Britt Baker grew in awe of wrestling ring warriors such as Bryan Danielson and was further inspired by women’s grappling pioneers like Sasha Banks, Bayley, Charlotte and Becky Lynch.
Then, in 2019, she began charting her own path as a dual-career superstar who became the first female wrestler to sign with the new All Elite Wrestling promotion. Since then, Baker has continued his professional career as a dentist and also held an AEW world title: “I’m still asked, to this day, if I’m actually a dentist,” shares Baker, who had a stellar year in 2021 (she was no less than Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s “Woman of the Year”).
But with perhaps his biggest game ever looming on Saturday; against Saraya at the AEW Full Gear pay-per-view, now seemed like the perfect time for Baker to sit down with M&F for a wide-ranging discussion about her incredible drive, her evolution as a performer, and how she gets the best out of it. gone from every moment with such a busy schedule.
Britt Baker, now 31, never had any illusions that it would be easy to develop a professional career in dentistry while pursuing her dream of becoming a professional wrestler. “I had done four years of undergraduate studies and I studied biobehavioral health and family studies, but then when I was enrolled in dental school, I swear it was exactly during those two months since I started training (to be a wrestler),” says Baker. “And, it’s a training course of seven months to a year, and then they send you out into the wild (indie wrestling scene), the rest is up to you. They give you the tools to be successful, to have your first match, but everything else is up to you. Personally, I wanted to keep learning and so I would drive to (wrestling school in) Cleveland twice a week from Pittsburgh, about two and a half hours one way, after dental school, twice a week, just to which I could learn from two of my favorite wrestlers at the time, (current WWE stars) Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae. Just because, I guess, I’m still a nerd. I always want to keep learning and studying.
Britt Baker always finds time to grow with her passions
“I should bring my [dental studies] note cards with me everywhere because, especially when you are an intern [wrestler], you are expected to pay your dues. So you’re the one setting up the ring, setting up the chairs in the room, helping everyone out, every time we had a two second break I’d pull my note cards out of my pocket and study anatomy or dental biology or whatever my test was going to be,” laughs Baker. “Sometimes on the way home I was so tired that I had to park on the side of the road. But I really had to plan and calculate everything because I had to make sure I was back at 8 in the morning to go to my dental class.
When All Elite Wrestling was formed in 2019, Britt Baker was the first wrestler to be signed by the company, but with a love for professional wrestling and dentistry, she wanted to keep both careers. “That was the first question I asked,” Baker says. “Before asking about money, or how many days a week I was going to be on the road, or if we were going to be on TV, the first question I asked was ‘can I still be a dentist? ‘” Luckily, AEW leader Tony Khan encouraged her to pursue dentistry because it was one of the things he loved about her in the first place. “If there’s a certain flight I need to take, AEW doesn’t hesitate to click the button to get me on the first flight from there, to make sure I get to my office at the time,” she shares. And there’s a mutual benefit to having a real dental professional on hand at AEW shows. “Anytime there’s a medical injury, dental or oral, the doctors actually call me to the medical room,” says Baker. “The team doctors had my teeth checked. I have to, like, renegotiate my contract now that I think about it because I’m like the dentist on call,” she laughs.
Focus on small goals so long-term goals can take care of themselves
“I’m very stubborn about it,” says Baker. “A lot of people, I don’t know why, mistakenly think that I need dentistry financially, as if Tony Khan isn’t paying me enough, which is absolutely not the case. It’s a lot that I At this point it really doesn’t help me financially at all as I’m only in the office a few days a week but it was such a journey the eight years of schooling and half a million dollars in student loans. There were so many days where I just didn’t know how I was going to spend the day, but I just put one foot in front of the other and made it. And that made me really learned the mindset that I now use every day in my life.You will achieve this long term goal if you focus on the little ones.
