AEW star Britt Baker talks balance of being wrestler and dentist, why she’s a big believer in Tony Khan

Britt Baker has emerged as a top star among female professional wrestlers since joining All Elite Wrestling in 2019 but stepping into the ring wasn’t always a dream.

A native of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, who entered the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine that same year, he began training to become a professional wrestler. Dr. Britt Baker, DMD, is not a wrestling gimmick or kayfab. Instead, it’s a real-life role that she takes on alongside being a wrestler.

Baker told Fox News Digital in a recent interview that she was just a wrestling fan before she thought to herself that she could perform as well, if not better, in the ring than anyone else.

“I was just a fan. I never dreamed of it as a kid,” Baker said. It was never something I was pursuing until I found out that I could actually do it. I was in a wormhole of indie wrestling – independent wrestling on YouTube. And I found out that some of my favorite wrestlers, like the big WWE stars, all got their start on the independent wrestling circuit. Pretty much anyone can do it. You’re wrestling in bingo halls and high school auditoriums in front of 50 people and anyone can do it.

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“That made my mind tick. ‘Hey, maybe I should just try and see because I like wrestling so much, maybe I’ll like it.’ And then when I tried and stepped inside a wrestling ring for the first time, the rest was history. The problem was that I had already been accepted into dental school. So, I decided right then and there that I was a wrestler and Was going to be a dentist.”

Baker is a licensed dentist in Florida and admittedly has a hard time dealing with patients who are also big fans of his.

“Very carefully. It’s hard. I’d say right now it’s definitely the hardest time I’ve managed since I became a licensed dentist because they don’t teach you in dental school that your How to treat wrestling fans who come to practice as patients and hunt for autographs and pictures and it’s very difficult because you want to respect the fans and give them your time but not in the dentist’s office. It’s them. is for patients who need help and care and not autographs,” he said.

Baker, who is one of the wrestlers featured in the company’s new unscripted series “AEW All Access,” is now aligned with the current AEW World Women’s Champion, Jamie Hayter, and taking on the likes of Saraya, Ruby Soho and Toni Storm. is Weekly basis on Dynamite and Rampage.

Hayter joined AEW in 2019 and then later in 2021 in Revolution Pro Wrestling in the United Kingdom and in Japan after making waves in the ring with World Wonder Ring Stardom. Hatter defeated Storm to win the women’s title at Full Gear and then defended it at Dynamite and again at Revolution in December.

Baker had nothing but good things to say about Hatter’s emergence as one of the top stars. Baker told Fox News Digital how Hayter was able to come to AEW.

Dr. Brit Baker, DMD in the ring during AEW Dynamite on January 26, 2022 at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland. (Frank Janski/ICON Sportswire via Getty Images)

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“Jamie was a girl that I wrestled when I was on the independents before AEW. I met her in the UK and I immediately thought, (when) I wrestled her there, she was amazing. Her and I really Got together. OK. And I always kept in touch with him,” she said. “So once AEW came around and I got signed, and I had a great relationship with our owner Tony Khan and I kind of kept him dancing, ‘Hey, this girl’s Jamie Haire. Hey, this girl’s Jamie Hatter. . She’s really great. ‘Finally, we’ve finally got her and her and I together. We’re a tag team. And she’s now one of the biggest debuts in all of women’s wrestling. I’ve seen it years ago. C when I first met her. This girl is a freaking star. She’s so good. She’s one of the hardest hitting wrestlers, not the hardest hitting girls, the hardest hitting wrestlers. is one of. I’m so glad he’s on my team so I don’t have to fight him. He’s just. Someone who is the definition of hard work.

Hayter was able to make an immediate impact on the fans and gain their support, turning him from a heel to a babyface wrestler alongside Baker.

Bea Priestley and Jamie Hayter pose for photos during the Women’s Pro-Wrestling Stardom – No People Gate at Korakuen Hall on March 8, 2020 in Tokyo. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

“When she came in, she was somebody who got dumped on live TV. I was the champion at the time and she was with me,” Baker said. “He was my protector, my bodyguard and we were the bad guys, which was really fun. But the fans came to love Jamie so much and love me and Jamie together and now we’re the good guys and now. Jamie’s the champion. And I’m telling you, when his music hits, he gets the loudest reaction at the whole show. And it’s great to be even the smallest part of his success story. It feels great. happens because you want to help other people. If you don’t bring other girls with you, you’ll be on your own.”

All Elite Wrestling has emerged as a formidable number 2 in the world of professional wrestling behind the goliath that is the WWE. A.E.W. Founder Tony Khan, son of Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC owner Shad Khan has made every effort to make it an option by bringing in the likes of Baker, The Young Bucks, Adam Cole, John Moxley, Chris Jericho, Saraya and MJF. To make programming must see.

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Baker said Khan’s passion for wrestling and his ability to connect with wrestlers had a lot to do with the company’s success.

“How he treats people. How he treats his fans and those who support him. He really cares and not only that, you know he cares about you and what you think. And what are your concerns. He’s a human being and you feel that way when you’re talking to him,” Baker told Fox News Digital. “When you’re a billionaire and the owner of the Jags and Fulham football. Thinking like the boss, you think he’s some out-of-this-world guy who won’t even give you the time of day and you can text the opposite. Call him and him anytime and he will eventually get back to you or as soon as possible.

“But I think, as far as AEW goes, what makes him so special is that he was a fan. A wrestling fan before anything else. So, we have our sport kind of driving the bus right now. And what better way than that. To start a new wrestling revolution with someone who is a true fan. This is not just a corporate, commercial power move. This is someone who truly cares about what we do. loves.”

Jade Cargill and All Elite Wrestling President Tony Khan attend the after party for TBS’s AEW Dynamite Los Angeles Debut at The Forum on June 1, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Leon Bennett/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery)

Baker said she truly believes Khan can transform the business into something similar to WWE.

“I do. I think so,” she said. “When I first signed with AEW, I really took a chance and took a risk because I’ve always wanted to be with WWE but I felt so strongly and so passionately about AEW and the fact that That they told me I could still be. A dentist when I was wrestling. That’s all I needed to hear. That was all.

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“But we started very small. We didn’t even have a TV deal yet and now we have two TV shows on TBS and TNT. We have the reality show ‘All-Access’. And now we’ve announced that we Going. Wrestle at Wembley Stadium in the UK, which is huge. We’re well on our way, making big strides and there’s a lot of people saying it’s an alternative to WWE. If you don’t like it, You can watch it. Or if you like it, you can also watch AEW. And it’s great that we have options. And also, it’s competition for WWE. And competition makes everything better because Everybody has to step up or they’re going to fall behind. So it makes all of professional wrestling around AEW better.”