Photo credit: @cameraguygimmik
In an exclusive interview with PWPondering’s Scott Mitchell (@ScottsScoop44), Brittnie Brooks sits down to talk about her time on the independent wrestling scene so far, becoming the youngest ever AWF Women’s Champion, her upcoming matches with Zayda Steel and Billie Starkz, what’s next for her, and so much more.
When did you first become a fan of wrestling?
“I first became a fan when I was like 5 or 6 years old. I saw my brother watching it one day and thought it was the coolest thing ever. We started watching SmackDown, and then we found out about Raw. We even started watching it on Sunday mornings when they did the Spanish playback. Over time I just began finding out more and more about WWE, but I didn’t know about IMPACT, or the indies, or anything until like a few years ago. Once I started wrestling on shows, I started seeing indie wrestling and that I could travel and do so much with it.”
When and why did you decide that this was the career path you wanted to go down?
“The real moment came in 2013 when I went to my first-ever show. It was August 27th, and Cena was injured. I made a sign for Ziggler and AJ Lee. They came to Phoenix, and I was like oh my God I have to go. The year before they had the Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank here and we didn’t get to go, I needed to go this time. That was the moment. I came from a school where nobody knew what wrestling was. Now to be around people who love it so much was so cool to me. I didn’t know you could go to school, but I just knew I wanted to do it. One day on Instagram I found Arizona Wrestling Federation. I was so happy to see local wrestling that I could go see every month. The first ever show I went to was called Triumph, and two or three years later I won my title there and became the youngest ever AWF Women’s Champion there. It’s very special to me, and this past year marked one of my first matches back.”
What does it mean to you to be the youngest-ever AWF Women’s Champion?
“That was insanely important to me. I was the little girl who would wear the cute little outfit and skip around wearing my World Heavyweight Championship like AJ Lee. In my ninth match ever I won a championship. Right now my goal is to become the youngest-ever FSW Women’s Champion. I had a shot at it recently, and we don’t need to talk about how I lost. But, I really hope to become the youngest ever. I know Sandra Moone was one of the youngest. Being in the history books, especially at my home promotion means the world to me. I hope one day I get signed and do bigger shows, but at the end of the day, that’s where I started. I’ll never forget where I came from. At 16 years old and in my ninth match ever, I didn’t know what I was doing but they trusted me with that and it just meant the world to me.”
You spoke about how you missed prom for a wrestling show and graduated after driving home all night from a wrestling show. How has it been juggling being a kid and now a professional wrestler?
“It was crazy. Especially the back half of this past year. From January to May, especially towards April/May, it started picking up for me. I missed school like crazy. I missed prom, senior photo day, senior breakfast, senior sunset. I got to experience my junior year of high school. I didn’t really feel too bad about missing that. I knew I was chasing my dream, and doing what I love. In February/March, I started traveling out of town a little bit. By May I was gone every weekend. The last month I was only there for a few days. I drove to Vegas on a Tuesday, and had to drive home, went to my graduation on one hour of sleep, wrestled at AWF, and then drove back to Vegas by Sunday for Double or Nothing. It got a little crazy, but it was so different than what everyone else was going through. There was no way I could have done school. I already have trouble juggling my life as is with the amount of bookings I’m starting to get. There’s no way I could be going to school still.”
Recently, you competed on Dreamwave where you won a scramble match over the likes of B3CCA, Maki Itoh, Shelley Benson, Maggie Lee, and Kaia McKenna. What was it like winning that match and being there?
“Dreamwave was amazing. It was a place I never thought I would be at this moment. Just to know that I won the match and now I’m in the first-ever women’s championship match means the entire world to me. I’m excited for October 14th because that’s when I square off to become the first-ever Dreamwave Women’s Championship against Zayda Steel. I’m so determined to become the first-ever Dreamwave Women’s Champion, and the day after I wrestle Billie Starkz in a match that I’ve wanted for a year now. I’m so excited about that. Dreamwave is incredible and their roster is insane. I’m so honored to be a part of that list.”
You also got to work with New Tradition Lucha Libre with Mylo. How was it to work with her and wrestle there?
“Mylo is amazing. I just saw she made PWI 500 and I was so happy. I met Mylo at AWF. She’s just incredible. She’s so fun to work with and I love her so much. She has such a bubbly personality. She’s definitely the Macdaddy. She’s so sweet and we’re so similar. It’s so cool to get to hang out with her and wrestle her.”
