Tag: britt baker

Britt Baker is very surprised by the backlash her latest t-shirt has generated. 

A t-shirt featuring a picture of the former AEW Women’s Champion with a black eye was produced shortly after an attack by the Outcasts left her with facial bruising. 

Although similar t-shirts featuring Baker with a bloody face have been marketed as well, some critics online have argued the shirt makes her look like a victim of domestic abuse. 

👊🏻 https://t.co/1pN26smQrV pic.twitter.com/42CGoZNjkY

— Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (@RealBrittBaker) April 29, 2023

Sports Illustrated recently asked Baker if she is surprised by the criticism the shirt has received. Baker responded: 

I was very surprised. When it started, when I actually posted the picture of my black eye just on social media, it got almost 100,000 likes, that I’m tough, that I’m a badass, and wow this girl, she’s strong and it was empowering. But then when it went on a shirt, it was really problematic and that was so confusing to me, because why?

Baker continued to say that the reaction to the shirt would have been different if she was a man.  

If I’m on a shirt with a black eye, why does that make me weak? Why does that make me a victim? But if a man, or like Chris Jericho, had a black eye, they’d be tough and they’d be a badass. And to me, it’s showing the internal narrative that people are saying about women, and that’s that we’re not as strong or as tough as the men and that’s the real problem here, it’s not a black eye on a t-shirt. 

Our own Bryan Alvarez stated on Wrestling Observer Radio that it was the top-selling shirt of the weekend. 

Baker went back and forth on social media recently with a few people who posted critical remarks regarding the shirt as well. 

Supports domestic violence how?I got a black eye in a RING? My enemies put a pic on a shirt to troll me and I outsmarted them.🤑
Does that mean all the (top selling) bloody T-shirts are supporting murder?
If a male wrestler had a shirt with a black eye would you be this pissed? https://t.co/QD9ghSdgQc pic.twitter.com/I05DP2T8SS

— Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (@RealBrittBaker) April 29, 2023

She also spoke about reactions to wrestling t-shirts from people unaware of the context. 

That’s insane that there’s a weird out of context pro wrestling shirt… https://t.co/xolouuDocI pic.twitter.com/rBRLAN9ZBa

— Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (@RealBrittBaker) April 29, 2023

Similar issues regarding wrestling merchandise being taken out of context have occurred in the past as well. Examples include Walmart shoppers being concerned about “New World Order” t-shirts or when action figures featuring Al Snow and Head were pulled from store shelves in 1999 after parents felt they were promoting domestic violence. 

Britt Baker is currently dealing with a back injury and she says the problem is only getting worse. 

On last night’s premiere episode of AEW All Access, Baker is shown getting treatment for the injury in the lead-up to Full Gear. Months later, Baker tells Comicbook.com that not only is she still dealing with the issue, it has now spread to her neck. 

“Unfortunately it’s getting worse,” Baker said. “Now it’s like a neck and a back problem. But it’s manageable. I’m tough, so I’ll always find ways to work. My championship reign was with a broken wrist. So I’ll figure it out one way or another. You’ve got to work your way around it, sometimes maybe trick your body into thinking, ‘Eh, it doesn’t really hurt that bad.'”

The 31-year-old appeared on last night’s edition of AEW Dynamite. She joined her partner, Adam Cole, to celebrate his return to the ring at the end of the show. 

Baker was pulled from a scheduled three-way match against Toni Storm and Ruby Soho on the January 25, 2023, edition of Dynamite. Our own Dave Meltzer said at the time that her injury was not considered serious and she was not expected to miss much time. Baker has only wrestled twice since. Her last match was on the AEW House Rules show in Troy, Ohio on March 18 against Anna Jay. 

Baker also recently told Slam Wrestling she “still has the same questions” regarding Thunder Rosa’s injury that has sidelined her since last summer. 

Baker said:

I stand by everything I said because I still have the same questions… You are traveling all over the place for other projects but you’re not coming [to] work where you are the champion? I have that question. I want to know why. I am just asking that question because I’m very passionate and protective of AEW. Anyone can call me a bully but I stand by that and that question still hasn’t been answered to this day. People like Adam Cole would have killed to be able to come to work but he cannot travel. It is not like he was going in and doing a signing or convention or a seminar. They’re not coming to work but he wasn’t able to even leave the house.

