wrestling / News
Britt Baker Weighs In On Taya Valkyrie Being Trolled Online, Criticism of AEW Women’s Division
Britt Baker has shared her thoughts on the trolling that Taya Valkyrie received after their match and fan criticism around AEW’s women’s division. Baker spoke with TV Insider for a new interview and some highlights are below:
On her match with Valkyrie: “It was a first-time match. I’d never been in the ring with her. This was our first interaction ever, which can be fun and exciting. I look forward to getting back in the ring together down the road…I have nothing but respect for everything she has done in Mexico, Lucha wrestling, and Impact. I think Taya is a star.”
Unfortunately, after the match she mentioned she woke up to so much negativity on social media with people saying these hurtful things. You’ve certainly endured your share of this online toxicity. What do you think it will take in 2023 to see less of this stuff because, at the end of the day, you’re also human beings?
On the trolling Valkyrie received after the match: “I told her when she first got here to AEW that fans, whether they be WWE diehard supporters or just AEW haters, are very passionate in a brutal way on social media. I get it every single week if I’m on TV or not…It’s relentless. It’s to the point where I open Twitter and 85 percent or more is negative. It’s really sad and disheartening, but you have to put everything in perspective. When I come out, the fans are so excited to see me. They are chanting D.M.D. the whole time. I see it as I can’t hear these Twitter trolls because these D.M.D chants are so loud. When I come to comic conventions, there are these fans that are so grateful to meet me and be able to talk about AEW and what it means to them. That’s the stuff that means a lot to me. Those are the real fans. They are paying to come to the shows. They are enjoying the show.
“Not people who get on social media to troll. There are literally people who invest hours and hours in their days to make troll accounts for what reason? I’m such a driven and motivated person I can’t imagine that my goal is to make everyone else’s lives miserable or show flaws in people and what they can and can’t do. It’s such an insane concept. I wish I could understand it. At the same time, what will be will be. We have the best fans on the planet. As loud as the trolls are, there are passionate fans too who are thankful to have AEW.”
On the criticism toward the booking of the women’s division: “I see both sides to that because I completely agree. The absolute best matches that come out of professional wrestling come out of storylines you are so invested in. There are weeks and months that tell this beautiful story. It’s something we haven’t been able to invest as much time in the women’s division lately. Again, there are many factors. Injuries, this and that. I definitely want to get to the point where we can get some solid storytelling with the women. At the same time the fans who hold signs that say to book the women’s division better, that’s great. Then when I go on Twitter it doesn’t echo that. I don’t see the same support. It’s I hate these two wrestlers. This match was too long. This match was too short. If all you see about women’s wrestling is all negative online, it doesn’t add up to what they are preaching. If you want the women to be booked better, support the women.
“You don’t have to like every wrestler and every match. You also don’t have to get on Twitter and preach from the mountaintops how much you hated things. Some stuff, keep to yourself. I can’t tell you how many times I go to a restaurant and I don’t like how my steak is cooked. I don’t need to talk to the chef and take 30 pictures of the steak to tell them I don’t like how this steak is cooked. There is too much invested in the negativity that it does so much harm. I hope people realize one day how much harm it does to not only the individuals and mental health, but to the industry as a whole.”