For much of the past 10-plus years, Rebel was a recurring presence on pro wrestling television. We knew her from her runs in TNA, and most recently in AEW. But she hasn’t been seen on Dynamite or Collision
in more than a year-and-a-half, and we’d heard that was due to health issues.
In a video posted to social media yesterday (Nov. 16), Rebel — real name Tanea Brooks — shared more about those issues. She revealed that what she’d been told was pneumonia was recently revealed to be primary pulmonary lymphoma, a cancer that develops in the lungs and presents as pneumonia-like symptoms such as cough and chest pain:
“After a year of not getting better, I decided to go to the Mayo Clinic and see if I could get treated by them and they found that it was not cryptococcal pneumonia this whole time and that it is primary pulmonary lymphoma, which is cancer in the lungs. And if there is a best case scenario then I have it so that’s good.
“Tomorrow I start rehab because along this tumultuous journey I picked up a little disorder called functional neurological disorder and it has taken my ability to walk. I now walk with a walker and my ability to speak clearly, I don’t know if you can tell, but it sounds like I bit my tongue.”
That neurological condition Rebel is living with has also limited the use of her right hand. She’s in physical therapy for that full-time, five days a week. The 47-year-old Oklahoman is also dealing with an infection; once she’s finished with a course of IV antibiotics for that, she’ll begin cancer treatment. Rebel heads into that ready for a fight:
“And once that [antibiotic treatment]’s finished, hopefully in December, I will go in for a third bronchoscopy to determine what kind of treatment are we having, chemo, radiation, immunology and then we’ll start there and then we’ll kick its ass, OK?
”So I’m hoping that will start around the first of 2026.”
Support continues to pour in for Rebel in the day since she shared her story online,
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Brooks initially rose to prominence in TNA’s carnival-themed stable The Menagerie, and later its bad girl group The Dollhouse. She was hired by AEW as stylist (she’s also a licensed cosmetologist), but she eventually worked her way on-screen as a great addition to Dr. Britt Baker’s heel act.
Please join us in sending positive thoughts and prayers of support Rebel’s way.
