AEW and NXT Wednesday Night War: 3 winners of night #16

Britt Baker

Britt Baker’s heel turn didn’t exactly get off to the best start a couple of weeks ago; the promo she cut on Tony Schiavone and the fans could most generously be described as “shaky” as she threw out a myriad of insults to elicit heat.

To be fair, she did reel in the boos she was fishing for and it wasn’t the worst promo of all time, but it left a lot to be desired. She cleaned that up the next week with a much stronger, more focused diatribe and on this week’s Dynamite, she cemented her place as one of the women’s division’s top villains.

After getting cradled and pinned by Yuka Sakazaki, Baker retrieved the timekeeper’s bell from ringside and plastered the joshi star’s back with it. What followed was far more gruesome; Baker applied her Lockjaw submission hold to force Sakazaki to bite onto the bottom rope and once she acquiesced, Baker curb-stomped a few of Sakazaki’s teeth out.

In the long term, Baker will have to show that she can hold the audience’s attention during extended heat segments in longer matches as she continues down this path, but for now, what she’s doing is working.