After weeks and weeks being off TV, Traci Brooks was back on the NWA-TNA PPV last week, seconding Shane Douglas and helping her man beat Sandman, nailing the beer-drinking madman herself with a variation of the Thesz press off the rope that was dubbed a ‘Pie in the Sky.’ In an exclusive interview with SLAM! Wrestling, she admitted she was practically jumping up and down when she was told she was back on the show.
“They just started my storyline back. I’m with Shane Douglas. I’m the new part of a new Franchise,” she said from her home in Nashville. “I was very excited.”
It’s a gift to be paired with a big star like Douglas. “Shane’s amazing. The fact that I’m with him is going to be a huge learning step for me,” she said. “Mic-wise, there’s no one better than him. He’s incredible. And the way he uses women – and I mean that in a good way – the way he interacts with the women, when we found out, he came to me and he said, ‘you’re not just going to be eye candy, you’re a wrestler, you’re a hard worker. You’re going to do what you want to do in the ring.’ And he’s going to help it make sense. So hopefully it’s a huge stepping stone for me in my career. Shane is an amazing guy and I have all the respect for him in the world.”
The company has come a long way in her opinion, even since her last appearance on the show as Schoolgirl Traci. “TNA, I definitely think is competition for WWE. When you say wrestling now, you say WWE and TNA. It’s only been there for a year, year and a half, but it’s slowly starting to get the respect it deserves. It’s an alternative to the Fed right now. I know all the boys in the Fed are watching it, I think they have to. I think they’re happy about it too. I think it gives them an alternative and hopefully it’ll be a bargaining chip one day when people are signing contracts.”
The 5-foot-4, brown-eyed beauty grew up in St. Mary’s, Ontario on a pig farm. After being in the Toronto SUN numerous times as a SUNshine Girl, she started training as a wrestler with Ron Hutchison and debuted in the AWF. Brooks also credits El Fuego (Rob Etcheverria) of the Squared Circle Pro Wrestling Gym in Toronto for furthering her training.
NWA-TNA backstage powerhouse Scott D’Amore (of Border City Wrestling) was instrumental in bringing her into the promotion, along with many of the other southern Ontario stars like Sinn of the New Church and Showtime Eric Young.
Brooks made the move to Nashville a while back, and it gives her the chance to attend every NWA-TNA show, whether she’s scheduled to work or not. “I go every day to get in the ring and play before the thing, and see if they need any help or anything. Look at the locker room – A.J. Styles, to me, is on his way to being legendary status in this business. I learn from him, Kid Kash, all those guys, Jeff Jarrett, Jerry Jarrett, all those guys, Shane Douglas, Raven. So it’s good for me to get there and just watch everybody.”
There are also many promotions around Nashville that promote women’s wrestling. “I’m working for some local promotions down here. It’s great down here because the crowds are so old-school. They still believe down here, except TNA. I’m a heel down here, and sometimes I’m scared to walk to my car, in a good way. I’m doing my job and they appreciate it. I had my very first Lumberjack Fan Whipping Match, and it was great. They wanted to really whip me. It was good, it was a great experience.”
A few of the promotions have TV as well. One is run by Bert Prentice, who has Terry Taylor working with him. “Terry’s a great worker too, so he’s helping me out, giving me lots of mic time,” she said.
She has vowed to herself to be patient for a women’s match on the actual NWA-TNA PPV. “I did a dark match a long time ago when I was Traci the Schoolgirl. They were doing women’s dark matches. They’ve put it on hold right now, just to build up women in a different way now. Hopefully, they’ll start doing it again soon.”
Brooks is quick to praise Trinity, the most regular female on the roster. “Trinity and I worked a couple of times. Trinity is a hell of a worker. She’s snug, she’s respectable, she’s great, she knows her moves, she knows her stuff, and she looks amazing. She’s all about putting on a great match, entertaining the fans. So hopefully, they’ll let us work a lot more together.”
Some of the other T-and-A on the show appears destined for the ring as well. “Goldilocks isn’t a wrestler, but Lollypop is actually training. I actually live with a girl from Minnesota, O.D.B., One Dirty Bitch. She is a phenomenal worker, hands down, the same status as Molly. She will be as good as Molly one day. This girl’s incredible. She worked guys all through Minnesota. She’s really good. She’s down there so hopefully one day they’ll get her in there a little more.”
Besides the NWA-TNA PPVs, fans of Traci will get to see even more of her in the upcoming Canadian independent film, Enter … Zombie King, which was filmed last winter and has its world premiere Friday, November 21 at the Bloor Cinema in Toronto at 9:30 p.m. “I was stunt girl and I was one of the killer zombies,” she said. “I loved the whole story line. The story line was amazing, very cued to wrestling … very carny, very old-school.”
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