Punxsutawney Native Wins Major Wrestling Championship

A Western Pennsylvania native won her first wrestling world championship this past weekend.

Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., of Punxsutawney, defeated Hikaru Shida via submission to win the All Elite Wrestling Women's World Championship during the promotion's Double or Nothing pay-per-view on Sunday (May 30) night.

After the match, Baker, an avid Pittsburgh sports fan, said she was proud to take on the role of the "face of Pittsburgh" amid a "brutal" year.

"Somebody's gotta be the hero of Pittsburgh so I'm happy to do it," Baker said during a post-Double or Nothing media scrum. "We're repping the 4-1-2."

Earlier this year, Baker gained praise throughout the wrestling community for her groundbreaking 'Lights Out' hardcore match against Thunder Rosa, which was the first women's wrestling match to main event a televised AEW show since the company launched in 2019.

Baker was defeated by Rosa, but was trending on social media throughout the night after fans and wrestlers alike praised her performance, which included having her head busted open and taking rough bumps throughout the match, which included, in some instances, landing on thumb tacks.

Baker, who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine in 2014, has stayed true to her Western Pennsylvania roots throughout her professional wrestling career.

During AEW's first live show in Pittsburgh, billed as "Brittsburgh," Baker was accompanied to the ring by Steelers mascot Steely McBeam and led the crowd at Petersen Events Center in waving Terrible Towels during her entrance.

Baker also appeared in the Pittsburgh episode of the late Anthony Bourdain's 'Parts Unknown' alongside her boyfriend, Adam Cole, who wrestles for WWE's NXT brand.

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