With Britt Baker promising to come off the shelf from injury in time for AEW All Out, let’s speculate who her opponent at the landmark event could be.
It’s official: the 2020 edition of AEW All Out is coming to a television set near you on Sept. 5 and you can bet that if she has anything to say about it, Dr. Britt Baker DMD will be there in action.
For those out of the know, to recap, it was on the May 20 episode of AEW Dynamite that she sustained a serious leg injury in a tag match where her opponents – Kris Statlander and Hikaru Shida – launched her own partner – Nyla Rose – onto a prone and seated Britt Baker in the corner.
To no one’s surprise, having an entire person thrown on top of them did not make for a fun landing for Baker and she was injured. This coming mere days before the AEW Double or Nothing event, Baker’s scheduled match with Kris Statlander was cancelled.
However, on the next episode of Dynamite, Baker endured as the true “Roll Model” (her puns, not mine, I swear) she is by spinning onto the ramp in a wheelchair. While her promo – or should we call it a conspiracy lecture? as seen above – was mostly filled with incoherent ramblings (as most conspiracies tend to be), we did hear her loud and clear in saying that she will return in time for AEW All Out.
After having a big breakout year so far, Baker hopes to extend the breaking by breaking out of her wheelchair and back in the ring come September. But against who?
Honorable Mention: Kris Statlander – The story is there, but for one reason or another (mostly because stronger candidates), The Alien just barely made the cut. Sorry, Stat. Nothing personal.
vs. Big Swole
This one, oddly enough, seems the most likely judging by the latest episode of Dynamite from last night where we saw Baker and Big Swole have an altercation of sorts. All signs seem to point to Britt Baker vs. Big Swole happening sooner rather than later. Which could mean that somehow, AEW will find a way to drag this to August, or Baker may be healing faster than we thought.
In either case, this match comes three months in the making. Let’s not forget that it was way back on a March episode of AEW Dynamite that a feud between Swole and Baker had first kicked off. All signs seemed to be pointing to a future match and a big push for Swole.
Unfortunately, this episode aired the same night that the NBA postponed the rest of their season. Then, before we knew it, everything got cancelled/postponed as the world was swept by the novel coronavirus pandemic. For whatever reason, this also halted Swole’s push as she suddenly disappeared from AEW TV, not having a match again until last night.
But now, the stars have aligned enough to bring Swole and Baker together and this time, their match looks like it will actually happen this time.
vs. Hikaru Shida
Hikaru Shida stands now not only as the brand new AEW Women’s Champion, but also as a culprit on Britt Baker’s conspiracy hit list who played a part in her injury. Which all but confirms that one of Baker’s return matches back has to be against the champion. And that match not only might happen at All Out, but by all accounts, it probably should.
Prior to their tag team match that ended in disaster for Baker, the two had a one on one bout a month ago on Dynamite that was critically acclaimed by just about every side of the fence: fans, critics, and even some colleagues. Shida vs. Baker stands out as one of the best matches to happen on the wrestling scene so far.
Giving all of the praise given to that match, it only makes smart business sense for AEW not only to give us a rematch, but one that fans will be willing to pay for. Putting them in the ring again on Pay-Per-View (emphasis on the “pay” part; AEW can shut up and take my money right now because I’m excited thinking about this one already), put the title on the line, and let them have another classic for the ages.
vs. Nyla Rose
This one goes through the slim chance that AEW is willing to turn Nyla Rose into a babyface. Obviously, the story is right there in front of their faces, what with Baker first sustaining her injury thanks to Nyla Rose being catapulted onto her. Baker already called Rose out during her wheelchair bound lecture on Dynamite. The pieces are already moving in place for this to happen.
But again, AEW have to be willing to allow Rose to work as a babyface, which may be easier said than done. It’s not like she wouldn’t fit the role. Rose has proven by showcasing her more casual real life presence on social media how likable Rose can be. All AEW would have to do is showcase more of that natural charm on TV.
But alas, the problem is that Rose has worked so well as this juggernaut monster of a woman that AEW could easily take the stand of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” And, to be fair, because Rose has played a monster heel to perfection over the last year or so, AEW wouldn’t be totally wrong in taking that stance.
The only problem there is that if they did, they would be missing out on a killer story and even more of a killer match between these two one-on-one.
vs. Bea Priestley
This one is going to take a long shot and a miracle. Bea Priestley is currently stuck overseas in London, England without being able to travel any time soon. But alas, I include this option for two reasons.
The first being because I’m trying to keep a shred – a shred – of optimism going during tough times on the off chance that maybe, just maybe the world could calm down at the very end of August and at the very start of September, should could enter Chicago as a last minute surprise or something like that. Is it overly optimistic? Yes, of course it is. Life sucks right now, but let’s just dream for a second.
The second reason being because I just find the idea of these two revisiting their feud in a role reversal to be a fascinating prospect to consider. Of course, it was last year that we saw a babyface Britt Baker feud with a heel Bea Priestley.
A lot has changed since then. Well, Baker’s still “a f***ing dentist,” but she’s a heel f***ing dentist now. The crowd would go ballistic to see Priestley return to kick the not-so-good doctor’s teeth down her throat.
vs. Aubrey Edwards
This is a bold one and, perhaps, practically impossible to envision. But hey, story wise, it is actually quite possible.
As she explained in her afformentioned lecture promo, Baker is convinced that the source of her injury came from a diabolical conspiracy against her and one where referee Aubrey Edwards is the culprit at the center of it all.
After all, every time Baker gets injured, Edwards is always there … somewhere, sometimes not even in Baker’s periphery, but somewhere is still there. Wherever the heck there is.
For some reason, the referee who refs about 95% of every women’s match in AEW (and, really, like 90% of every match in AEW period) is always in the building whenever Baker gets injured. Coincidence? I think … actually, it might all just be one big coincidence.
But not if you’re Britt Baker. It would fit perfectly in line with Baker’s character to want to pick a fight with a non-wrestler. It’s certainly attention grabbing enough to get the fans intrigued at least.
Only question is who is going to ref this one? Maybe a special guest ref? Someone unbiased and bound to keep things under control like, I don’t know, Tony Schiavone?