Tony Khan says Britt Baker is
In an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Tony Khan talked about how Britt Baker has excelled in All Elite Wrestling, now 220-plus days into her title reign. Khan said that once they figured out Baker would be better suited as a heel, she overcame the initial criticism she got as a babyface and has developed into a top star in AEW.
“Sometimes you get to know a person in real life and you see an element of their personality they should be presenting in wrestling. Kenny [Omega] thought Britt would be better as a heel, and I agreed. She got a lot of great coaching from people like Kenny, Cody and Chris Jericho, but she also committed to it. During the Jericho Cruise, we talked about doing a promo where she belittled Tony Schiavone for working at Starbucks. We thought that would generate a lot of heat, and that was the start of it.
“Not everyone gave Britt a chance at first as a heel when she was developing. I remember all the criticism she received, so it’s an important lesson not to give up on a young, determined wrestler. She was clearly getting better every week, and she kept getting better and better. She focused on her character, and I made it a priority to expand her presence on the show. She found such great chemistry with Reba, and it’s been really fun to see her grow into this role as a top champion and villain. Her wrestling in 2021 took a huge step forward, too.”
Khan went on to praise Baker’s title defenses, including her recent ‘Black Friday Deal’ match against Riho, who is also her opponent on the “Battle Of The Belts” live special on January 8. Khan also named her Full Gear title defense against Tay Conti, matches with Ruby Soho and Hikaru Shida, and the “Lights Out” match with Thunder Rosa as some of her greatest matches yet.
Baker recently spoke about how she’s from the ‘real name’ generation alongside established names like Chelsea Green, Deonna Purrazzo, Rachel Ellering and Tessa Blanchard; read more about how she looks back on being part of All In at this link.
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