A glance at AEW's shaky ratings will show that it's tough to create new wrestling fans in 2022. Members of the audience aren't created or destroyed; they pay attention to what they enjoy. As such, the perception of these fans, as a whole, matters. So if a former WWE superstar like Saraya waltzes into Full Gear and beats a homegrown standard-bearer in Britt Baker, the impression it leaves on professional wrestling's core audience, as a whole, is quite bleak. The message to these fans would be clear: AEW is where wrestlers who couldn't quite hang in WWE's machine come to get over, sell some shirts and work light schedules.
So far, All Elite Wrestling has told fans through on-screen segments that Saraya's return to in-ring action is the feel-good story playing out in this angle. After more than half a decade away from the squared circle and loads of personal issues that have played out in the public eye, the 30-year-old will finally get back to what she loves the most at Full Gear. Saraya is going to wrestle again. And that's been a wonderful truth to watch come to light on live television. However, Tony Khan would make a massive mistake by allowing Saraya to beat Britt Baker clean at the November 19 pay-per-view.
Britt Baker Should Be Protected As One Of AEW's Pillars
If AEW is the sports-centric alternative to WWE's sports entertainment—which it claims to be—then the concept of ring rust should matter. Saraya not having wrestled since December 26, 2017, should matter. Keep in mind that there's no opening for the announcers to tell us that, for months, Saraya has been preparing for this match. That's because fans have already been told that she wasn't medically cleared until the end of October. She hasn't been wrestling, and everyone in the audience knows that. Khan chose to make that fact part of the storyline, and now it's an obstacle they'll have to clear as Saraya and Baker tell their in-ring story at Full Gear. Baker is the best AEW's women's division has to offer. If Saraya can hit the ring after three weeks of training and beat Baker, what's it say about the rest of the roster? What's that say about the talented women such as Tay Conti, Jamie Hayter and Anna Jay who've been working in AEW since day one to improve in the ring and build the brand? Nothing good.
Put bluntly: the optics of an ex-WWE wrestler coming into AEW and taking down the face of a division after not having wrestled a match in five years would be atrocious and inexcusable. It'd be another example of All Elite Wrestling ripping the rug out from underneath homegrown stars in an attempt to sway casual WWE viewers their way. And, in time, it'd be another example of a shiny new toy getting a big pay-per-view win before fading into the retaliative obscurity of Rampage or Dark. None of this is a knock on Saraya. It's great to see her back in the ring, and she is a massive boost to the women's division in general. But Baker has evolved into that division's top star—a true gem of a professional wrestler—and she should be equally protected like Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, or CM Punk.
Oddly enough, the blueprint for how AEW should book Saraya right might be from Punk's playbook. He didn't come back after seven years away and shoot straight for the top guy in the company. That would have been bad business, the same way it'd be bad business if Saraya beats Baker at Full Gear. Punk worked his way up the card, proved that he could still go, and then challenged Hangman Adam Page for the World Championship after months of building. That's the right way to build a story. Fans were on board because of the ride, not just because it was CM Punk. There are many creative ways for AEW to protect Baker while also allowing Saraya to look strong, but nuanced booking isn't always All Elite Wrestling's strong suit. If Saraya ends up going over clean at Full Gear, it'll be another case of the company hurting long-term gains in the name of a former WWE champion getting a feel-good moment for video packages down the line. Britt Baker and AEW fans deserve better than that.