Britt Baker grew up in awe of the warriors of the wrestling ring such as Bryan Danielson and would develop into additional impressed by feminine grappling pioneers like Sasha Banks, Bayley, Charlotte, and Becky Lynch.
Then, in 2019, she started to blaze her personal path because the dual-career celebrity who turned the primary ladies’s wrestler ever signed to the rising All Elite Wrestling Promotion. Since then, Baker has continued along with her skilled profession as a dentist, and has additionally held a world title in AEW: “I still get asked, to this day, if I’m actually a dentist,” shares Baker, who had a stellar yr in 2021 (she was Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s “Woman of the Year” no much less).
But with maybe her greatest match ever looming on Saturday; towards Saraya on the AEW Full Gear pay-per-view, now appeared like the right time for Baker to sit down down with M&F for a large ranging chat about her unimaginable drive, evolution as a performer, and the way she makes the most of every moment with such a busy schedule.
Britt Baker, now 31, was by no means beneath any illusions that creating knowledgeable profession in dentistry whereas following her dream of turning into a professional wrestler could be straightforward. “I had done four years of undergraduate school and I studied biobehavioral health, and family studies, but then when I was enrolled in the actual dental school, I swear, those exact same couple of months is when I started training (to be a wrestler),” says Baker. “And, it’s about a seven-month-to-a-year training course and then they set you out into the wild (independent wrestling scene), the rest is up to you. They give you the tools to be successful, to have your first match, but then 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, which is a about two and a half hours, one way, after dental school, twice a week, just so that 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 am forever a nerd. I always wanna keep learning and studying.”
Britt Baker all the time finds time to progress along with her passions
“I would have to bring my [dental studies] note cards with me everywhere because, especially when you are a trainee [wrestler], you are expected to pay your dues. So, you’re the ones setting up the ring, setting up the chairs in the venue, helping everybody, anytime we would get a two-second break I would pull my note cards out of my pocket and be studying for dental anatomy or biology or whatever my test was gonna be,” laughs Baker. “Sometimes, on the drive home I’d be so tired that I would have to pull over onto the side of the road. But, I had to really map it all out and calculate because I had to make sure that I was back in time for 8 a.m., to get to my dental class.”
When All Elite Wrestling was shaped in 2019, Britt Baker was the primary feminine wrestler to be signed by the corporate, however with a love for each professional wrestling and dentistry, she wished to carry on to each careers. “That was the first question I asked,” says Baker. “Before I asked 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?’” Fortunately, AEW’s Chief, Tony Khan inspired her to proceed with dentistry as a result of it was one of many issues that he beloved about her within the first place. “If there’s a certain flight that I have to take, AEW doesn’t hesitate to click the button to get me on the earliest flight out of there, to make sure that I get to my office on time,” she shares. And there’s a mutual profit to having a real dental skilled onsite at AEW exhibits. “Anytime there’s like a medical, tooth, or mouth related injury the doctors actually call me to the medical room,” says Baker. “The team doctors have me go look at the teeth. I need to, like, renegotiate my contract now that I think about that because I’m like the on-call dentist,” she laughs.
Focuse on small targets in order that the lengthy phrases targets can take care of themselves
“I’m very stubborn about it,” says Baker. “A lot of people, I don’t know why, there’s a misconception that I need dentistry financially, like Tony Khan isn’t paying me enough, which is absolutely not the case. It’s very much that I love it. At this point, it’s really not helping me financially, at all, because I am only in the office a couple of 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 gonna get through the day, but I just put one foot in front of the other and got through. And, that really taught me the mentality that I now use every day in my life. You’ll get to that long term goal if you focus on the little ones.”
