14 Ups & 4 Downs For AEW In 2020

Ups...

14. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.

Britt Baker Lockjaw
AEW

The hope amid the futility, Dr. Britt Baker has enjoyed an exceptional 2020.

She turned heel on the Jericho Cruise and proceeded to cut some of the best heat-seeker promos of the year, which is honestly outrageous, given the incredible crew of talkers in that company: Moxley, Cody, Chris Jericho, Taz, Eddie Kingston, Brandi Rhodes, Tully Blanchard, Ricky Starks. MJF tries really hard, too.

Britt radiates entitlement and insincerity to near-total perfection, and while she deserves the credit - that eye-roll.gif was so goddamn great for how OTT it was - AEW deserves a portion of it for not persisting with the barefaced marketing onslaught of 2019.

Britt has refined an act that she didn't need to, really. It was over, hilarious, and it got her TV time. The idea that she scrolled through Michael Jordan's Wiki, bored by greatness, and thinking he made his great comeback as a Washington Wizard was beautifully layered comedy.

But that's not what elite talents do; she returned from injury, dropped the broad midcard elements, and resurfaced as a legit dangerous in-ring competitor to make that inevitable title win resonate all the more.

Her match with Hikaru Shida in QT Marshall's gym was a level beyond triumph; with her nose busted, she relished the fight and condensed about two years of improvement into one super-dramatic finishing sequence.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!