Considering its hard, explosive in-ring style, it’s not surprising that AEW’s stars occasionally find themselves on the wrong end of the injury stick.
For Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D., this misfortune struck during her lengthy reign as AEW Women’s Champion. The Pittsburgh favourite recently discussed a painful wrist injury she sustained with Mel Magazine:
“I didn’t want to take any time off. I didn’t want to let the fans down, my boss [Tony Khan] down, the women’s division down, or the roster down, so I fought through it.”
Often regarded as the lead star of AEW’s women’s division, Baker’s long run on top as a heel wound up impacting her second career. Unlike Isaac Yankem, Baker is a legitimate dentist beyond wrestling and continues to work in this field when she’s not hitting the ring.
Dental work can be tricky and scary enough at the best of times, yet alone when the practitioner in question has fractured her right wrist:
“I had to delay a lot of appointments with extractions and heavy-duty dental office stuff. I was able to still work in the dental office. I just had to be choosy about what I could do or not do.”
Baker lost her AEW Women’s Championship to longtime nemesis Thunder Rosa back in March in a bloody steel cage match.
This was not the first time the pair’s rivalry has descended into grisly mayhem. Last year saw Rosa send Baker packing in a brutal Lights Out match. The sight of Baker bleeding profusely shocked many at the time and was considered a watershed moment for women’s wrestling in AEW.
While such bouts helped raise Baker’s stock as a leading star in AEW, they evidently came at a costly price.
Many have noted a decrease in screentime for the AEW Women’s Championship since Baker moved out of the title scene. Between Baker’s status as a top star on the show and the rising popularity of TBS Champion Jade Cargill, Thunder Rosa has struggled to net lengthy segments week to week.