Britt Baker has given her thoughts on the AEW All Out media scrum last September. 

The former AEW Women’s World Champion opened up about what happened in Chicago that night during a recent interview with Barstool Rasslin’. 

Baker said:

I actually don’t even think I’ve ever given my thoughts but just speaking solely on what I watched because that’s all I can talk about is what I saw and the scrum and what I heard. And as someone who loves AEW more than anything in the world and has so much pride and at a time when it felt like we were really something special and we had some of the biggest names in professional wrestling all fighting for our same team, and especially after a huge pay-per-view, that pay-per-view was amazing, I think it was one of the biggest houses we ever had, that scrum was heartbreaking and it was embarrassing and it was disappointing.  

It just felt like, and for a moment in time, that this felt like very much a disaster and you never want that to happen. 

That was definitely a time in AEW where I was like, ‘Man, this sucks.’

CM Punk’s comments at the All Out media scrum took aim at numerous members of AEW including Colt Cabana, Hangman Page, and the company’s EVPs. Shortly after this, an altercation between Punk, Ace Steel, and members of The Elite took place in Punk’s locker room leading to multiple suspensions. 

Baker would continue to say that she feels post-event media scrums are a good opportunity for fans to see their favorite wrestlers as “real people” but noted that the time needs to be used responsibly. She said that it would be selfish of her to spend time during an interview complaining about people or things she does not like, preferring instead to promote the company.  

I think the scrums are really cool because it’s after a pay-per-view and you get to speak to these wrestlers and there’s a lot of emotion and they get to talk to you about what’s going on in the ring, what they’re feeling, their storylines, and it, in a way, kind of humanizes these very larger-than-life wrestlers who you just saw wrestle for 30 minutes in the ring or whatever but that time needs to be used proactively and responsibly.

If I sit here and do nothing but tell you everybody I hate, everybody, everything that I’m mad at or let’s go through all the Twitter lies about me and debunk them all, like, that’s not proactive and that would be selfish of me to use your time and the world’s time like that. 

I would rather, let’s put over this frickin’ pay-per-view, or what else is going awesome in AEW. And is that other stuff there? Of course. Are there people here I don’t like? Of course. Are there things I don’t like? Of course but I’m still a soldier for AEW and I’m on the frontlines fighting for my team and I’m going to put it over as a soldier. 

Britt Baker isn’t scheduled for a match on Sunday’s AEW Revolution pay-per-view from San Francisco but will likely be in champion Jamie Hayter’s corner for her title defense against Ruby Soho and Saraya. The 31-year-old has performed on nine AEW pay-per-views previously including five matches for the AEW Women’s World Championship and a victory in the finals of the inaugural Owen Hart Cup. Baker holds a 6-3 record overall on AEW pay-per-view, with a 5-2 record in singles matches and a 1-1 record in multi-person matches. 

Britt Baker’s injury isn’t expected to keep her out of action for long. 

AEW announced on Wednesday that the former champion was not medically cleared and had been removed from a scheduled triple threat against Ruby Soho and Toni Storm on Dynamite. Our own Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that Baker’s injury is not considered serious and she isn’t expected to miss much time. 

Meltzer said: 

Britt had an injury. The way it was described to me, and I don’t know what the injury was, is that she is not hurt badly and she possibly could have wrestled but it would have been a bad idea for her to wrestle.

I heard it wasn’t serious.

Whatever it is, she is not expected to be out of action for any length of time, is what I was told. 

Baker appeared on the stage area during the singles match between Soho and Storm on Dynamite. The distraction she provided allowed Soho to pick up the victory. 

AEW President Tony Khan revealed on Busted Open Radio yesterday that the Baker vs. Soho vs. Storm triple threat will take place once Baker is medically cleared. 

Baker last wrestled on the January 11, 2023, edition of Dynamite from Los Angeles. She teamed with Jamie Hayter and defeated Saraya and Toni Storm that night. Hayter & Baker also teamed up to defeat the Renegade twins on last week’s edition of Rampage. Baker defeating Billie Starkz aired on AEW Dark this week as well.