Backstage Report Explaining Britt Baker's Recent AEW Absence

Despite being one of the leading figures in AEW's women's division, Britt Baker has not featured on programming since she last wrestled against Kris Statlander in September. Dave Meltzer reported in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter that she missed last week's "AEW Collision" and "AEW Rampage" shows in her hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, due to an illness preventing her from traveling. He noted that she was among a number of talents who were sick, and Tony Khan addressed fans before and after the show to say that several people were out through illness, thanking them for their support, and staying to take photos long after the show had ended. 

As for Baker's prolonged absence, Meltzer said that Baker has been dealing with back problems for a while, which is why when she was last around she was putting her opponents over; she lost three out of four matches in September prior to her absence. Baker has recently been critical of the live promo time she has been given when compared to top stars in the men's division. She took to social media, comparing the fact she has had zero live minutes on the mic throughout 2023, while Christian Cage and MJF have been afforded tens of minutes even on an individual show.

Her complaint makes up just a percentile of those levied towards AEW's treatment of women's wrestling. This week's "AEW Dynamite" featured just about 10 minutes of women — less than eight minutes for Julia Hart vs. Emi Sakura for the TBS Championship and a brief backstage segment featuring Mariah May. Further to that, when adding up the times allotted for the AEW Women's World Championship matches throughout 2023, a grand total of 15 title matches has seen approximately 145 minutes of action. Whereas MJF's AEW World Championship had eclipsed that time in five defenses within a six-month time period.