Former WWE star Ronda Rousey may have referred to professional wrestling as “fake fighting for fun,” but there are some fans that disagree. They feel that there are enough injuries that take place in the ring that adds danger and realism to the matches. One recent example is AEW: Dynamite’s Wednesday bout between Hikaru Shida and Britt Baker.
The two female wrestlers exchanged blows early in the match, but there was a moment when Baker took a hard kick to the kidneys and landed on the mat. The real-life dentist flipped her hair back and showed that her nose was bloody. This caught the announcing team, which included Chris Jericho, by surprise. Jericho even later said that Baker’s nose was “bleeding like a faucet.”
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The blood continued to run throughout the match, but Baker kept fighting. She appeared to be unperturbed by the amount of blood and even wiped some of it away while smiling for the camera. However, she ultimately lost after taking a running knee to the face, keeping Shida’s No. 1 ranking intact.
While Baker may not have secured the victory, she still embraced her role as a warrior due to the amount of blood. She posted a brief video on Twitter following the bout that showed her wiping the blood and smiling. “The face of @AEWrestling’s women’s division. #RoleModel #DMD,” Baker wrote in the caption.
There were several fans and fellow wrestlers that appreciated Baker shedding blood during the bout. Taya Valkyrie of Impact Wrestling even wanted to welcome Baker to an exclusive group. The AEW star is now part of the “busted open club.”
The fans were similarly impressed with Baker’s performance on Wednesday. They would have understood if she had simply exited the match early with the injury. However, she kept fighting and only gained more supporters.
“You gained a lot of respect from fans for continuing the match despite having a bloody nose , putting a great performance and stealing the show in the process. Even if you lost you are still one of the best performers in women wrestling today,” one fan wrote on Twitter. Several others chimed in with animated Gifs of celebrities applauding.
While the COVID-19 outbreak has brought most sports leagues to a halt, AEW and WWE are continuing to produce shows. Fans aren’t allowed in the building, but they can still watch the pre-taped events from the comfort of their own home. Not having an audience has changed the innate feel of the events, but the wrestlers are still literally “leaving it all” on the mat.