More recently, you got the opportunity to work with Alice Blair, Mazzerati, and Zamaya in a four-way match at a promotion you’ve been at quite some time, FSW. What were your thoughts heading into that match and what can you tell me about your time there?
“I saw FSW when I first started. They were the place I wanted to get to for quite some time. Their production, their viewership, the stars they produce, when I saw it I said I wanted to get there. One day in April FSW had an all-women’s battle royal. It ended up working out and now I’m there all the time. I love Vegas and I love FSW. They produce stars. That four-way was so much fun. Zamaya is my girl. We never wrestled in Arizona but we’re both from there. Mazzerati, we did AEW together so she’s near and dear to my heart. Alice definitely someone I love working with in Vegas. They’re all just so talented. I have so much fun there and everyone is so sweet. This is a locker room I wanted to be a part of for so long, and to be there is amazing. I need to be the youngest-ever FSW Women’s Champion. It’s been two years since Viva and I wrestled, and I look back on it and see the growth we both had in two years, it’s insane.”
What was it like for you to work on AEW so early in your career?
“It was so nerve-wracking. The moment I got the email I was so scared. The day of I was shaking because I was nervous and didn’t know where to go. I called my buddy Aydan Colt because he was there a few weeks back and I didn’t know where to go. I was so nervous. Then you get there and you don’t know if you’re having a match. Then I saw it on the whiteboard and I was like oh my God. I don’t remember who it was, but someone said to me you can’t be nervous for something you worked your entire life for. Keeping that mindset helps. I got there for a reason. You have to give yourself credit that you’re there and you made it. It’s been hard, and a constant battle in my brain, but it’s really special for me. Where I saw WWE 12/13 times as a kid was the same venue I got to wrestle in for AEW, so it was really special. It’s just insane.”
For the past few weeks, you began a blogging channel on YouTube. What convinced you to start that and how’s it been?
“I was inspired by the IWTV show. So many of my friends have been doing it recently. The first one I’ve ever seen was Brooke Havok. I just wanted to start doing it and it’s been tough in terms of editing and it’s just a process. I just uploaded my third one, and it uploaded as a 50-second clip. The first one I ever did I edited for five hours and I had to re-edit everything. I’m trying to make sure I blog a lot more of my days. I know so many people are so excited to watch it.”
Looking ahead for you, do you have any future goals or opponents you’d like to face?
“I have so many goals. In life, you have to have big goals and little goals. I definitely want to get in more of a presentable shape. I want to put on more muscle mass and look more like a wrestler. Someone came up to me at the gym today and asked if I was a wrestler and told me I looked like a wrestler, that meant so much to me. Now wrestling today is so inclusive and it’s incredible for that. Every shape, and size, is accepted and that’s also incredible. But for myself, I want to look like I belong in a ring. Having muscle and muscle definition is definitely important to me. A huge goal of mine is to get signed in the next few years. I would love to work in Japan, and see that side of the world. The places that wrestling takes you are just crazy. That’s definitely a long-term. My main goal is for the next couple of years to get signed. I’d love to work the bigger indies too, but yeah. I don’t want any deathmatches but I’d love to do CZW.”
You have upcoming matches at ETU and WAW. What can you tell us about those matches?
“At ETU this coming Saturday, I get to slap Zayda Steel in the face before our match at Dreamwave. It is a three-way though. WAW is in Waco, TX the next day, and it’s going to be so much fun. I’m in a three-way there too. I’m trying to belt collect right now.”
October is shaping up to be a very big month for you. With Zayda Steel and Billie Starkz on back-to-back nights, what can you tell us about those matches?
“I’m so nervous for that weekend. It’s like a happy nervous though. The Dreamwave title means so much to me. It’s insane to me that I’m in the first-ever Women’s Championship match. Literally, Madusa is presenting the title, and it’s just going to be an incredible match. It means a lot to me to be in the co-main event. The next day at 2econd Wrestling, I’m so excited to wrestle Billie. I’m so hyped.”
For anyone reading this, do you have a message?
“Always be nice to everyone. You never know what someone’s going through. It does nothing to spread negativity. There’s enough room at the table for everyone, so let’s eat, share, and make the world a better place.”
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