AEW's Britt Baker Recalls Scary Day Of Mini-Stroke

Former Women's World Champion Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D has fully settled back in to AEW following her extended break from wrestling, in which Baker suffered a transient ischemic attack, commonly known as a mini-stroke. 

Baker let the world know that she was doing fine on her first "AEW Dynamite" appearance of 2024 in July, and that she was officially cleared to compete, but the story of how she suffered the mini-stroke remained a mystery. However, on "Close Up with Renee Paquette," Baker revealed that everything happened while she was getting her hair done, with she and her stylist knowing something wasn't right. "I was sitting down and I just remember I felt sick, like something was off, and the room was spinning. I was just like sick, nauseous, sweating, and just something was not right, and she could tell right away, she's like 'are you okay?”"

While initially thinking it was something to do with her neck, as she had previously suffered from vertigo, Baker was given a bottle of water when she realized that the entire right side of her body had gone numb and wouldn't work. After both panicked and suggested a visit to the hospital, the stylist finished Baker's hair and the AEW star drove herself to the emergency room, admitting she shouldn't have driven anywhere given what was wrong with her.

Baker arrived at the emergency room expecting to be waiting for hours to be seen by a doctor. However, once she explained her symptoms upon her arrival, she was immediately taken for tests where the doctor tested her reflexes, looked in her eyes and started putting needles in her. It was after these tests when Baker realized the severity of the situation.

"Next thing I knew, I'm admitted in," Baker said. "I have my own little room with a pamphlet on being a stroke victim. It felt like a minute had gone by since I was in the hair chair getting my hair done, and then admitted to the hospital for a week with a TIA, a mini-stroke. It was so weird because, and it sounds so cliché but you always think 'this s**t does not happen to me.' I'm just like 'what in the world is going on?' and it was a big reality check."

The major lesson Baker learned was that she needs to listen to her body more. The schedule of being a professional wrestler, as well as being a dentist, meant that she powered through without giving herself a break. However, now that she is back in AEW, she feels 100% again, and is ready to once again become the face of the company's women's division, with her first target being current AEW TBS and NJPW STRONG Women's Champion Mercedes Mone.

Please credit the original source when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.