Britt Baker has not been on AEW television since last November, but recent actions by her arch-enemy Thunder Rosa may change all that. Rosa recently made a public challenge for a match against Baker at an upcoming AEW pay-per-view. Unfortunately, there is one big problem with that–she apparently didn’t clear it with her boss at AEW first. Here are the details.
Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. was once the cornerstone of the AEW women’s division. The real-life dentist was the first female wrestler that AEW signed when forming the company. She was AEW Women’s World Champion for a 290-day span between 2021 and 2022. She lost the title to Thunder Rosa in a cage match in March of 2022. Their feud was a long and bloody one.
Baker was the company’s top women’s star for quite some time. Unfortunately, multiple injuries and a mini-stroke took her off of TV for extended periods of time. When Baker finally got healthy after her most recent health issues, things started to go awry. She had disagreements with booking ideas and got into an argument backstage with another wrestler and his girlfriend. This led to a suspension.
After the suspension, she has barely wrestled. Baker’s last match was back in November. She is, reportedly, still under contract until sometime in 2026, but for now, she is sitting at home, most likely focusing on her dental practice and budding acting career.
Baker and Thunder Rosa have been arch-enemies for quite some time. They have left destruction in their wake in a steel cage and in AEW’s first-ever women’s Lights Out match (below). They have used thumbtacks, ladders, chairs, tables, and other implements to leave each other a bloody mess. So, it seemed odd to many that Thunder Rosa would go on “Busted Open Radio” and challenge Baker to a hair vs hair match at AEW’s All In pay-per-view in July. It was especially odd considering she allegedly hadn’t cleared it with AEW to do so.
So why did Thunder Rosa make that challenge? Why risk not only your job but having to have your head shaved? Rosa has struggled with long-term injuries as well. She had to end her reign as AEW Women’s World Champion when she could not defend the title because of a back injury. It took Rosa more than a year to come back from that. When Rosa and Baker returned from their injuries, the AEW women’s division had drastically changed. They were no longer big fish in a small pond.
There are a lot of reasons to make this match happen, and quite a few to squash it as well. Thunder Rosa has lost status in AEW and is at risk of becoming “enhancement” talent. Britt Baker is persona non grata with parts of the locker room and with Owner/Booker Tony Khan. I honestly think that Rosa believes that if she doesn’t make something big happen for herself, AEW will soon be done with her. AEW seems to already be done with Baker. This appears to be a last-ditch effort to bring back this pair’s glory days in AEW, to show that they can still draw with the fans.
These two need this match much more than Tony Khan thinks he needs it. It would not surprise me if it is never mentioned on AEW television, and the match never happens. Khan can ill afford to have the locker room think that they can just go into business for themselves. This match could be money for him though. He knows it. Rosa said as much on “Busted Open Radio,” and I am sure that Baker knows it, as well. Rosa and Baker are still very over with the fans, and that Lights Out match was transformative for the AEW women’s division.
I think that they all need it. AEW’s writing and ratings have been stale for months. This could be the spark that changes that. In my mind, even if Khan thinks he is done with both Baker and Rosa, he should make this happen. He can get a high-profile blood feud match at All In without having to put much airtime toward the match’s lead-up. –Simply have both wrestlers film some hype vignettes to play during the run-up. Baker doesn’t even have to step foot around Khan or the women’s locker room if that is the way Khan wants it.
If the match is big, Khan has the option to put them back into more prominent roles on television. Good or bad, he gets a little more return on investment out of the two wrestlers’ contracts. For Baker and Rosa, if they put on a good show, they either get back on television or get a highlight reel match for their résumé on the way out the door. It is possible to make something positive out of this for everyone. Khan, Baker, and Rosa all need something positive right now, as do the AEW fans. I think that both Baker and Rosa still have something left in the tank. I hope Khan gives them a chance to prove it.
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