Britt Baker is headed to Arena México for the first time, with CMLL confirming that the former AEW Women’s World Champion will make her debut for the promotion on Friday in a high-profile women’s tag team match.
Baker will join forces with CMLL World Women’s Champion and AEW TBS Champion Persephone against the team of Mexican National Champion Thunder Rosa and Tessa Blanchard. The bout brings together wrestlers with major connections across CMLL and AEW while placing Baker in a setting that has become increasingly important to the partnership between the two promotions.
The AEW-CMLL relationship is approaching its third year, and it has created numerous opportunities for AEW wrestlers to compete in Mexico, particularly at CMLL’s historic Arena México. Baker’s appearance adds another prominent name to that list. It also puts her in a match loaded with championship credentials, established rivalries and a reunion with an opponent from early in her career.
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Baker and Blanchard meet again after All In 2018
Friday’s match will mark another chapter in the shared history between Baker and Blanchard. The two previously wrestled one another at the inaugural All In event in 2018, a show remembered as a major moment in the build toward the formation of AEW. Both women have since had significant career developments, making their latest connection a notable part of Baker’s CMLL introduction.
For more background on this topic, read CMLL Sábado De Coliseo Results: Yutani and Hermanos Chávez Defeat Templario, Star Jr. and Blue Panther.
Baker became one of the defining figures of AEW’s women’s division during her time as AEW Women’s World Champion. Persephone, meanwhile, enters the match carrying two titles: the CMLL World Women’s Championship and the AEW TBS Championship. Their pairing gives the home-side team considerable star power, even as they face an opposition unit featuring another AEW-associated standout in Thunder Rosa.
Thunder Rosa brings the Mexican National Championship into the contest. Her presence gives the match an especially fitting Mexico City dimension, while her history in major women’s matches across multiple promotions makes her a natural counterweight to Baker’s experience. With Baker making a first impression in CMLL and Rosa competing under the Mexican National Champion banner, the tag bout offers plenty of potential for a future singles confrontation as well.
Persephone’s rivalry with Blanchard continues
The most immediate issue surrounding the match is the ongoing rivalry between Persephone and Blanchard. Blanchard has challenged Persephone for the CMLL World Women’s Championship on three occasions during 2026. Persephone has won all three matches, preserving her championship reign each time and leaving Blanchard still searching for a breakthrough against the titleholder.
That history makes the Friday tag match more than simply a showcase pairing for Baker’s debut. Blanchard will again share the ring with the woman who has repeatedly denied her the CMLL World Women’s title, while Baker will be standing beside the champion in her first match under the CMLL banner. Any decisive exchange between Persephone and Blanchard could add momentum to their ongoing program, even though the championship itself is not listed as being on the line.
Blanchard’s role on the card is also certain to draw attention due to the controversy that continues to follow her. She has faced longstanding criticism from fans over allegations connected to an incident involving La Rosa Negra roughly a decade ago, in which Blanchard was accused of using racial slurs. The matter has remained a frequent point of discussion around her appearances.
Despite that response, CMLL has continued to feature Blanchard. Earlier in 2026, she chose to work with CMLL rather than TNA, and her program with Persephone has made her a recurring challenger within the promotion’s women’s division. Friday’s bout also demonstrates that CMLL remains willing to place her in a prominent match involving AEW talent as the relationship between the companies continues.
An all-women showcase at Arena México
Baker and Persephone versus Thunder Rosa and Blanchard is part of a Friday event built entirely around women’s wrestling. The card is set to include a mix of CMLL regulars, international guests and wrestlers from World Wonder Ring Stardom, giving the show a broad collection of talent from across the global women’s wrestling scene.
Among the Stardom names announced are AZM, Miyu Amasaki and Momo Watanabe. Each wrestler brings a different style and level of experience to the lineup, adding to the international profile of a card already headlined by CMLL’s championship scene. Scottish wrestler Emersyn Jayne is also scheduled to appear.
The full women’s presentation is significant for CMLL, which has increasingly presented its women’s roster in major positions while continuing to bring in wrestlers from partner promotions and international companies. With titles represented throughout the top of the card, the event is positioned as more than a standard Friday lineup. It is a showcase for the depth of CMLL’s current women’s landscape and its ability to connect that roster to performers from AEW and Stardom.
For Baker, that environment presents a distinct kind of debut. Arena México is one of professional wrestling’s most famous venues, and a first CMLL match carries its own expectations even for a performer who has wrestled on major stages in the United States. Rather than being eased into the promotion in a lower-profile contest, Baker is immediately being placed beside one of CMLL’s top champions against a team with substantial name recognition.
Olympia and Skadi to headline for the Campeonato Universal de Amazonas
The main event will see Olympia defend the CMLL Campeonato Universal de Amazonas against Skadi. Olympia has made occasional appearances in AEW and enters the bout as one half of the Mexican National Women’s Tag Team Champions alongside her sister, Hera.
Olympia and Hera captured those tag titles less than three weeks ago when they defeated Skadi and Kira. That result gives the main event a clear competitive foundation: Skadi has already been on the losing side against Olympia in a championship situation, but she now receives an opportunity to challenge Olympia one-on-one for the Campeonato Universal de Amazonas.
The title match adds another layer to a show defined by rivalries and championship stakes. While the Baker-Persephone versus Rosa-Blanchard match is likely to command considerable attention because of Baker’s debut and the personalities involved, Olympia and Skadi will close the night with a direct championship contest tied to very recent tag team history.
That structure gives the card a strong balance. Baker’s arrival creates a fresh attraction, Persephone and Blanchard bring an active title rivalry into the tag match, Thunder Rosa supplies additional championship prestige, and the main event follows a recently established conflict between Olympia, Hera, Skadi and Kira.
What the match means for Baker and the partnership
CMLL’s decision to book Baker in this setting reflects the continued practical value of its working relationship with AEW. The partnership has made it possible for wrestlers who are primarily known to AEW audiences to expand their resumes in Mexico, while CMLL talent has gained additional visibility through appearances connected to AEW programming and events.
Baker’s debut will be watched not only for the result, but for what it could signal about her future availability in CMLL. No additional matches or storyline plans have been announced, so Friday’s appearance should be viewed first as a major debut rather than confirmation of an extended run. Still, teaming with Persephone immediately connects Baker to one of the promotion’s most decorated current champions, while working opposite Thunder Rosa and Blanchard puts her in a match with obvious singles-match possibilities.
Persephone, meanwhile, will aim to maintain momentum against Blanchard after three successful CMLL World Women’s Championship defenses. Thunder Rosa will look to help her team spoil Baker’s first night in CMLL, and Blanchard will seek a measure of redemption against the champion who has repeatedly turned her away in title matches this year.
Friday’s all-women event therefore has no shortage of reasons to watch. It features a debut at one of wrestling’s landmark venues, a continuing championship rivalry, an international roster and a main event built around recent title history. At the center of it all is Baker’s first step into CMLL competition, partnered with Persephone and immediately immersed in one of the promotion’s most closely watched women’s matchups.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.