thelesterlee
I have no recollection of 2021 so there won’t be a bunch of ‘best of’ lists from Deadseriousness this year but there is one moment from 2021 that I haven’t stopped thinking about since I watched it and that was Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa in an unsanctioned lights out match in the main event.
When discussing this match, it’s important to not come off condescending. Often times when men celebrate women’s athletics, they treat the women like babies and give standing ovations to the lamest shit.
So let’s be very clear that this was a historic match for women’s wrestling. This match will cultivate an entire generation of young girls who will want to become professional wrestlers in hopes of having a moment as big as theirs.
However, this isn’t the best match solely because of the fact that they possess ovaries.
This beef had been brewing from the second Thunder Rosa arrived in AEW with the NWA women’s title over her shoulder. Thunder Rosa was one of the coolest wrestlers in the world. Her ‘Day of the Dead’ facepaint matched with the prestige of holding a legendary belt made her stand out above the other women in AEW.
Britt Baker was the first woman signed to AEW but didn’t yet have the resume to be the face of the division. She had an interesting gimmick of being a real life licensed dentist but in-ring, who cares?
But when these two women crossed paths, their rivalry made sense. It was the AEW princess who was signed to be the face of the show and the workhorse who you could easily make the argument of being the best women’s wrestler on the planet. They needed each other and it all led to their lights out match.
And that backstory is crucial in order to appreciate the brutality of this match. Ultraviolence and gore can be a crutch and often a turn off. Remember that weird era when Ric Flair was way too old to be wrestling and made himself bleed every single time he was in the ring for no reason at all?
Blood works best in wrestling when the performers have convincingly established their desire to knock each other’s heads off their shoulders but when it REALLY works is when it’s used in a match to show anguish and struggle.
I will never forget the image of Stone Cold covered in blood shouting as Bret Hart put him in the sharpshooter.
So when Britt Baker’s entire face is painted red as she’s rolling in pain on the mat, you are trapped inside of that match with these two women. You are sucked in. When Britt rolls over and smiles at the camera with blood hiding her teeth, it feels like she’s smiling at you.
You feel panic when Britt Baker dumps out of the bag of thumbtacks with her and Thunder Rosa fighting for their lives to avoid being the one dropped on top of them. My back hurt when Britt landed on the tacks.
Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa was the best match of 2021 because we witnessed the creation of two brand new superstars right before our eyes. This was a crucial moment in wrestling history.
