Tanea Brooks, best known to pro wrestling fans as Rebel, last wrestled over a year ago and hasn’t appeared on AEW television for even longer. The belief is that she was initially taken off television as Tony Khan wanted to push Dr. Britt Baker as a babyface, which was considered easier without Rebel. However, since then, the former TNA talent has unfortunately been dealing with severe health difficulties.
And now, in truly devastating news, Rebel has taken to X to disclose, while fighting back tears, that she has been diagnosed with primary pulmonary lymphoma. Tragically, the prognosis for this type of cancer is generally poor, particularly for aggressive subtypes, with the overall survival rate varying between ten years and, in some cases, just months.
47-year-old Rebel first broke into the wrestling business back in 2014 via OVW before debuting for TNA as part of their Menagerie faction alongside Mike Knox, Rob Terry, and Crazzy Steve. From there, she would briefly get an opportunity to work for WWE, appearing on NXT in a tag team loss to Kairi Sane and Io Shirai. Yet, after receiving no contract offer from WWE, it seemed her future was outside the ring when AEW recruited her for a backstage hair and makeup role. Still, thanks to her charisma, she ended up being introduced to AEW fans alongside Baker, establishing them as a popular double act despite being heels.
