Britt Baker recently discussed how she deals with wrestling trolls and what she told Taya Valkyrie following their heavily criticized match. Baker is an AEW original, and she is part of WWE’s rival promotion. Many consider it a “secondary promotion” as Triple H recently said. With all this, she and everyone in AEW have to deal with a lot of trolls from tribal wrestling enthusiasts. Trolls are immature and think there’s only room for WWE or AEW and not both. This causes tribalism where fans feel like they are at war with the other side.
BRITT BAKER EXPLAINS HOW SHE DEALS WITH WRESTLING TROLLS
With Dr. Britt Baker being one of the top women’s wrestlers in the promotion, she has been the focus of a lot of hate from internet trolls. One of the most recent examples was following her match with Valkyrie on last week’s AEW Dynamite. The match had some botches and some clunky moments. It drew out wrestling trolls, and they started verbalizing their hate and criticism of the match.
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Valkyrie later responded to the negative comments which included some coming after her physical appearance by saying wrestlers are human and have feelings. During a recent interview with TV Insider, Britt Baker shared her thoughts about the online hate and what she told Valkyrie after she started receiving the hateful comments. She stated the following:
“I told her when she first got here to AEW that fans, whether they be WWE diehard supporters or just AEW haters, are very passionate in a brutal way on social media. I get it every single week if I’m on TV or not … It’s relentless. It’s to the point where I open Twitter and 85 percent or more is negative. It’s really sad and disheartening, but you have to put everything in perspective. When I come out, the fans are so excited to see me. They are chanting ‘D.M.D.’ the whole time. I see it as I can’t hear these Twitter trolls because these D.M.D chants are so loud..”
BRITT BAKER EXPLAINS WHY IT ISN’T ‘US AGAINST THEM’
The mob mentality, tribalism, and trolls are some of the worst parts of wrestling. They can quickly suck the fun out of wrestling. It is one thing to criticize a wrestling move, storyline, gimmick, or something along those lines. However, being intentionally hurtful of someone’s appearance or a botch when it has nothing to do with their performance in the ring or their gimmick is rude and uncalled for. Certain “fans” have to remember like Valkyrie said they are human. and they are doing something that many people cannot do.
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Valkyrie is one of if not the most experienced women on the roster. She has wrestled across the world, and she’s been a part of major promotions like AAA, NWA, WWE, and IMPACT Wrestling before joining AEW. Her ability is unquestionable, but mistakes are just a part of the wrestling business. Baker also went on to explain that not all wrestling fans are toxic and most are extremely supportive. She continued:
“When I come to comic conventions, there are these fans that are so grateful to meet me and be able to talk about AEW and what it means to them. That’s the stuff that means a lot to me. Those are the real fans. They are paying to come to the shows. They are enjoying the show. Not people who get on social media to troll.”
WHY WRESTLING TROLLS ARE NOT REAL FANS
Real fans come to wrestling with love and express valid criticism because they love wrestling. They don’t maliciously tear down wrestling and wrestlers, but build it up because they can see its potential. Britt Baker wasn’t quite done talking about trolls and what losers she thinks they are. She added:
“There are literally people who invest hours and hours in their days to make troll accounts for what reason? I’m such a driven and motivated person I can’t imagine that my goal is to make everyone else’s lives miserable or show flaws in people and what they can and can’t do. It’s such an insane concept. I wish I could understand it. At the same time, what will be will be. We have the best fans on the planet. As loud as the trolls are, there are passionate fans too who are thankful to have AEW.”
Wrestling and being a wrestling fan is so often made fun of, and the behavior of wrestling trolls is a poor reflection on fans. Wrestling fans should be sticking together and sharing in their love of the art of wrestling rather than cruelly tearing others down. Wrestlers literally risk their lives and have made so many sacrifices to entertain the fans.
What do you think of internet trolls in general? What about wrestling trolls and the comments made by Britt Baker? Do you think they have a right to criticize something they have never done so harshly? Is criticizing a wrestler’s appearance fair game? Why do you think internet trolls behave the way they do? Let us know your thoughts on The Illuminderi’s social media.
SOURCE: TVInsider, Wrestling Inc.
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