Britt Baker likes to combine up her coaching
“I’m, admittedly, a very late-night workout girl,” shares Baker. “I’m at the gym, usually at 10pm, finishing up around 11.30pm or midnight. That’s just how it works for me now because that’s the only time I can fit in. When I’m home, in a typical day, I wake up, go to the dental office and I’m there sometimes until 7pm, come home, eat really quick, say hello to my boyfriend (who just happens to be fellow AEW superstar; Adam Cole then I go to the gym.” On a Tuesday, Baker finally ends up on the dental workplace and catches a flight to a unique city every week with a view to prepare for AEW’s top-rated flagship tv present, “Dynamite” on TBS, however she’s going to nonetheless handle to slot in a exercise between her flight touchdown and attending to mattress!
“I’m really big on Pilate’s too,” says Baker. “It’s something I have got way better at in the last year or so. I actually work with a stretch therapist twice a week just to help with my flexibility because I’ve had my fair share of injuries. I think one thing that is really important for your body is mobility.” Never one to sit down nonetheless on the highway, Baker is all the time looking out for a solution to whereas away the hours by train. “I like to mix things up,” she says. “When we are in cities, I always like to find a class that I can take, and one that I found recently is ‘Solid Core,’ which is like the hardest Pilates class on the planet, it is so difficult! It’s just one of those things where practice makes perfect. My core is on fire, I feel so tight and toned and that’s my favorite thing to lookout for now.” Traditional workout routines such because the squats and deadlifts, are additionally a staple which are by no means removed from her routine. “At least four days a week, I’m in the gym, picking a body part, whether it’s legs or glutes or arms, shoulders. That’s pretty standard. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” she says. “I’m a big, big advocate on incline walking for my cardio. I broke my leg, I have bad knees, so running just does not work for me anymore, so I definitely love the incline walking and the stair master and, again, any type of HIIT fitness class, like F45.”
Britt Baker likes to take management of her diet
“I’m pretty much always right on track with my macros,” says Baker. “When I’m at my busiest, I’ll have the pre-packaged meals that 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 do enable for it, Baker relishes the prospect to indulge her candy tooth (carefully, in fact, says the dental skilled!). “If there’s a piece of cake in front of me, or sweets, I will definitely eat those sweets. I’m not going to torture myself with food because I don’t think food should be used as punishment or reward. If I want to eat something I will, but at the same time, I like to stay healthy, I like the healthy foods.”
Britt Baker has honed her craft as a professional wrestler beneath Elite firm
Legends such as Chris Jericho, who Baker seemed as much as whereas developing within the wrestling enterprise, are actually having a direct impact on the evolution of her 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 need to wrestle to win fans over.” Another optimistic affect has been the “American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes helped me so much. He sat down with me and helped me write out promos till I used to be ok to do them alone. I’ll eternally be grateful to Cody and Chris.”
Ready and in Full Gear
At AEW Full Gear, Baker will face her hardest take a look at when she battles Saraya (formerly Paige in WWE) in her extremely anticipated return match, however the inaugural girl of AEW is able to make an announcement. “I mean, Saraya laid the foundation, even before the ‘Four Horsewomen’ did, if we are being honest,” says Baker. “She is part of the group that got the ball rolling for (WWE management to allow for) the longer matches, and the women to be respected more (by removing the ‘Diva’ label from the division), or for the women to be viewed just as equal as the men, and no one can ever take that away from Saraya, that’s something she will always have in the history books, but what I can take away from her is the first match back from her (neck) injury… because she’s not going to win that one. The fairy tale ending is not going to pan out this time. But it’s still great. She thought she was never going to wrestle again, and now she is, it’s wonderful, but she picked the wrong girl as her first match back. You don’t start at the top; you work your way up to the top.” The self-confidence that Baker has gained by sacrificing her personal blood, sweat, and tears places her in little doubt as to who the higher wrestler is. “If we wanna lay our matches out together, I think way more people would be able to pick out some of their favorite Brit Baker matches than their favorite Saraya matches,” says Baker. “This is a different time and a different era, and I hope she can go. That’s all I’m gonna say to her.” AEW Full Gear will probably be broadcast stay on November 17 on pay-per-view and in chosen cinemas.
Follow Britt Baker on Instagram @realbrittbaker.
