Baby-face look suits Brooks fine

By Alex Marvez

Published December 14, 2007 at 12:05 a.m.

Text size  

• 0 Comments
• Email
• Print

Life is good for Traci Brooks now that she's no longer "bad."

Brooks has started a promising baby-face turn in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. After months of teasing a story-line split, she's finally growing wary of Robert Roode's browbeating and appears to be ready to quit as his manager.

Brooks already is receiving a positive crowd response from TNA fans, which she says is something she's still getting comfortable with.

"Usually, I don't like being a baby-face, but I'm excited about this and want to see where it goes," she said last week during a telephone interview. "I've always been with a heel in TNA and screaming and yelling. It feels more natural."

Brooks has admirably filled the villainess role during her four years with TNA, but she does work as a baby-face on some independent shows and finds it hard to extend her character's meanness when not performing.

"A lot of (TNA) guys give me crap because I'm the nicest heel outside the ring," Brooks said. "You're supposed to be a heel from the time you leave the house."

Brooks started out in the same beginners class as former WWE women's champion Gail Kim. Almost eight years later, Brooks was so proud when Kim captured the TNA's women's title on October's Bound for Glory pay-per-view show that she cried backstage.

"After our first match together, Gail and I said we were going to change the face of women's wrestling," Brooks said. "Bound for Glory was a very emotional time. This was something we had dreamed about doing."

Brooks and Kim both have a better platform to showcase their athletic skills now that TNA has introduced a women's division. The unit has been well-received thanks to solid matches and a varied array of performers, such as Brooks, Kim, Awesome Kong and ODB.

"I think we are changing the way people look at women's wrestling," said Brooks, whose real name is Tracy Brookshaw. "We have beauty and good bodies, but we also have ability. You can keep coming back to watch us because of the way we wrestle."

Go to tnatracibrooks.com and tnawrestling.com for more information about Brooks.

Featured

• Legislature Blog

  

  Read live updates from the opening of the 2009 legislative session.

• Rocky multimedia

  

  The news comes alive in our videos and slide shows. Catch up on what's happening today.

• Who's next?

  

  Complete coverage of the Broncos' search for a new coach.

• Rocky year in photos

  

  View an audio slide show of staff selections from 2008.

• Winter Escapes

  

  Your insider’s guide to the copious joys of the coolest season.

• Sam Adams' Open Mic

  

  Open Mic: Two-man advantage with Avs

• Shanahan's career

  

  See photos from Mike Shanahan's career as Broncos coach.

• 12 days of Drew

  

  Look back at the year that has been with Drew Litton.

• A dream fulfilled

  

  A Rocky Mountain News and MediaStorm production