ORLANDO, FL. (EYT) – If the title of this article made some scratch their heads, it is likely they are not alone.
(PHOTOS: Credited to AEW Wrestling)
A full-time wrestler and a full-time dentist? Whoever heard of such a thing?!
Well, nobody ever heard of it until Punxsutawney native Dr. Britt Baker proved to the world it is possible to do both.
The song “Black Beatles” that dropped in 2016 by Rae Sremmurd has a line that says: “Get you somebody that can do both,” and Dr. Baker certainly is handling both careers like a true professional.
Baker graduated from Punxsutawney Area High School in 2009 where she participated in basketball, cross-country, and track and field. She recalled her time as a basketball player and tied it into how it may have helped her realize wrestling was a sport more her style.
“I was always probably a little bit too aggressive. I was always getting into foul trouble, and I say that was just my early professional wrestler coming out in me,” Baker said with a laugh. “I was just throwing clotheslines at a younger age. That is all that was.”
After her days as a Punxsy Chuck, she headed to State College and enrolled at the Pennsylvania State University where she studied biobehavioral health. In her time at Penn State, she remained active by becoming a workout instructor and teaching classes in the Penn State Rec Center. This juggling served as preparation for working full-time as both a wrestler and a dentist.
“It really helped instill how important time management was working and being a full-time student. It also really helped me learn more about my body and how to keep myself going. There is so much to do in a day, so finding efficiency in the gym and knowing how to fuel my body was something else I credit Penn State for.”
After her days as a Nittany Lion, she applied to dental school and was accepted at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. This meant her goal of becoming a doctor was one step closer; however, in Pittsburgh, another goal and part of her story developed.
As a youngster, Dr. Baker was a fan of professional wrestling. Luckily for her, she found a way to stay active and get some training in the sport by enrolling at the International Wrestling Cartel (IWC) training academy located in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. This meant training while studying to be a dentist and also wrestling on the independent wrestling circuit – all at the same time. While it was an exciting time in Pittsburgh with all she had going on in her life, there was also the challenge of presenting this news to her family for the first time.
“My parents and brother are so caring, and I knew they would be worried at first and were not going to like it. We did have a tough conversation, and they were not thrilled at first. Now, they know and can see how much I love it and are the biggest supporters in all of wrestling.”
After about four years spent on the independent wrestling circuit working for the IWC promotion and even World Wrestling Entertainment for a brief time, she became the first woman wrestler to be signed by startup wrestling company All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on January 2, 2019. She would make her debut in the summer of that year and has become one of the most well-known, respected, and popular wrestlers in the world.
Most recently, she took on rival Thunder Rosa in an unsanctioned “Lights Out” match. This match was AEW’s first women’s Main Event in the history of their show. Though Baker lost this match, it served as one of her greatest memories of her athletic career and time in pro wrestling.
“That match I will never, ever forget because of the tremendous amount of pressure both personally and for the entire women’s division itself. Some said women had no business having the spotlight and participating in a match like this, but we had one of the best in wrestling history. I really believe this match is going to change the course of the sport for the better and will serve as a defining moment for women in wrestling.”
Another one of Dr. Baker’s favorite memories was when she was able to wrestle for AEW in front of a packed crowd in her billed town of Pittsburgh. The crowd was electric, and her boss and AEW owner Tony Khan made sure to make it special for one of his superstars.
“It was a true pinch-me moment I had. I could not believe the crowd eruption I got. It was amazing to have friends and family there to watch me live. I will never forget that moment.”
While Baker continues to grow in popularity and in skill as a performer, she also juggles working full-time as a general dentist in Orlando. Being in Florida has come in the clutch over the last year as Baker has been performing solely in the state over the last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Baker heads to Jacksonville to film episodes of Wednesday night Dynamite for AEW, but she would not be able to do this without help from both of her employers.
She had this to say about working for two outstanding companies: “I am very lucky that those I work for are so encouraging and supportive of me. Tony Khan is so supportive and encouraging of it, too, that I handle both careers. The office is also awesome for letting me leave Wednesdays to go film Dynamite. It would not be possible if I did not work for the people I did.”
This Jefferson County native has proven to all of us that something is only crazy until someone pulls it off. Surely, it takes a special type of person to be able to handle the stress, intelligence, and physical toll that these careers can take on someone.
Despite that, Dr. Baker remains a personable and grateful superstar in both the medical field and in the wrestling world.
Be sure to check out Dr. Britt Baker on TNT on Wednesday evenings from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. ET to see for yourself the kind of world-class person this Punxsutawney native really is.
