Britt Baker Says Adam Cole is a Big AEW Supporter, Talks Balancing Dentistry and Wrestling

– Britt Baker spoke with Bleacher Report for a new interview and discussed wrestling in AEW opposite boyfriend Adam Cole in NXT, plus more. Highlights are below:

On keeping her wrestling training secret from her parents: “I was so terrified that my parents were going to hate this that I didn’t tell them for five months. I was correct. They were less than thrilled. It’s not that they were especially discouraging. It’s just what every parent would say. ‘Britt, you have a guaranteed successful career ahead of you. You’ve been accepted into one of the best dental schools in the world. You could get hurt in the wrestling ring and your dental career could be done. Do you understand what you’re doing?'”

On wrestling during dental school: “Wrestling kept me sane during dental school. That was the hardest time of my life, and I don’t know how I would have made it without the distractions of wrestling to keep me afloat. I would be sitting in the back of my dental implants class, secretly watching Raw from the night before while trying to pay attention in class. And when I was on the road doing wrestling shows, the guys that I would train with would help me. Andrew Palace and Darren Genaro would be flashing me notecards to help me study for an exam. I’m setting up the ring and we take a break to study. There aren’t many friends like that in the world, people who would use their breaktime to help you study instead of going to get a cheeseburger up the road or just taking a minute to themselves. I was so fortunate early on with the people I surrounded myself with in wrestling.”

On AEW billing her as ‘Dr. Britt Baker, DMD’: “It’s my favorite part of every match, the moment I hear that. It’s an affirmation. Yes, that is who I am. I am Dr. Britt Baker, DMD, and I’m a professional wrestler. I don’t mean to brag or boast, but I love the recognition for it. It was hard. I went to school for eight years to be a dentist. Sorry if the person in the fifth row doesn’t like it and thinks I should be a bag guy because people hate the dentist. People might not like the dentist, but they do like people who chase their dreams.”

On balancing her dentistry and wrestling: “Both of my worlds are very understanding of the other. I have an agreement with the dental office I work for that we’ll be closed on Wednesdays. Because I’ll be in whatever city AEW Dynamite is in. And AEW is OK with me flying in super-late Tuesday night after work or even early Wednesday morning. They are also really good at getting me on the first flight back to Orlando Thursday morning. I get right off the plane and go to work. I am still able to work four days a week as a dentist.”

On Tony Khan’s work with the AEW women’s division: “It’s very stressful and exciting. It’s baptism by fire. You’re wrestling in front of 100 people one week and suddenly you’re in front of 10,000. I have so much to learn, but I’m in good hands. I feel like I have the best coaches, the best production crew, the EVPs, Tony, everyone who has a hand in this is one of the best people to be working with in wrestling. Tony Khan is super-hands on. He is everywhere and will be texting creative ideas all the time. He’s absolutely fantastic. I can’t say enough good things about Tony Khan. He makes every person on the roster feel appreciated. He is happy you are part of his company.”

On working with Kenny Omega: “Kenny Omega has a huge role in the women’s division. He agents a lot of the matches and he’s brought his passion for the Japanese joshi wrestling to our world and it’s amazing. I don’t have a ton of experience with joshi wrestling, but I love it. I’m learning from Kenny by watching how he puts matches together. How lucky can I be? That was one of the selling points for AEW to me when Brandi and Cody (Rhodes) told me he’d have a major role with the women’s division. I was a huge fan. I was the girl staying up all night to watch Wrestle Kingdom even though I had class the next day. Now I work with Kenny Omega, one of the best wrestlers in the world and a creative genius. Some of his ideas just amaze me. There seems to be no end to his creative insanity.”

On being on Dynamite opposite boyfriend Adam Cole on NXT: “We are texting and calling each other for encouragement right up until the moment we go out the curtain. It can be a little heartbreaking when it’s the biggest night of his career or the biggest night of my career and we can’t be there. Because we’re each other’s biggest fans and, as a fan, you want to be there and feel the energy. You want to experience it. So, it’s a little discouraging. But we sit at home and watch each other’s matches. We actually watch each other’s whole show. We support each other’s company. My boyfriend is basically best friends with The Young Bucks, so he’s very supportive of All Elite Wrestling.”