Amber McCrudden
Amber McCrudden comes to you with a deeply personal explanation on the rise of Britt Baker D.M.D. and how she went from a zero to the hero of the AEW Women’s Division.
I’ve always liked Britt Baker, and when she signed with AEW back in 2019, I was so excited to see what she would do. Within a few months, I was disappointed, and in all honesty, I did lose interest. For me, something just was not clicking. Her whole presentation of being this sweet and nice babyface just didn’t sit right with me; she didn’t have that magnetic appeal that the likes of Kylie Rae and Rhio have. Trying to present Britt as a sickly-sweet babyface just was never going to work. Maybe it’s because of how she looks, the way she dresses or her in-ring style, but I wanted more from her.
All I wanted was for Britt to turn heel and fully embrace the dark side I knew she had bubbling away under the surface. Her matches with Bea Priestley were the best of her babyface run, but even then, I found myself rooting for the obvious heel in the situation. Britt Baker, despite all her talent, ability and charisma, was just not hitting the mark.
But something changed. A year after the establishment of AEW, Britt Baker D.M.D. would finally turn heel after an incredible match against Pricilla Kelly at the Jericho Cruise, Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea Part Deux: Second Wave, which aired on AEW Dynamite on 22nd January, 2020.
For the first half of 2020, Britt Baker was getting to grips with her new heel persona, which had some real hits and a few misses, when the unthinkable happened during a tag team match where she teamed up with Nyla Rose to face off against Hikaru Shida and Kris Statlander, Baker injured her leg, resulting in months on the bench being unable to compete, but making a promise to everyone that she would return at that years All Out.
This would turn out to be a blessing in disguise, and for me, a huge turning point in my interest in Britt Baker D.M.D.
With no in-ring activity to distract us or herself, Baker would take the time to create and cultivate the heel persona we all know today. Finally, after over a year of her having no real clear direction and seeming unsure of herself, the moment had come and she started a rivalry with fan favourite Big Swole. This was a masterstroke of genius booking, allowing Britt to expand her repertoire and show us all how good she was on the mic, while her character work flourished. She wasn’t just your typical beautiful heel women’s wrestler, which we all know to be bland and shallow. She had depth and intrigue and, honestly, even though I hated her for what she was doing to Big Swole, it made me and many who had doubted her previously fans of the Doctors work.
The feud escalated throughout the summer, with the two women going to huge lengths to embarrass the other. With no in-ring work to be had, Britt and Swole built up the drama and hatred between them in skits and promos, showing the world that you don’t just need a series of great matches to tell a story. In July, Baker would undergo surgery to fix a deviated septum, which would only add fuel to the fire between the two women. Swole and Baker became one of the hottest things in the company, raising the stock of the AEW Women’s Division, with the two finally facing off at that years All Out in a cinematic Tooth and Nail match, taped in Baker’s dental office. Baker would lose the match, but she wasn’t ready to fall to the wayside just yet.
After all of this, I was a fan, a huge fan, but I wanted to see more and that’s what I got. With Thunder Rosa coming into AEW and lighting up the division, Baker saw her chance to climb up the rankings and that November, Britt and Rosa would start a feud that continued into 2021.
The two women faced off in February 2021 at Beach Break, with Baker coming out victorious. That same month, the two would take part in the AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Tournament, facing one another again in the semi-finals, with Rosa coming out on top.
Now we are at Britt Baker’s crowning glory, the moment she went from a zero to the hero of the AEW Women’s Division. With their feud having no end in sight, on 17th March 2021, Rosa and Baker would take part in the first-ever women’s main event on Dynamite. The match was an unsanctioned Lights Out match, which means anything goes, and it was phenomenal
This match for me, hands down, is one of my favourites of this year so far. I am personally a huge fan of hardcore matches and death matches. I grew up in the Attitude Era and sneakily watching ECW when I could. This match made me feel like a kid again, so excited by the violence and amazing wrestling taking place in the ring, that I couldn’t help but have a smile on my face the whole way through. This match cemented not just Thunder Rosa but also Britt Baker as women not to be messed with; true main event players in a world that is predominantly dominated by men at the top of the card.
The image of a blood-soaked Britt Baker will forever be etched in my mind, and even though she lost the match, she didn’t really lose. She proved to every single person that doubted her that she deserved that main event spot and a chance at the title.
Fast forward to now. Britt Baker D.M.D is at the top of the mountain, as on 30th May 2021, she defeated Hikaru Shida at Double or Nothing to finally become AEW Women’s World Champion.
I don’t know what the future holds for Britt Baker, but I do know I am here for the ride, and I can’t wait to see what else she does and how her character develops now she is the Champion.
