Dr. Britt Baker Faces Many Unknowns About Her Future as AEW Dynamite Celebrates Five Year Anniversary [Exclusive]

Our Q&A with Dr. Britt Baker as she dives into the past, present and future of herself, the Women's Division and AEW Dynamite.

Dr. Britt Baker making her grand return to AEW after Forbidden Door 2024 / Lee South - All Elite Wrestling

It just wouldn't be a five year anniversary party for AEW Dynamite without Dr. Britt Baker. Especially in her hometown of Pittsburgh.

The former AEW Women's World Champion is making her return to action tonight (10/2) against Serena Deeb. Her first match in over a month after she lost to Mercedes Moné at Wembley Stadium in London.

That TBS Championship bout was one of the more highly anticipated matches on the entire card, but it was quickly met with unrelenting criticism from seemingly all corners of the internet. Dr. Britt Baker is one of the more polarizing figures in All Elite Wrestling and over the last five years she's become quite adept at brushing off the viral vitriol.

With Dynamite celebrating it's anniversary tonight, Britt sat down for a lengthy conversation with The Takedown where she dove into her relationship with keyboard warriors. She also looked back to 2019 to discuss the growth of both herself and AEW, and she also looked ahead to 2029.

What does the future hold for the D.M.D. in AEW? More mainstream media appearances? Another Women's World Title run? A heel turn? As she put it, there are many unknowns. Check out our full conversation below.

What does Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. have in store for the 5th Anniversary of #AEWDynamite?

Watch #AEWCollision LIVE on TNT!@RealBrittBaker pic.twitter.com/aDc4yOOc7o

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) September 22, 2024

Editor's note: This interview was edited for clarity and length.

The Takedown: You have been in AEW since day one. You were at the first Dynamite in Washington D.C. back in 2019. What do you remember about that first show? What were the feelings for yourself and everybody involved as you guys were getting ready to go live for the first time?

Dr. Britt Baker: “It was just so surreal. Like, holy crap, we're gonna be a part of a weekly TV show and for years and years to come. And it all starts right now. A year ago, at that point in time, I was wrestling on the indies, in front of sometimes 50 people. Now there's like a million people watching at home, minimum. It was very baptism by fire. Like, here you go, get ready. Here's live TV wrestling. And guess what? You better learn fast. But it’s so surreal to think that was five years ago now.”

The Takedown: As you well know, wrestling on the independent circuit and wrestling for television are two completely different animals. What was the hardest part of that transition for you?

Dr. Britt Baker: “Social media, definitely. People don't have a lot of grace on social media. The keyboard warriors say a lot online that they would never say to your face. Criticism is one thing. I welcome criticism, but there's a time and a place and a way to do it. 

You get thicker skin as you’re in the TV wrestling business for a couple years, but early on it's really rough. You go from people not knowing who you are, not caring who you are, to Tweeting about you all Wednesday night saying you're the worst thing they've ever seen. Or you're the best thing. It's a lot on all ends and it's something you just get thrown into. 

All eyes were on AEW early on. What is this company? Who is this? Why is Chris Jericho there? Why is Jon Moxley there? Who are the Young Bucks? Who is Kenny Omega? Who is Britt Baker? Who is this girl? And just to be kind of in that mix, I wasn't used to that at all.”

The Takedown: I know firsthand that criticism is hard to deal with, nowhere near the level that you deal with it, but it’s hard. Especially when it’s from people who choose to do so in a hateful or hurtful manner. Has it become easier for you to drown that out and not let it affect your confidence or your mood at all?

Dr. Britt Baker: “Yes and no. People take different twists and turns on you. Attacking your wrestling and your promos is one thing, but then people have a hard time differentiating between what is real and what’s not. What is character and storyline and what's not. That's the nature of our business, unfortunately. We want people to hate us, but people, they kick it up a notch with the hate. They make it extra spicy on there sometimes. 

I’m much better with the criticism. The thing that is frustrating more than anything, are the rumors. There's one little thing that gets twisted and turned a million different ways and you just have to let it be. You can't comment on it, because that just makes it worse.

Once you feed into the trolls, they get what they want. They want a response out of you. You either don't read it at all, which is lately what I've been doing. I don't even have the Twitter app on my phone most days. Or if you do, just get thick skin and don't respond. Let people think what they wanna think. I'm at a point right now where, if you read that I said that, then sure you could think that I said that. If you read that I did something, cool. Yep, I did it. I don't care because I know what's real or what's not."

The Takedown: The last time we saw you was at All In against Mercedes Moné. Forget the critics and the keyboard warriors for right now. What did you think of your match with Mercedes?

Dr. Britt Baker: "It was such a surreal moment for me just to be able to be in the ring with, I'm sorry, she’ll always be Sasha Banks to me. Mercedes is my competition, but Sasha is my idol and they just so happen to be the same person. Which is really cool. 