Britt Baker likes to mix up her training
“I am, admittedly, a very late-night workout girl,” Baker shares. “I’m in the gym, usually at 10 p.m., I finish around 11:30 p.m. or midnight. That’s how it works for me now because it’s the only time I can fit in. When I’m home, on a typical day, I wake up, I go to the dental office and I’m there sometimes until 7 p.m., I come home, eat very quickly, say hello to my boyfriend (who happens to be another AEW superstar; Adam Cole then I go to the gym.” One Tuesday, Baker finishes up at the dental office and takes a flight to a different city each week to prepare for the flagship TV show. AEW, “Dynamite” on TBS, but she’ll still manage to practice between landing her flight and going to bed!
“I like Pilates a lot too,” says Baker. “It’s something I’ve done a lot better in the last year. I actually work with a stretch therapist twice a week just to help me with my flexibility because I’ve had my share of injuries. I think one thing that’s really important for your body is mobility. Never one to sit on the road, Baker is always looking for a way to spend hours exercising. “I like to mix things up,” she says. “When we’re in town, I always like to find a class that I can take, and the one I found recently is ‘Solid Core’, which is like the hardest Pilates class on the planet, it’s so hard! It’s just one of those things where practice makes perfect. My heart is on fire, I feel so tight and toned and it’s my favorite thing to watch out for right now. Traditional exercises such as squats and deadlifts are also staples that are never far from his routine.” At least four days a week I’m in the gym, picking out a part of the body, whether it’s the legs or the glutes or the arms, shoulders. It’s pretty standard. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” she says. “I’m a big, big advocate for incline walking for my cardio. I broke my leg, I have bad knees so running is not good for me anymore so i really like incline walking and stair master e t, again, any type of HIIT fitness class, like F45.
Britt Baker likes to take control of her nutrition
“I’m almost always on track with my macros,” says Baker. “When I’m busiest I’ll have the prepackaged meals that will tell you exactly what everything is. It’s not as good as a home-cooked meal but when you have to go, you still have to eat. Thankfully , when time and circumstances permit, Baker relishes the chance to indulge (in moderation, of course, the dental professional says!) “If there’s a piece of cake in front of me, or candy, I I will definitely eat these sweets. I’m not going to torture myself with food because I don’t think food should be used as a punishment or a reward. If I want to eat something I will, but at the same time I like to stay healthy, I like healthy food.
Britt Baker honed her craft as a professional wrestler under the Elite company
Legends such as Chris Jericho, whom Baker looked up to rising in the wrestling world, now have a direct effect on the evolution of his presentation. “Chris Jericho is all about delivery,” she enthuses. “He always says it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. He really showed me that you don’t have to struggle to win over the fans. Another positive influence was Cody Rhodes’ “American Nightmare” which helped me a lot. He sat down with me and helped me write promos until I was good enough to do them myself. I will be forever grateful to Cody and Chris.
Ready and in full gear
At AEW Full Gear, Baker will face her toughest test when she takes on Saraya (formerly WWE Paige) in her highly anticipated return match, but the AEW First Lady is ready to make a statement. “I mean, Saraya laid the groundwork, even before the ‘Four Horsewomen’ did, if we’re being honest,” Baker says. “She’s part of the group that started the ball rolling for (WWE management to allow) longer matches, and for women to be more respected (by removing the ‘Diva’ label from the division), or for women are considered as equal as men, and no one can ever take that away from Saraya, it’s something she will always have in the history books, but what I can take away from her is the first match after her (neck) injury…because she’s not going to win that one. The end of the fairy tale is not going to happen this time. But it’s still awesome. She thought she was never going to wrestle again, and now she does, it’s wonderful, but she picked the wrong girl for her first match. You don’t start at the top; you progress to the top. The self-confidence Baker gained from sacrificing her own blood, sweat, and tears leaves her in no doubt as to who the better wrestler is. “If we’re going to run our matches together, I think a lot more people could choose some of their favorite Brit Baker matches than their favorite Saraya matches,” Baker says. “It’s another time and another era, and I hope she can go. That’s all I’m going to tell her. AEW Full Gear will air live on November 17 pay-per-view and select cinemas.
Follow Britt Baker on Instagram @realbrittbaker.
