History will be made this Wednesday. The first AEW main event featuring women takes place on Dynamite. Making history isn't new for Thunder Rosa.
She'll take on Dr. Britt Baker DMD in what many anticipate to be the culmination of a feud that has went on months. Lights Out. No rules.
"The fans asked for it, and that's what they got," Rosa told Fightful in an exclusive interview.
Rosa, an NWA star, has taken All Elite Wrestling by storm and has went after what many have long considered the AEW poster-girl in Baker. The two have engaged in a violent series of confrontations that led to three matches in various capacities the last few weeks. Rosa hasn't just taken exception to the Dentist herself, but her fanbase as well.
"So, this Wednesday, Britt Baker is going to see exactly what I’ve been talking about. Because my fans, my supporters, they don’t support me because, ‘Oh, she’s pretty. Oh, she’s a good person. She’s hot. She posts pretty pictures on Twitter and get everybody thirsty.’ No! It’s because I’m a real badass. I say it with caps lock. I’m the real deal. I don’t play around. I don’t half ass anything. Every time I’m in the ring I give 150,000%. I’m telling you, every time I have a match I feel like I have a fight. My adrenaline drops so hard because I love what I do and I’m so passionate about what I do. Like I said, it’s not only for me, as a performer, it’s for all the other generations that I’m supporting and trying to help to get to where I am right now. So, I’m doing it for everyone, not only just for me. There was a comment yesterday, I said, ‘Oh, the Dentist has a fanbase?’ Somebody just like rubbed it in my face, ‘Well, she has more followers than you do on Twitter. There you go.’ Listen boy, listen to me. Let me keep this clear. My fans have an emotional, [EMOTIONAL] connection with Thunder Rosa. It’s very different. You may like her because she has fireworks and she’s very fancy on everything she does, but like I said: I’m the real deal. I am the real deal," Rosa said.
This most recent rivalry is not the first time these two women have crossed paths. They traded wins in a series of tag team matches in Ring of Honor back in 2018 that featured Holidead and Madison Rayne, but the women you saw even then barely resemble the aggression we've witnessed of late. Rosa has witnessed Baker's ascent to the top, and doesn't seem to like it very much.
"It must be very nice to be the princess somewhere when you’re the peasant trying to work your way up on everything you do, every day, everywhere you go, every promotion that you work," said Rosa, who has appeared for AEW, NWA, Tokyo Joshi Pro, Stardom, Lucha Underground and ROH "You scrap for every little thing you have until you get to the top and when you get to the top you still have to fight even harder to show why you’re on the top and why you should remain on top. I think that’s the story that Thunder Rosa’s been trying to tell everywhere she goes in every company because nobody gives two cents to Thunder Rosa. That’s why they put her in a mask. That’s why they make her a luchadora before. But, now, people see the real talent and what she really brings to the table and that’s pretty much it. Did that answer your question?"
The last time we spoke to Thunder Rosa was just prior to AEW All Out, where she promised to "beat Hikaru Shida's ass," and put the women's roster on notice. After picking up over 11 wins in AEW alone since September, she feels she's making good on her words.
"Yeah. I mean, that’s a promise that I made. It’s just so funny because I just remember the I used to fights I would watch, every time they were about to beat somebody’s ass they used to say, ‘It’s not a threat. It’s a promise.’ I made a promise the moment I showed up with the NWA Women’s title saying that, as Thunder Rosa, I was gonna put women’s wrestling on the map and I was gonna get the respect that we deserve. Not only have I been doing that outside of AEW, I have shown week by week by being consistent, by being on the top. By showing that Thunder Rosa is a real deal that they should, all over the world, respect women’s wrestling for the level that we can get to."
You can see Thunder Rosa in action this Wednesday against Dr. Britt Baker DMD in the first ever women's main event on AEW Dynamite on TNT in a Lights Out Match. Her Mission Pro Wrestling promotion returns with Empty Promises, Saturday March 20 on Title Match Wrestling. She'll also be in action on NWA Back For The Attack Sunday, March 21 on Fite TV.