I definitely think match placement on that card hurt us a little bit, some might say a lot. It’s a long night. It's a big crowd. They see a lot of wrestling and they get tired and I don't blame them at all for that. And how many crazy, insanely talented matches were on that show? I mean, All In, every year has to be one of the best wrestling shows of the year. Every single year.

I just think, how lucky am I that I got to wrestle someone who literally inspired me to be a professional wrestler? People talk about their idols, some people their inspirations aren't even living anymore. I got to wrestle mine in London at Wembley Stadium. 

You have to look at the positives and things like that. And like I said, there are days where you delete social media. And I had quite a few of those days because people, again, they make up stories and make up narratives. They think they know what's happening in matches. They have no clue. They're so wrong and you just wanna grab them and shake them and say, ‘Shut the F up. You dunno what you're talking about.’ But you can't do that. What you can do is delete the app, and basically, if I don't see what someone's saying, it's not real. Perception is reality and if I don't perceive the thing you're saying, it's not real to me.”

pic.twitter.com/VdTBGsqK3y

— Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (@RealBrittBaker) August 26, 2024

The Takedown: I do agree with you, by the way. You and Mercedes were in a very tough spot on that card. Following Will Ospreay is tough ask on a normal night. Following Will Ospreay in London, after he just won the International Championship is on another level. You knew that fans would be gassed, and they were, but you got them back on their feet. That says something.

Dr. Britt Baker: “Yeah. It doesn't help that her and I are both very polarizing wrestlers. I know that. She knows that. We have very, very dear diehard fans. We have just as many, if not double, triple the amount of haters. And at the end of the day, if people are talking about you, they're talking about you. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. But unfortunately, buzz is buzz.”

The Takedown: For the longest time, you were the face of the Women's Division in AEW. Now Mercedes is here. You look at the rise of Toni Storm. Mariah May, Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale. I could go on and on. How do you see yourself fitting into this landscape, now that it is suddenly filled with, not only great dance partners, but stars in their own right?

Dr. Britt Baker: "Ultimately that's what I've always wanted for AEW. That's what I’ve been pushing for since day one. I want us to have the best Women's Division in all of wrestling. You can't do that by yourself. You have to have dance partners. You have to have an army if you're gonna go to war. You can't fight every battle by yourself. 

Early on I was always nudging Tony [Khan] ‘Hey, this girl's a free agent. Hey, look at this girl. Hey, look at that girl.’ We're at a point now where we have so many talented girls, so many stars. Girls are just kind of thrown into matches with little to no heads up and they just kill it because they're stars. They're prepared. They know how to handle the stress and the pressure. I think that's really special and it speaks lot to our Women's Division.

At the end of the day, the women have each other's back. Everybody wants everyone to succeed. And that's all you can ask for. To have a supportive locker room, that's successful on top of it all.”

The Takedown: I remember what it was like just five to seven years ago. The turnaround has been amazing. It's not just AEW. Any company on the planet could talk about how stacked their women's roster is right now. You guys are coming out of the woodwork all of a sudden. It’s incredible to see how healthy women's wrestling is on a large scale right now.

Dr. Britt Baker: “A lot of that is thanks to the help of the fans. When they generate excitement over a talent or a match, I have the fans to thank for that buzz. They’re a huge reason why I had my title run and my little ‘Wrestler of the Year’, year. It was because the fans were so behind me. That's what makes stars, are the fans. 

We can have the match of the year all we want and cut promos until we’re blue in the face. If the fans don't care, if they're not talking about it… then who cares? 

There's been so much positive buzz around women's wrestling, it makes people that are in charge of companies like AEW and WWE, it forces their hand to book more women's matches. Because that's what [fans] want. That's what they're talking about.”

The Takedown: The five year anniversary of Dynamite is tonight. For yourself, for the Women's Division, and for AEW as a whole, how do you envision the next five years playing out?

Dr. Britt Baker: "Man, that's a great question. I think I’m at a point now where there’s a lot of unknown in my future. Especially in the next five years. I always wanted to have the [AEW] Women's Championship. I wanted to have a main event. And I've gotten to check off a lot of bucket list items. Now what I really would love to do, where I think I can really help AEW, is to help branch out into more mainstream media, mainstream entertainment as a female wrestler. As the first female wrestler of AEW, someone who's loud and proud supported AEW from day one. I'm always waving the flag. 

To be able to branch out into those mainstream media opportunities, that gets more eyes on AEW. Who’s this girl? She’s a wrestler, but she's not a WWE wrestler? She's an AEW one. That's really cool. She's talented. I'm gonna watch her. 

