AEW's Britt Baker has joined the world of Cobra Kai. The 33-year-old fighter made her debut in the ninth episode of Cobra Kai Season 6, showing the face of Sensei Oksana, the co-sensei of the Russian Tiger Strike dojo. Baker's Sensei Oksana has appeared in two episodes so far and was teased to return when Cobra Kai Season 6, part 3, premieres next February.
Outside of the dojo, Baker is best known for her time inside the squared circle. Baker has been wrestling since 2015 and was part of the All Elite Wrestling roster at the company's launch in 2019. Within AEW, Baker is a regular fixture in the women's division, having reigned as AEW Women's Champion for 290 days.
In celebration of Cobra Kai Release of season 6, part 2, on Netflix, TelaRant interviewed Baker about how Martin Kove helped get her involved in the show, who her character Sensei Oksana is, how she balances wrestling and acting while keeping her role a secret, and what could be next for her overall Cobra Kai world after the show ends.
Martin Kove helped Britt Baker get involved in Cobra Kai
“We became friends and then I was introduced to more people…”
ScreenRant: You've been joining this world for what seems like a long time now, because I remember seeing you have a behind-the-scenes segment with Martin Kove years and years ago. What kind of role did Martin play in getting you involved in the show?
Britt Baker: Dude, so Martin is probably the first person in the Cobra Kai universe that I've met and become friends with. Our agents are best friends at Comic-Cons and book signings, so we're always near and dear to each other for that kind of thing. We became friends and then I was introduced to more people across the Cobra Kai universe through him. When I watched the Season 4 premiere on Netflix, I met Hayden Schlossberg, one of the writers, and I talked to him and we exchanged information on social media.
So basically I kept bothering Hayden. Sorry, not sorry. Just kidding, but not really. “Hey, if you need a person with a background in dentistry or professional wrestling, or if you just need someone to shine your shoes, I'll be there.” I'm a huge fan of Cobra Kai and The Karate Kid. I would love to be on set just to see anything. So when I got the call, 'Hey, we actually have a role that we think you'd be great for,' I was so excited and I had no idea what to expect. I received the information vaguely and then I showed up and it was much more than I expected, and I was a little nervous, overwhelmed, but I was very excited.
From an approval standpoint, I know the rules in terms of wrestling and movies have become a lot more lenient, but back in the day, I know wrestlers would have to turn down projects because of their wrestling schedule. what was the process like of going to Tony and saying, 'Hey, I got this role. Is this something I can do?
Britt Baker: I had been expressing some kind of involvement with Cobra Kai for a long time. Dancing with the Stars, that's the next show I'll be on. I just need to keep manifesting it. So he knew how much I really wanted to be involved, and when the opportunity came up, I just told him, 'Hey, this opportunity came up,' and I was off camera anyway at that point with AEW. So it was as simple as, 'Okay, we're not going to bring you back before then,' and he was very, very supportive. Tony is really, really cool and is very easy going when it comes to big projects like this. I think he understands the bigger picture. More eyes on us as individuals means more eyes on AEW.
Britt Baker kept her role in Cobra Kai a secret
“I won't overdo it and then everything will be cut off…”
You're not the first AEW person to make the leap from the squared circle to the film set. Adam Copeland has a leading role as Ares in Percy Jackson. MJF has several projects coming out. Did you ask anyone in the locker room for advice on how to balance these two worlds?
Britt Baker: I actually didn't tell anyone I was doing it. Less than five people. I didn't tell anyone. The bad luck is that you overdo something and it's going to be great, and then all your scenes get cut, or they write you off, and I'm like, 'That's not going to be me, so I'm just going to underplay it. I'll be excited. I'll stay up every night with excitement and hope I can still get on the show, but I won't get excited and then everything will be cut. I definitely didn't want that to happen.
It was so hard because I'm a huge Cobra Kai fan. Wrestling and the Cobra Kai Universe are the same thing. There are so many crossover fans. I wanted to scream from the mountaintops, but I thought, 'No, I'm not going to sit here and overdo this, and then my scene will be cut to two seconds. No, I won't do that.
WWE's Xavier Woods is interrupted on the set of Cobra Kai
“I had to hang out with him for a bit…”
Who surprised you the most on set as someone who only knows wrestling and is a huge fan?
Britt Baker: Actually, the one who surprised me on set, literally just in the background, someone who was floating around was Xavier Woods. He was on the set. Yes, he was there. Just some mutual connections in the Atlanta area, and that was fun because I got to hang out with him a little bit and we were talking about the difference between stunt fights and pro wrestling matches and how they're so different but so similar and just the huge respect that we have in the world of stuntmen, stuntmen and coordinators. I mean, it's crazy how complex and difficult and just amazing this world is.
Who is Sensei Oksana from Britt Baker?
“There are a lot of similarities to my character in AEW…”
I want to talk about your on-screen character, Sensei Oksana. Who is she?
Britt Baker: It's funny, I felt when I was reading the script, that there were a lot of similarities between Oksana and my character here and there in AEW, Dr. Britt Baker, the heel, the villain, the evil grin, the antagonist always just stirring the pot. . It's something as simple as when Team Russia defeated Team Cobra Kai, just the evil smile for Alicia, for the person I ended up fighting with her, but it's just little things, like stirring the pot. I'll smash it in your face, that kind of thing, and I love it. I think just Team Russia itself, you don't want to like them.
I love it when I watch wrestlers in big movies or TV shows because you can always tell they bring some of that talent to the ring. Fastlast year I saw John Cena nail an attitude adjustment. I'm sure Batista landed a Batista Bomb in a movie he was in recently. Was there ever a discussion about how we would work Lockjaw into Cobra Kai?
Britt Baker: No, but I will say that Ken, one of the stunt coordinators, he definitely had the idea right away. When I showed up on set, we had to do something with a table. I ended up doing a Rock Bottom. It was actually his wife, ironically, who I put on the table because both he and his wife had worked for the Heels, so they definitely had some wrestling, knowledge and experience. We had so many people in common that we met, which was really cool to talk to. But yeah, Ken immediately said, let's fight here. Sneak in.
Season 6 is the last season of this show. It's crazy to say it out loud. It seems like it's been a pop culture constant for the last decade. Without getting into anything specific, do you feel like there's a bow tie to your character or that there could possibly be more to explore with her in the future?
Britt Baker: There are so many different paths you can take in the Cobra Kai universe, in the Karate Kid universe, actually. I mean, there are so many different characters that could have their own spin-offs. It's little things that you don't expect that can make for really good stories and paths, so I would say never say never.
More about Cobra Kai season 6
In Cobra Kai season 6, following the fall of Cobra Kai, Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence focus on preparing their fused Miyagi-Do students for the “Sekai Taikai”, a prestigious international karate tournament, leading to internal conflicts within the dojo. as they struggle with different training styles and personal issues while facing challenges from a resurgent John Kreese and the potential return of other former rivals, all culminating in a high-stakes competition in Barcelona.
Check out our previous Cobra Kai interviews with: