Baszler debuted for Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW) in April 2016, losing to Mia Yim. She returned to the promotion in June, defeating Veda Scott. She then returned to the promotion again in August, defeating Annie Social. On September 9, she defeated Heidi Lovelace to become the AIW Women's Champion. She made her first successful defense against Britt Baker on November 5, and again retained the championship against Ray Lyn and Ayzali in a three-way match for Rise Wrestling on November 10. She once again retained the championship against Lovelace in a rematch on November 25.