UNSANCTIONED LIGHTS OUT- ANYTHING GOES MATCH (#4) Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D (w/ Rebel) vs. Thunder Rosa
Three times in the history of All Elite Wrestling fans have witnessed a match be declared UNSANCTIONED LIGHTS OUT. The first pitted Joey Janela against Jon Moxley at FYTER FEST 2019 and came about out of fear for what those two wild warriors could do to one another once the bell rang. It was indeed a violent affair, but one bred of mutual respect that ended with the two warriors sharing a drink to commemorate the night.
Janela would also participate in the second ever bout of that nature, this one going down on the 10/15/19 AEW DARK with Kenny Omega of all people. It was another violent display, but only a hint of what the third round of Lights Out would bring at FULL GEAR 2019 when Omega met Moxley in one of their own. At the time, it was the culmination of six months of tension and hostility, and undoubtedly the most violent affair All Elite Wrestling had experienced to that date.
For over a year that stipulation has remained dormant, but this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, in the main event of ST. PATRICK’S DAY SLAM, it will be resurrected as one of the most heated rivalries in AEW barrels towards its conclusion. Yet calling it simply a rivalry does not do justice to just what has gone down between Thunder Rosa and Dr. Britt Baker essentially since the latter made her debut in All Elite Wrestling. Baker has made it a mission to rid “her division” of Rosa’s presence, declaring that the former NWA World Women’s does not belong in the ring with Baker, much less in AEW. Britt has made a point at every conceivable turn to verbally denigrate Thunder, to humiliate her, and physically assault her (with no small amount of help from Rebel).
At DYNAMITE: BEACH BREAK, when Thunder Rosa finally got a chance to make Baker answer for her weeks of bullying and abuse, the good doctor’s trusty lackey exposed the metal bolt underneath a turnbuckle, eventually allowing Baker to use it as a weapon. Rosa’s impact with the exposed buckle knocked her senseless and enabled the D.M.D to secure The Lockjaw for the win via referee stoppage.
Those shady tactics insured that the rivalry, already heated, was not ending at BEACH BREAK and would only escalate in the aftermath. Never was that more evident than this past week on DYNAMITE when, as seen in the video embedded above, the chaos erupted before the bell even rang! The rage Rosa feels, that Baker has arrogantly cultivated over these past several months, is too big, too wild, too uncontrollable for just any standard fare. Thus it was decided last week that, for the first time in AEW’s history, it would be two women who met in an Unsanctioned Lights Out Match, and with the hatred/history between Thunder Rosa and Britt Baker, it was only appropriate that this fight serve as the main event of ST. PATRICK’S DAY SLAM!
There will be no rules, no one to stop these two women from decimating each other in violent attempts to prove their points. For Britt it has always been about her dominance, her self-proclaimed status as the face of the women’s division, and proving Rosa does not belong in All Elite Wrestling. For Rosa, she aims to prove to Baker in as painful way as possible that not only demonstrates she belongs here, but that Thunder Rosa is also the superior fighter between the two warriors.
This battle has no bearing on the rankings, will not count in the win-loss records for either woman, nor get them closer to a World Title opportunity against Hikaru Shida. What it will do though is declare to the world just who is the better woman, and hopefully grant one of these competitors that rarest of graces so few ever get in life: closure.
BACK IN ACTION…
Two weeks ago at DYNAMITE: THE CROSSROADS, Jade Cargill made her in-ring debut in landmark fashion by teaming with NBA Legend Shaquille O’Neal to defeat Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. Not only did Jade make her debut, but with Cody and Shaq laid out after crashing through a table, she scored the deciding pinfall for her time!
It was a memorable first match for the world class athlete, and this Wednesday night, Jade Cargill will look to make it two victories in a row! ST. PATRICK’S DAY SLAM will make her return to action, and it’s a safe assumption that Jade has her eyes on the same prize as every woman in All Elite Wrestling: the championship still around the waist of Hikaru Shida. To get there, Jade has to rack up some wins and she aims to do just that Wednesday night on TNT!
