AEW’s current Women’s Champion Britt Baker was on the most recent episode of the Throwing Down Podcast and happened to take a stroll down memory lane to tell hosts, Renee Paquette and Miesha Tate about her first WWE tryout.
Britt Baker explained how higher ups in the company thought it best for her to finish the four years of dental school before she signed a contract with them… Yeah, let’s talk about it.
Britt Baker Tells Her Story
Britt Baker stated:
“Originally, there was no AEW so everybody wanted to go to WWE,” Britt Baker said. “That was the dream. And I had a tryout with WWE, and in my tryout was Bianca [Belair], Lacey [Evans], and I’m trying to think of the others, but there was a small group of us that had been picked to go do this secondary physical where it was like, ‘Oh man, we’re all getting signed! This is the crew.’
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“And then Canyon [Ceman] pulled me aside and said, ‘You know, as a father, I have a hard time pulling you from your academic career. You’re going to be a dentist so I want you to finish that and then email.’ And this was like year one of dental school, so I knew I still had four years to go. That like – my heart sunk because I was young, and dumb, and ready to leave dental school in a heartbeat for WWE.”
“So thank God I didn’t, and then AEW came along just as I was finishing dental school and it was like the perfect storm for me,” Britt Baker added. “Because I could still practice dentistry three days a week, I could still travel, wrestle on TV, grow my craft, and to me, there was no – it’s not a question. Of course! Like, ‘Tony Khan, what’s up man? Let’s do this.’ And then it’s no secret because he’s already said it by now so the cat’s out of the bag. I’m not going to get in trouble.
Britt Baker is not only a hot prospect to have in a women’s division, she may be one of the best wrestlers to have in a promotion. Mic skills and programs have never disappointed. Her in ring skills are phenomenal, and she’s not afraid to get just as rough as the men. She’ll take or give a chair shot, high spots are not forgotten as far as her move set is concerned.
Last but not least, getting busted open is a thing that happens without blinking an eye. Her ability to walk the line of being a loved heel with the strap is something that is lost on WWE as they are currently struggling with the same concept with Becky “The Man” Lynch.
She revealed how WWE made it “recently” known that they would be interested in having Britt Baker on their roster, something she didn’t want to pursue. Most likely due to Baker just signing an extension with AEW last month.
“WWE was definitely poking the bear a little bit through [Tony Khan] recently when I was with AEW. Like, ‘Hey, we’re really interested in her.’ Without teetering the lines of contract tampering, they definitely let me know they had interest in me. But it wasn’t a mutual thing, you know? I’m very happy in AEW, and I’m very content and thankful for all of the opportunities I’ve had there. This is where I want to stay.”
This is a piece on Britt Baker and why WWE sees her as a prospect, but to do so we have to answer the question of why WWE doesn’t want to admit it or want you to know. And the reason is that AEW is a better promotion.
AEW has a mix of the best talent in sports entertainment as well as mediocre talent that has room to improve, and that’s the thing: not only are they being allowed to improve, it’s encouraged. The same can be said about WWE, but the difference is AEW knows what to do with that talent. AEW mixes good with mediocre to create the best. Ruby Soho is a perfect example of taking the mediocre and improving it to be the best. She went from relatively no screen time and absolutely no ring time at WWE to becoming a huge draw at AEW.
AEW represents competition, and that is something we have been missing in Sports Entertainment. Competition breeds success. And that success serves us, the fans, very well. As of recently, it’s been the best time to be a wrestling fan. AEW is making sure to take the lead with having the best or at least providing us with the best product. They have the best promos, the best high spots, the best in ring action, the best off screen but online content. And they have the best relationship with the fans, because they listen to the fans.
They give you dream matches on national television and their PPV game is beyond anything we’ve seen or experienced in quite sometime. I know that this just sounds like I’m an AEW apologist, but I’ll quote a promo from the best to ever do it: Jay-Z: “Women lie, men lie; numbers don’t.” That may sound lofty but it’s fact. AEW has been leading in ratings ever since they premiered the in ring work of CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Adam Cole, and Ruby Soho.
When Britt Baker says she is where she belongs, she is right. She is the best and she should work with the best.
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