All-Elite Wrestling, not WWE, made pro wrestling's biggest female star when Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., became the AEW Women's Champion. At AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view, Baker defeated Hikaru Shida in one of the best matches on the show, which not only cemented the wrestler/dentist as the leader of AEW's women's division but it established Britt as the hottest female star in wrestling.
In the last several years, WWE successfully reinvented their women's division, which was led by Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, and Bayley. WWE's female superstars eschewed the controversial "Divas" branding and they are now promoted in equal standing with the men. This includes women main eventing WrestleMania twice, most recently by Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair for the Smackdown Women's Championship in a classic match at WrestleMania 37. However, WWE's Creative has been incredibly problematic; Belair's victory over Banks should have made her the hottest new female star in wrestling but WWE's lazy booking robbed the athletic Bianca of her momentum. WWE has also bungled storylines on RAW so that Rhea Ripley becoming RAW Women's Champion became underwhelming as she feuds with Asuka and Charlotte Flair. Banks' departure to film The Mandalorian and the loss of main eventers Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey have turned WWE's vaunted women's division stagnant.
Meanwhile, in AEW, Britt Baker stole the spotlight of the wrestling world, and focused it on herself. Despite being the heel, the villainous wrestling dentist came into AEW Double or Nothing as the overwhelming crowd favorite. Baker's decisive victory, by making Shida submit to her Lockjaw submission, was greeted with a thunderous ovation by the capacity crowd, who knew they were witnessing a coronation that was the culmination of Baker's year-long rise to the top. Not only did Baker and Shida deliver one of the best matches of Double or Nothing but the outcome of the hard-hitting AEW Women's Title match was also the correct one, as Britt Baker ended Hikaru Shida's historic 372-day reign as champion, kicking off the "D.M.D. Era".
Britt Baker's star has been on a meteoric rise since 2020 and this has been largely due to the wrestling dentist's own undeniable charisma and her relentless tenacity. Baker was the first woman signed to AEW but her momentum stalled as she struggled with her initial babyface role. A 2020 match against Hikaru Shida where the Japanese star broke and bloodied Baker's nose turned into a godsend; the loss not only established Britt's innate toughness, which earned her the respect of AEW fans, but it allowed Baker the opportunity to turn heel. Now a cocky and arrogant villain, Baker appointed herself as a "role model" and she became ubiquitous as her weekly appearances on AEW Dynamite became hotly anticipated by fans.
In March 2021, Baker had delivered a Match of the Year candidate in a losing effort against Thunder Rosa. However, it was Britt who emerged as the most talked-about competitor in that classic encounter; Dr. Baker was a bloody mess who was power bombed through thumbtacks and crashed headfirst through a table from the ring apron. The Lights Out match solidified Baker as the female star in AEW. She only needed the Women's Championship to back up her position at the top of the AEW Women's division. Throughout the year, AEW perfectly built up to Baker's Women's Championship win and pulled the trigger at the exact right time.
Compared to WWE (and NXT), AEW's women's division has been criticized since its inception but Baker has raised the bar so that her AEW women's main event matches are now seen as the equal of the men's. Just as crucial, Baker's star power makes AEW's women on par with WWE's celebrated top female names, and they have a strong roster including Shida, Tay Conti, Riho, and Kris Statlander for Britt to face as the champion. With the exception of Sasha Banks, who had a lauded 2020, no woman in wrestling had a better year than Dr. Britt Baker. AEW can now rightfully boast that their top name, Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. is the hottest female star in the pro wrestling industry and WWE is playing catch up.