Britt Baker felt it was time to “roll out the babyface red carpet.”

The AEW star made her name with the company as a heel world champion, the face of its women’s division for the early years of it existence.

Now the real-life dentist finds herself in a very different situation, as an emerging babyface playing a supporting role to friend and current women’s world champion Jamie Hayter.

Baker, 31, felt it was the right time for a change as the two “AEW originals” are locked in a feud with Saraya and Toni Storm heading into the Revolution pay-per-view on Sunday (8 p.m., Bleacher Report).

“That is more so just listening to the crowd,” Baker said in a phone interview of becoming a babyface again. “Jamie’s been getting nuclear reactions for a while now. I think almost my entire title reign I felt like I was getting cheered.

“It was time. You feel it. You try to fight it as much as you can even though you probably shouldn’t. There comes a point where it’s just time.”

AEW went the route of keeping her and Hayter together after the British star defeated Storm for the title at Full Gear in November and not doing the easy turn angle.

Baker joked that she still hears from fans that she’s, “turning on Jamie tomorrow or the next day or yesterday” but felt it made more sense for the two to stay together as they have been friends for a long time.

“If the roles were reversed, Jamie was always helping me,” Baker said. “I had the belt and I was the center of attention. Once the role is reversed, why would I not be there for her right now, too?

“It’s time for Jamie to have the spotlight and the title and for Jamie to have the big push. I want to be right there in her corner for all of this, too. It’s not fair for me to just ditch her and be on her own right when she gets center stage.”

In Hayter’s corner is where Baker will be Sunday night at the Chase Center in San Francisco when she defends her title in a triple-threat match against Saraya and Ruby Soho.

It will break a string of seven straight pay-per-views with a match for Baker.

At the moment, however, she is “more than happy” with taking a step back to let Hayter shine.

“I want to do anything to help the brand. I want to have any role that’s going to help elevate everybody else and totally elevate the women’s division,” Baker said. “Right now, I truly think this is the best role for me.

“I don’t think I need to be in a pay-per-view match. I don’t think I need to be having matches every week or promos every week. Right now, this is where I’m supposed to be.”

Where she still resides is in the middle of the top women’s storyline in the company, one that is adding more layers and burning at bit slower than some in the past.

It has seen Saraya and Storm flip into more of a heel role as they disrespect the AEW originals and have started to spray paint “L” for loser, nWo style, on their opponents and people backstage.

Soho, who like Saraya and Storm has ties to WWE, finds herself in the middle of the two groups and being asked to pick a side in the storyline.

Soho has remained neutral so far with her focus solely on winning gold for the first time in AEW.

Baker said fans shouldn’t expect a quick payoff to the story being told.

She feels it’s one the audience should be able to relate as people at some point in their lives have been asked to pick sides like Soho is.  

“For the microwave babies that want something right now, this story’s probably not for them,” said Baker, who will be featured along with boyfriend Adam Cole on the upcoming “AEW: All Access” follow-doc in March. “But for the fans who like the slow simmer, this story is really exciting and it’s gonna be really exciting.”

Baker already has history with Storm – with whom she has split two singles matches – and Saraya.

She had the distinction of being the first opponent for Saraya – formerly Paige in WWE – in her first match back in five years at Full Gear after what was initially believed to be a career-ending neck injury.

Baker said the match came with the most pressure she’s ever felt in her career because she understands accidents do happen in wrestling, the amount of eyes that were going to be on the match and that fact that she looked up to Saraya during her time in WWE.

“Not to mention, she really did have a career-ending neck injury and really bad accidents happen in wrestling all the time,” Baker said. “I don’t want to be the one that’s like: ‘Hey, I didn’t mean to hurt your neck and end your career again.’ That’s definitely not something you want to add in your history, so it was just a lot of internal pressure.”

“I wanted to have a good match. I wanted to take care of her. I wanted it to be something the fans were happy with. I think it was one of the most stressful moments of my life in my wrestling career.”

Along with that came the need to tell the in-ring story of having to work Saraya’s very obvious neck injury without actually hurting her.

Baker said the match tested her as a pro.

Saraya after the match credited Baker for guiding her through it, but all Baker felt the former WWE Divas champion needed was to just find her confidence again.

“Once she heard that crowd behind her she was right back in it,” Baker said. “That was all she needed was to know she’s still a bad bitch in this game, still one of the top dogs and it’s gonna be true for a long time.”

Someone else who is working her way up the ladder in AEW is the undefeated Jade Cargill.

The TBS champion, who made her debut in 2021, said in a recent interview with ComicBook.com that she’s ready to start having storylines with the likes Baker, Hayter and Saraya.

When asked how Cargill would fit into the top of the division, Baker commended the former Division I basketball player’s work ethic, commitment to getting better, how she’s handled herself in a business that is new to her and being the type of person you want in pro wrestling.

All of that didn’t come without a warning to Cargill about leaving the mid-card.

“I think it’s gonna be a whole new world for Jade because we’ve been around the block a little bit longer than some of these girls she’s wrestling and we’re very territorial and protective of our spot and our brand and the division,” Baker said. “She’s not just going to come through and steam roll through all of us like she does some other people.”

“It’s going to be a lot harder and bigger challenges and harder matches for her. At the same time I think that’s exactly what Jade needs. I think we’re at a point right now were she needs to be thrown into some sink or swim environment.”

It’s something Baker has done well throughout her AEW career and has earned her spot in a number of it marquee women’s matches.

One of those potentially on the horizon could be against current IWGP women’s champion Mercedes Mone’ considered New Japan’s strong relationship with AEW and the success of the last year’s joint Forbidden Door pay-per-view.

It’s a match Baker would be ecstatic to have because she said from the day she started training Mone’ — as Sasha Banks in WWE — was one of her favorite wrestlers and a dream match for her.

Baker said she used to practice Banks’ moves in training.

“It’s weird to see now that she’s out in the wild,” Baker said. “She’s not completely inaccessible in a way. These are very realistic matchups that could happen and I think the world is ready to see Mercedes Mone’ let out of the cage. What is she gonna do now?”

“I hope and pray that someday we see her in some capacity in AEW. And if by chance I could be in the connection too I would be very, very for that.”

For now, Baker will look to thrive in her new babyface role next to Hayter.

After her struggles as a babyface early in her AEW tenure, she isn’t too worried about how it will play this time because she has already developed a strong rapport with the audience.

Baker feels there doesn’t need to be too much difference between the two personas, other than maybe being “a little bit more noble” and not cheating to win matches.

“Promo-wise, character-wise, it’s that sassy grit.” Baker said. “That’s what people fell in love with … kind of being a little bit of a smart ass and telling everybody in the room what she thinks they need to hear. I think that’s kind of what got her over. If the fans like that, why wouldn’t you give them that as a babyface, too?”