that. And Shida, I think Shida is spectacular. I think she’s one of the best and I can not wait to get in the ring with her.”
When asked what female wrestlers she is inspired by she needed to change the question.
“So, I … I hope you don’t mind, but I am going to change that question because I don’t like it because I have been equally inspired by men and women wrestlers.”
“As far back from Lita, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, Edge. Up into most recently, I think any wrestler today has been inspired by Charlotte [Flair], Sasha [Banks], Becky [Lynch], Bayley, Natalya, the girls that really were at the forefront of turning a page in women’s wrestling. And we all have to be thankful for them because they went through some of the hard phases of women’s wrestling.”
“Right now, we’re all gifted where we have ample time on the shows, we have the spotlight where we get to show what we can do, and that wasn’t always the case. So, I am definitely inspired by those women. When I am watching wrestling that’s my own entertainment, I love watching Sarah Stock‘s matches. She traveled all over the world. She was in Japan and Mexico, I think she was an incredible wrestler. I loved watching her.”
Baker would continue and gives praises to her boyfriend and the current NXT Champion, Adam Cole (BAY-BAY!).
“Also, I’m hugely inspired by Adam Cole, he’s obviously one of the most important people in my life. It may be biased, but I think he’s one of the best wrestlers in the world, and I love watching him wrestle and I love learning from him.”
Baker responded to some women that she would love to have join the women’s division for AEW. She provided a disclaimer prior to her answer. So there wouldn’t be any rumors, she picked women who aren’t under contract with any promotion.
“Okay, so I am going to answer that question in the realm of females that are currently not contracted, just so that we prevent any and all rumors from getting started,” Baker said.
“There are a few women, I think. Kagetsu, from Japan, from Stardom, is arguably one of the best wrestlers in the world. She’s fantastic, I would love to see her in AEW. Jamie Hayter is a UK female wrestler who has also been spending a lot of time in Stardom. I actually met her when I was in the UK for a project with EVE and I had a match with her, and I think she’s fantastic. I think once she gets to the right stage to perform on, she’s going to blow up and she’s going to be a star.”
She adds, “The last one would be Kellyanne, from Australia. I met her and ended up seeing her wrestle a few times at Shimmer, and she’s somebody who is just so much fun to watch in the ring. She’s just … she owns the crowd whenever she is in the ring and she’s so athletic, she’s fantastic.”
We discussed the possibility of AEW introducing a women’s championship at All Out. Mainly if an inaugural champion will be crowned at that pay-per-view. This interview took place prior to Brandi Rhodes announcing that the Women’s World Championship will be unveiled at that show in August. So at the time, Baker hadn’t heard of anything of when the title would be announced.
With the women’s division in AEW arguably one of the most talented divisions in the world, she discusses opportunities. Specifically what type of opportunities she would like to see the women receive.
“So, I think that when you have been gifted with the amazing opportunities so far, we were able to share the stage at Double or Nothing with the best men’s wrestlers in the world.”
She continues, “So, I hope we continue to be given these opportunities. I am also a big believer in that you need to earn opportunities, so I hope that we continue to have great women’s wrestling so that these opportunities are well deserved. And I hope in the near future we have a women’s championship title that everyone’s fighting for.”
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