Britt Baker undoubtedly now surpasses the Four Horsewomen in popularity

Nothing against the Four Horsewomen: Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, and Bayley. I have tremendous respect for the four of them, and they have done wonders for the business, but this piece is all about Dr. Britt Baker, as I feel that she undoubtedly has surpassed those women in popularity and for very good reason, and I’ve set out to prove as much in this piece.

She’s certainly the Queen Bee over at AEW and that’s for very good reason: She’s put in the work. Dare I compare her to anyone else in professional wrestling right now, it would be Deonna Purrazzo over at Impact and current Knockouts Champion and AAA Reina de Reinas Champion.

I find it amazing that both these women were so mistreated by WWE, they are essentially being buried with their time there, despite the work they put in, and yet they are leading the industry elsewhere.

Again, I stress that the Four Horsewomen accomplished a lot of firsts in the business, even in their time in NXT of course, but Britt Baker had to go elsewhere to outshine them, which isn’t always easy. But boy, is she shining now, and not only is AEW gaining a lot of momentum (and only after 2 years), but its stars are gaining quite a wee bit of it too.

Dr. Britt Baker on Britt Baker

It was in 2020, before her superstardom hit the stratosphere, that she did an interview with uproxx.com. In that interview, she talked about her background, her injury that she suffered early on in her AEW career, and where she saw herself in the pro wrestling industry down the line. This is what she had to say:

"“…I guess the wheels were moving to be a dentist first, but when I moved to Pittsburgh for dental school is the exact same time I started training to be a professional wrestler. So I started wrestling school and dental school at the exact same time…for wrestling, you need to be watching wrestling all the time, you need to be in the gym to look the part. It was such a hard time to balance the two of them that I think, deep down, in my gut, if I didn’t think that I had what it takes to be successful with both of them, I wouldn’t have pursued them both…Everybody wants to be a champion! Everybody wants to be the best, and that belt is a physical display that you are the best of the best. I feel that I was very fortunate, especially through my injury in the last four or five months, that I’ve still been featured in a way that highlights my character and makes me somebody that the audience can learn to know, or even to hate, maybe? I think this has been a good period of growth for me as a wrestler, especially as a character and learning who I am. And I think you have to be patient and all good things come in time…”via uproxx.com"

And boy, did good things come.

The impact of that Lights Out Unsanctioned match with Thunder Rosa

That match definitely lit the initial flame of what was to come for her, and if I can compare this woman to the aforementioned four, it’s in this match and in this match alone that she has the edge, and what tips the favor towards her in the popularity aspect…especially for fans of an earlier age of wrestling.

To say that WWE lost a lot of older fans when they decided to go PG would be an understatement, so I won’t go there. It’s obvious; so many of these fans that loved high octane matches had nowhere to go, except for the independent circuit. That was until AEW saw a hole that needed to be filled.

Enter Thunder Rosa and Dr. Britt Baker. It was on St. Patrick’s Day and man what a match that was; each of these women putting everything on the line, and in a big way. They made a statement on that night, and long before the emergence of Punk, Danielson, and Adam Cole, people were starting to take notice, and the old guard of wrestling fans…the one that missed that Attitude Era and true hardcore…these fans started tuning in once again.

Who do we have to thank?

The epic heel and the good doctor herself, of course (and Thunder Rosa).

This surpassed a lot of what the Four Horsewomen had done in a WWE ring, I’m sorry to say, but I must be honest. Can any of the Four Horsewomen do what Britt Baker did in that match? I have no doubt, but perhaps not in WWE.

It was in June, during the Double or Nothing media scrum that she mentioned who she had to thank for helping her out in the wrestling industry. She said:

"“…It’s really just learning the people I clicked with to ask for advice, which I’ve been very open…I have a very, very close working relationship with Tony Khan. In a lot of ways, I owe everything to him, because he believed in me when I almost didn’t believe in myself when a lot of people doubted me. I think he always believed in Dr. Britt Baker. So I owe my title in some way to having some Tony Khan bait on the line…Chris Jericho, I’d say it a hundred times. I love picking Ricky Starks’ brain. Cody, he has a great mind for wrestling. Kenny, Jerry Lynn, Dustin…we have so many excellent coaches here. You’re an idiot if you don’t take advantage of it. And as soon as I really dialed in and was like ‘hey, I want to be the best’, everything just kind of fell into place…”via itrwrestling.com"

So in the end, she has the right people around her; she’s intelligent in the fact that she listens to those who have more experience than her, and she’s headed for the top of the industry for sure. As far as I’m concerned, she’s practically there. I mean she’s throwing first pitches at ball games, and all the media attention, I’d say it’s no question she’s the most popular female wrestler in the game today.

Looking forward to even more from this epic talent.