Britt Baker's name has reportedly come up for a September AEW return

[DeepInlet]

It's been almost two full years since Dr. Britt Baker last appeared for AEW, and while concrete updates on her status have been genuinely rare during that stretch, Fightful Select's Sean Ross Sapp gave subscribers a small but real update during one of his regular Q&A sessions this week. According to Sapp, Baker's name has at least been brought up internally in connection with AEW's upcoming tribute show honoring Rebel, though he was careful to note there's nothing beyond that specific mention confirmed at this point.

The tribute show itself carries real emotional weight on its own terms. AEW is partnering with I AM ALS and Team Gleason for a special Rebel Heart Dynamite episode airing September 9th from the Akins Ford Arena in Athens, Georgia, honoring longtime AEW personality Tanea Brooks, known to fans as Rebel, who was diagnosed with ALS back in March and is scheduled to actually appear during the broadcast. Rebel and Baker were close friends and frequent onscreen fixtures together during Baker's peak run of prominence in AEW, so it makes complete sense on a purely narrative level that Baker's name would come up in early planning conversations for a show built specifically around honoring Rebel.

Sapp's broader update on Baker's current situation outside of wrestling paints a pretty low key and honestly pretty normal picture of life away from the business. He described her as hanging out at the beach, visiting Rebel, and probably about to attend some Steelers games, while confirming she hasn't been backstage or wrestling anywhere during her absence. There's no indication of any injury keeping her away either, which quietly rules out one of the more common explanations fans often assume during a wrestler's extended absence from television.

Tony Khan has repeatedly addressed Baker's status over the many months of her absence, consistently describing her as someone highly regarded and respected within the company and saying he'd like to have her back in the fold soon, though soon has clearly stretched into a considerably longer timeline than that word usually implies in normal conversation. Baker has remained under contract with AEW throughout this entire absence despite not competing, and her final match before this hiatus began was a win over Penelope Ford back on the November 13, 2024 edition of Dynamite, which puts the actual gap approaching two full years by the time September rolls around.

Whether a Rebel tribute show appearance actually ends up materializing into Baker's full return or ends up being a genuinely one off emotional moment tied specifically to honoring her close friend remains completely unclear at this stage, and Sapp was careful not to oversell what is still a fairly thin and preliminary update. Given how much fan speculation has swirled around Baker's AEW future over the past two years without much concrete happening, it makes sense that even a small mention like this one is generating real attention and discussion among fans who have been waiting a long time for any kind of update at all

Dr. Britt Baker Reportedly Discussed for AEW Return in Septemberwww.si.com