FanPost

A biting new direction for Britt Baker

AEW

I like watching pro wrestling with my wife, at least when it's not embarrassing to do so. Although she's attended several events with me and has seen her fair share of sports entertainment, she's still very much a casual viewer. And it's the casual observations that she'll make during a given show that I appreciate most.

As a wrestling fan of four decades, I sometimes wonder if I'm overly critical because I've seen so much of it. But then she'll notice something that I was afraid to say for fear of being labeled a curmudgeon, and suddenly I'm relieved to know that perhaps I'm not completely jaded.

For only the second time, she sat with me and we watched a full episode of AEW Dynamite together this week. It was here that she noticed something that's been bugging me for a long time.

"Her character is confusing," she said as she saw Britt Baker for the first time. "The announcers keep telling me she's a dentist, but nothing about her says dentist."

Since I've been tuning in to AEW, this has also been my critique of Baker. If the announce team were to make a passing reference to her medical background, fine. But we're consistently reminded of it as she comes to the ring and throughout her matches. And while the Mrs. liked Baker's outfit, she again remarked how it didn't quite fit her character.

"That's a nice ring jacket she's got on, but why isn't she wearing a dentist's coat?"

As my wife continued, she suggested that Baker would be better suited as an evil dentist. While a great idea for a wrestling newb, this allowed me to teach her the wonderful history of Kane. And let me say this: the reaction I get when explaining Isaac Yankem to a person who has only ever known Kane, never gets old.

We continued tossing around ideas for Baker as she bounced around the ring. My wife then proposed the idea of her being a friendly dentist, one who passes out toothbrushes as she comes to the ring. I had to warn her that such an idea, while great for kids, is one that hardcore fans would destroy.

And then it hit her.

"What if she insists on being called doctor and rubs her education in everyone's faces?"

Eureka! Soon, the creativity began to flow.

We began scripting Baker's promos. Anytime someone calls her Britt, Baker rudely exclaims, "That's Dr. Baker, thank you." We envisioned Baker's signature pose as she enters the ring, a slow extension of her arms in the air before pointing to her picture perfect smile.

The insults, to and from the fans, write themselves. And the heat Baker would receive if, by some unfortunate accident, she lost a tooth would be phenomenal. The taunts about her less than perfect grin would make for some great fan interaction. It would also serve as a great storyline as Baker seeks revenge on the perpetrator.

We continued to fantasy book the new Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., throughout the rest of Dynamite. When Baker reappeared later in the show to interrupt a promo segment with Women's champion Riho, it gave us hope that, like a new tooth breaking through a child's gum line, wrestling's next great villain was beginning to emerge.

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