The more people we can get in that scene of mainstream media, the better it is for wrestling, period. At the end of the day we have the diehard wrestling fans. They're there. We got ‘em locked in. We need to get the casual fan more hooked. So they're watching every single week.”

The Takedown: Sometime after you lost the AEW Women's World Championship, you told Tony Schiavone that you had no interest in winning that belt again, at least within the next five years. Have you reconsidered that at all, or is that still the case?

Dr. Britt Baker: “You know, it's funny because a lot of people think that you need a belt to be relevant in wrestling or a belt to be popular, for people to care about you. Obviously being champion, that's concrete physical evidence that you're the best of your division. Do I wanna have a title again someday? Absolutely, but more than anything, I just wanna be in a compelling storyline. I want to have the opportunity, again, to be that compelling Dr. Britt Baker character. Unfortunately, I think I'm in a position where I shine brightest as the heel. I think a Dr. Britt Baker heel turn would suit me best. Tell some of those Twitter trolls, ‘Hey, anti up. You wanna go? Let's go.’ Wait till the day I start typing back at you. I wanna see your tears then… I'm kidding, I’m kidding.”

pic.twitter.com/OxK9okI4uo

— Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (@RealBrittBaker) August 22, 2024

The Takedown: What would Dr. Britt Baker 2019, think of Dr. Britt Baker now?

Dr. Britt Baker: “Oh wow. Man, she'd be so freaking excited for what's to come. She would not believe… Wait, you had a hardcore match, Britt? What? You, who doesn’t even know how to set up a table. You went through one? And you went through thumbtacks? Are we talking about the same Britt? 

[She would not believe] that I got to wrestle at Wembley for two years. That I got to have a title defense in the first ever AEW Rampage in Pittsburgh. That I've had Pittsburgh Steelers walk me to the ring, man. 2019 Britt doesn't know what's coming and there's a lot of good to look forward to. So keep your head up. Don't listen to the Twitter trolls back then, because guess what 2019 Britt, they're only gonna get worse in 2024. So buckle up.”

The Takedown: I remember reading in Becky Lynch's book the story of Bray Wyatt having to pull her aside to show her how to set up a table, hours before her first Tables Match. Was there a similar situation like that for you?

Dr. Britt Baker: “Sure was. Yep, it was Jerry Lynn. The coach in my match. I had never set up a table and that was the first night I learned, was the night that I was gonna go through one. And I learned very quickly how to set up a table for me and Reba.”

The Takedown: Is there anything that prepares you for going through a table for the first time?

Dr. Britt Baker: "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And every time it's different. Same thing with thumbtacks, chairs and ladders. Nothing can prepare you. Tuck your chin and breathe in through your nose and out your mouth because it's gonna hurt. But hey, toughen up butter cup. This is what you signed up for."

The Takedown: Celebrating five years of Dynamite is obviously monumental for AEW. Any unsung heroes that really contributed to the success of the company that maybe don't get the recognition they should?

Dr. Britt Baker: "I wouldn't necessarily say he's unsung, but someone who does so much stuff behind the scenes to help the product, to help talent is Jon Moxley. I can't say enough about how much of a locker room leader he is, and you know, he's come back and I know now he's got a different attitude about him. I think it's kind of the attitude of a lot of wrestlers. You do so much to help everybody and then they don't appreciate it. They don't appreciate you. So, you stick your middle finger up and hey, guess what? I'm gonna turn my back on you too. That's where I think were at with Jon Moxley no, but man, the amount of pep talks that guy has given to people in the company... it speaks wonders. I hope we get that version of Jon Moxley back one day."

The Takedown: You face off against Serena Deeb tonight. This is the first time you two have ever got one-on-one. Is she someone that's been on your bucket list for a while now?

Dr. Britt Baker: "Absolutely. We've been in some tag matches and multi-man matches and stuff like that. Never had a singles match. Serena is someone I consider one the best technical wrestlers in women's wrestling today. Big fan of hers. I think that's a super fun match for a Pittsburgh show, but I don't think she's gonna have a lot fun in Pittsburgh. And that's putting it lightly. I think she doesn't understand how passionate these people are for their own kind."

The Takedown: It has to be an incredible feeling to go out in front those fans and get the reactions you do.

Dr. Britt Baker: "Yeah and that's just it. It's being amongst them. It's not being a star in your city or coming back, it's that your people really accept you and see you as their own. When they're cheering and screaming, waving their terrible towels in Pittsburgh, it's because they're with you. They're not putting you up on a pedestal. They're like, 'Yeah, that's our girl.' And that to me is such a cool feeling. Especially in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is like a blue collar... its got a big town, small city vibe and a lot of big hearts. A lot of passionate hearts. And we might not see eye-to-eye in Cincinnati all the time, but that's just because we have a better football team (laughs).

You can follow Rick Ucchino on X and on Instagram: @RickUcchino

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